September 27, 2009

Comfort Meal After a Great Weekend Away


After spending a really wonderful weekend with the girls, I have tons of ideas for the next few weeks of posts – most of which are great ideas for using leftovers of all kinds! It seems like as soon as we got out of the city, it felt like fall. The weekend was chilly and damp, all together perfect. We stopped for lunch in a cute town (literally every other store sold antiques) and had a quick bite to warm us up before heading out to a vineyard. One of my friends got a potpie that was only ok, but it inspired me to make a better version of one. The best part? I already had leftover chicken from the roast chicken I made last week! This recipe is fairly quick and with the addition of white wine and thyme, it reminds me of a dish called Bouche a la Reine. I made this one with a store bought puff pastry that I would absolutely cover with foil the next time I make it – just 30 minutes in my littler toaster over left it a little burnt on top and not fully cooked through.  The filling though, was perfect!
French Style Leftover-Chicken 
Pot Pie

2 tbsp. butter
1 small onion diced
5 small potatoes, diced
3-4 small carrots sliced
3 tbsp. flour
½ c. milk
4 c. chicken stock
1 c. frozen peas
Leftover chicken, cut into bite sized pieeces (light and dark meat)
¼ c. wine
1 tbsp. thyme
salt & pepper
puff pastry or prepared pie crust


Preheat the oven to 375° F.

In a small pot, bring the chicken stock to a boil and allow it to reduce by half. While this is reducing, in a sauté pan, heat up 2 tbsp. butter. Add onions and sauté for a minute. Add the carrots and sauté for 2 more minutes. Add the potatoes and sauté until vegetables are tender. Stir in the flour and stir continuously until it is all combined. Add dashes of salt & pepper. Add the reserved 2 c. chicken stock and milk. Bring to a boil and allow it to thicken. Add the thyme, more salt & pepper, and wine, then add the chicken. Stir and allow peas to defrost a little. Taste the broth and add more seasoning to taste. Pour filling in to a 2 qt. baking dish or into individual ramekins. Top with puff pastry or pie crust – be sure to leave an inch and a half overhang on the pastry, it will shrink up. Bake the potpie for 30 minutes, or until bubbling and the pastry is golden.






2 comments:

  1. your blog is really amazing. congrats on winning the food52 competition. would this work with phyllo pastry? seems that puff pastry would work best, perhaps?
    do you take your photos in natural light or in the evening? if it is the latter, how do you do that? the lighting is amazing, any tips for a food photography enthusiast?

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  2. So glad you're liking the blog! Phyllo dough is an interesting choice! I thunk it could work really well actually. I might put the dough directly into a baking dish and the fill it, wrapping the dough over the top. This recipe would be great with rice instead of potatoes as well!

    The lighting is actually just under the counter lights we installed. We take all of the pictures at night with a nikon D40 dSLR with a 35 mm F 1.8 lens. It's perfect for food photography.

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