If you don’t recall, I reviewed Joanna Gaines’ pot pie recipe and, while it was not bad, I was very vocal that it was NOT a pot pie. I’m not often passionate about what makes a dish a dish, but her recipe was most definitely NOT a pot pie. I was a bit disappointed to be perfectly honest. What I ended up making was a chicken pot pie soup that was supposed to be served over mashed potatoes. I did not appreciate the deception, Joanna! (I say this jokingly, people. Don’t take me seriously.)
It has been a long time since I actually made a pot pie. My son was a very picky eater growing up and he was disgusted by soups and pies. I had a lot of turkey left over from Thanksgiving and Rugjen kept hinting at me making pot pie.
First of all — I cheated.
I did NOT make homemade pie crust. Why? Because pie crust hates me. What’s the key to pie crust? Cold ingredients. What do my hands do? Melt everything on contact. I have very, very hot hands which is great for kneading bread dough, but not so great for pie crust. So, yes. I used store-bought pie crust.
I did, however, not use a recipe and this made me gosh-darn proud. It’s only taken me roughly two decades to gain enough confidence to try something without a recipe.
Ingredients:
- 4 tablespoons butter;
- 1/2 large, white onion, diced;
- 2-3 sticks of celery, diced;
- 1 teaspoon of fresh, finely chopped thyme;
- 2 teaspoons of fresh, finely chopped rosemary;
- 1 healthy pinch of salt;
- Freshly cracked pepper;
- Lawry’s Seasoned Salt;
- 1/4 cup of flour;
- 1 cup of chicken stock;
- 1 cup of half-and-half;
- 1 can of diced potatoes, drained (alternatively, you can par-boil your own);
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup of frozen peas and carrots;
- 2 cups of turkey;
- 2 pie crusts; and
- Egg wash.
Method:
I used a 12-inch jumbo fryer pan by Calphalon to cook the pot pie filling. It was the perfect size. I think any deep skillet will do. Remember, you are making enough filling to fill a pie plate.
- Pre-heat oven to 400F.
- While the oven is preheating, chop your turkey, onions, celery, and pre-measure all of your ingredients to make your cooking seamless. Once all of your ingredients are measured and prepped, move onto cooking.
- Melt four tablespoons of butter into the pan.
- Sauté onions and celery until soft.
- Whisk in flour, thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper into pan. You want to cook 1-2 minutes to cook the flour.
- Slowly start whisking in the chicken stock. Once you’ve incorporated all of the stock, begin adding the half-and-half. It will be thick like a gravy. This is a good thing, but if it is too thick, add more broth. It should be a good, thick gravy, not goop. Taste the filling. If it is a bit bland, add some Lawry’s Seasoned Salt to balance it out.
- Stir in frozen vegetables, potatoes, and turkey. Take off the heat and set aside. No reason to cook the vegetables. They will heat in the oven.
- Place pie crust into 9 inch pie plate (I use glass), and poke holes with a fork on the bottom.
- Pour filling into pie crust.
- Top with second pie crust making sure to join both crusts with egg wash and crimping the crust in your preferred method. There are plenty of videos on how to do a double-crust. I suggest watching a few before you get to this point if you’ve never done it before. Make sure to cut some steam vents in the top crust.
- Brush the top of the crust with egg wash.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes at 400F.
- Keep an eye on the crust. If you notice that it is getting too brown, cover with tin foil. If you have a crust shield, use it.
- Let pie rest for 5-10 minutes after taking it out of the oven.
I am not very good at crimping pie crust, so it looks okay. Not beautiful, but simply. Okay. I forgot to take a picture of the filling, but look at that crust. It was perfect for store-bought.
Anyhow, I think the boys really enjoyed it, so I’ll be looking to make a chicken version on a really cold day.
Filthy Casual for Life 