From-Scratch Chicken Pot Pie [Secret Recipe Club]

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It's Secret Recipe Club time again!  I drew Art from My Table, and I'm so glad I did.  My family had a tough time picking just one recipe to try: my daughter picked Pumpkin Oatmeal, I wanted Sparkling Cranberry Brie Bites, and my husband wanted Chicken Pot Pie.  My husband won out, mostly because I wasn't hosting a party for the Brie Bites and because we needed an extra dinner last week, but those other recipes are on my list to make in the near future!  

Chellie cooks, writes and photographs for Art from My Table, and does a magnificent job of creating delicious-looking, yet accessible food.  And her Chicken Pot Pie is one of these recipes.  I made a few changes to suit my tastes, but her recipe is a great base recipe to experiment with.  This is definitely going into my regular rotation of meals...even my picky two year old ate the filling!

Because I wanted  to eat this for a busy mid-week meal, I prepared the pies in individual ramekins and froze them.  I added about 15 minutes of cooking time for the frozen pies.  This worked wonderfully--I popped the pies in the oven after work and then ran outside to play with the kids on a beautiful spring afternoon.  Go check out the original recipe for the base recipe and for a large pie; my instructions below are for 6-inch ramekins.

From-Scratch Chicken Pot Pie
Adapted from Art from My Table
Makes three large individual portions

Cook's Note: If you'd like to freeze these for later use, throw them in the freezer, and when they are frozen through, wrap tightly in foil.  When you are ready to cook them, just throw them in the oven and cook for about 15 minutes longer.

1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup onion, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 cups chicken stock
2/3 cup whole milk
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
2/3 lb. cooked chicken breast, chopped
3 cups vegetables (I used equal amounts of green beans, peas, carrots, fennel.  Fresh or frozen work well here.)
2 green onions, cut into 1-inch pieces
Pastry for two nine-inch pie crusts (I used Alice Waters' recipe from The Art of Simple Food, and will continue to use it for this recipe.)

Prepare the crust: Butter three 6-inch individual ramekins.  Line the ramekins with pie crust, cutting off excess with a sharp knife.  Roll out three portions that will cover the entire top of the ramekin and set aside.  (Because you are using ramekins instead of a large pie tin, you may need to incorporate the excess bits and reroll the crust to have enough to cover all three.)  Place the ramekins in the refrigerator until you're ready to fill them.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Prepare the filling: In a large saucepan, melt the butter.  Add the flour, onions, salt and pepper.  Cook, stirring, for about 1-2 minutes or until the mixture becomes bubbly.  Stir in the wine and cook until incorporated.  Add the chicken stock, milk, thyme and rosemary, stirring until thick and bubbly.  Add the cooked chicken and vegetables.  Taste for seasoning.  Add salt or pepper to taste.

Remove the ramekins from the refrigerator.  Scoop the filling into the ramekins until they are completely full.  Cover each pie with your pre-rolled crust.  Pinch the edges so that the crust is sealed.  Cut vents in the top of each crust.

Place your ramekins on a rimmed cookie sheet.  Place in the oven and start checking on your pot pies after about 25-30 minutes.  (They could take up to 45 minutes to cook, but it's good to start checking early so they don't burn.)  They are done when the crusts are golden brown and the insides are bubbling.  Remove from the oven and let rest for at least 15 minutes.

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