Chicken Pot Pie

SOURCE: Foodnetwork.com
ANNIE'S RATING: 3 stars
TOTAL COOKING & PREP TIME: about 2 to 3 hrs
SERVINGS: 4 to 5 small individual pot pies

WHAT'S NEEDED:

For the pastry:

• 1&1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp iodized salt or 3/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
• 1/8 lb (2 oz) cold unsalted butter, diced
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup ice water
• 1 small/medium egg beaten with 1/2 TBSP water, for egg wash
• Salt
• Ground black pepper

For the filling:

• 1&1/2 whole (3 split) chicken breasts, bone-in, skin-on
• 1&1/2 TBSP olive oil
• Salt
• Ground black pepper
• 2&1/2 cups chicken stock (NOTE A)
• 1 chicken bouillon cube
• 6 TBSP (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 cup (about 1 pc) yellow onion, chopped  (NOTE B)
• 1/4 and 1/8 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/8 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup medium-diced carrots, blanched for 2 minutes (NOTE C)
• 1 cup (5 oz) frozen peas
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves, minced 

HOW TO:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet and rub them with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, or until cooked through. (NOTE D)
2. While waiting for the chicken to cook, prepare the pastry. Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the shortening and butter and mix quickly with a spatula until each piece is coated with flour. Pulse 10 times, or until the fat is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the ice water; process only enough to moisten the dough and have it just come together. Dump the dough out onto a floured board and knead quickly into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic and allow it to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
3. When the chicken is cooked already, set it aside until cool enough to handle, then remove the meat from the bones and discard the skin. Cut the chicken into dices, the size of which depends on your preference. (NOTE E) You will have 2 to 3 cups of cubed chicken.
4. In a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock and dissolve the bouillon cubes in the stock.
5. In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the onions over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until translucent. Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the hot chicken stock to the sauce. Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring, until thick. Add 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and heavy cream. Add the cubed chicken, carrots, peas and parsley. Mix well.
6. When the pot pie filling is cooked, preheat the oven to 350 to 375 degrees F. (NOTE F)
7. Divide the filling equally among 4 to 5 ovenproof small bowls. (NOTE F)  
8. Divide the dough equally to 4 to 5 and then roll each piece into a 6- to 7-inch circle, depending on your bowls.
9. Brush the outside edges of each bowl with the egg wash, then place the dough on top. Trim the circle to 1/2-inch larger than the top of the bowl. Crimp the dough to fold over the side, pressing it to make it stick.
10. Brush the dough with egg wash and make 3 slits on the top. Sprinkle with salt and ground black pepper.
11. Place the bowls on a baking sheet and bake for 1 to 1&1/2 hours, or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling hot.

 NOTES:

• (A) The original recipe notes that homemade chicken stock is preferable. I did use homemade chicken stock when I decided to try this recipe by cooking my chicken over boiling water instead of baking it. However, please see related Note D.
• (B) The original recipe required adding 3/4 cup of frozen small whole onions. However, I skipped on this as I have not found these in the groceries. Besides, the first try turned out to be really good that I didn't care to look for these small whole onions when I tried this recipe again and again.
• (C) I finely dice my carrots so I don't blanch them anymore. However, if you want to blanch your carrots, then blanch it when doing Step 4 to save time. 
• (D) On different occassions, I tried making this dish using baked chicken and chicken that's cooked in boiling water (This is when I made my homemade chicken stock. I added chopped celery stalks, finely diced carrots, salt and pepper into the pot of boiling water). I prefer baking the chicken to keep its flavor intact.
• (E) I prefer dicing my chicken into small bite pieces (about 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch).
• (F) Preheat your oven depending on your bowls' limitations. In my case, I used small Corelle bowls, which can only be subjected to 350F or less as per its packaging instructions.