{ golden chicken potpie } by williams-sonoma

Ingredients

for the filling

• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup yellow union diced
• 1 stalk celery, finely sliced
• 4 small carrots, sliced
• 1 cup mushroom caps, quartered {I didn't have mushrooms, so I used frozen peas, very tasty}
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup chicken stock {or broth if you prefer a bit more of a salty taste}
  
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 cups diced cooked chicken
• 1 large egg beaten with 1 tsp water

for the crust {quick puff pastry}

• 3&1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 lb cold unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
• 1 cup ice water

{filling}
Boil chicken in water until fully cooked. Drain water, remove chicken, dice, and set aside. In a pot, warm and melt butter. Add onion and celery, and saute until golden {3-5 minutes}. Add carrots and mushrooms {again, I used peas...I'm not a HUGE mushroom girl} and saute an additional 3 minutes. Pour in wine, bring to a simmer, and reduce for 3 minutes. Add the stock and thyme and simmer until the vegetables are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and 1/4 cup cold water until smooth. Add to stock mixture to thicken. {I added quite a bit more flour and water to achieve a thicker gravy-type filling, so add flour to desired thickness :) } Stir well, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the vegetables are just tender, about 5 minutes. Add the diced chicken and let simmer another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and pour into a bowl, let cool, cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours. The filling can be made up to 2 days in advance {it's important to chill filling before assembling the pie, because if warm, the filling will heat the pie crust; thus, making it less flaky}

Preheat oven to 400F. Butter a 9-inch pie dish. Pour filling into the dish and cover with pastry crust, folding the edges onto the dish. Brush with egg mixture and cut a few vents in the center. Bake until the crust is golden and the filling is hot and bubbling {about 45 minutes} Let cool 15 minutes before serving.
*This makes enough filling for 1 9"potpie. I doubled this recipe and made 4 {quite large} mini-potpies. I've also made it a few times and found that using broth adds a little more flavor. I felt the stock made the filling a little bland and lacking salt. But that's just me :) Either way this recipe is divine! I love crust, but I like that the crust on this potpie is only on the top. You get more of the hearty filling that way! It is already a family favorite and I plan on using it in the future. {read more if you want to try the homemade crust...recommended...}



{crust}
If you decide you'd rather purchase a store-bought pie crust or use your own recipe with shortening, go for it! BUT I highly recommend trying this at least once! It makes all the difference with butta as the main ingredient...it really melts in your mouth {mmmmm}

In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together the flour and salt. Fit the mixer with the paddle attachment, scatter the butter over the flour mixture, and mix on medium speed until the butter is the size of large peas and coated with flour. On medium-low speed, add the vinegar and then drizzle in the ice water until the flour mixture is moistened and starts to come together. You may not need all of it.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, gather into a ball, and knead lightly until uniform. Roll out until the dough is about 1/2" thick. Divide into thirds, roll each third into a ball, wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to overnight. {Or freeze up to 3 months and thaw, still wrapped, in the refrigerator overnight} Makes enough for 3 10" tarts.

When ready to use, roll out on a floured surface to desired thickness and cut a circle for desired size of pie/tart. ***This crust is great with fruit pies as well, just sprinkle sugar on top before baking***

Note: It's important for the pastry dough to be chilled before baking. The colder the dough is going directly into the hot oven, the flakier the crust will be :)



From our family to yours,
Enjoy <3


P.S.
Sorry for the sudden blog bomb, our Mack friends! I've been meaning to post recipes for a while, so I had a few stored up. I'll try to stay more on top of it :)