Individual Chicken Pot Pie For Two I Made It Ii

Individual Chicken Pot Pie For Two

DIZ3 4 years ago
Recipe: Individual Chicken Pot Pie For Two
Submitted By: Laurakaay
Date: November 27, 2019

***November 2019 Group Recipe Challenge: Pies***

Have you ever looked at a recipe and knew before you even made it that it was going to be fantastic? This one did not disappoint. It’s not your typical comfort food chicken pot pie. This would fall in the elegant, fine dining category with the addition of the wine and puff pastry shell. The first thing hubby said when he tasted it was, “Hmm?….That’s different!” We both truly enjoyed it. I’m really starting to LOVE fennel! Be careful! Like anything else, it can quickly overpower.

Let’s talk about the puff pastry. I question how successful this recipe is brushing the layers with an egg wash. My puff pastry didn’t raise and was doughy inside. I made my own puff pastry and there was nothing wrong with it. If you notice in the photo, the 3 puff pastries on the right were rolled ⅛ inch thick and baked in a single layer without any egg wash. They puffed almost 1.5 inches tall! Taller and flakier than the shell with 4 layers stacked and brushed with egg wash. I did checked out a couple of other recipes after the fact and they use the exact same method except they only brush the top, not each individual layer. Obviously, you don’t need the egg wash for it to get golden brown.

Acting on a hunch that we would like this, I basically doubled the recipe with the exception of a few ingredients. I used dried thyme and tarragon. I just happened to have a fennel bulb in the fridge. I only used a tiny amount of each because we do not like foods overpowered with herbs, especially thyme. I wasn’t sure about mushrooms in chicken pot pie so I only added a few. My suspicions were correct. As much as I love mushrooms, I didn't care for them in pot pie. Another dislike of mine is wine. I kept with the ½ cup and used a Pinot Grigio. That has become my “go to” white wine when cooking. I fully intended to double the cream. After adding two cups, it was plenty creamy. Doubling it would have turned it into a soup which makes me think had I made it as written and not doubled the chicken and vegetables, it would have turned out soupy. Finally, what would chicken pot pie be without peas? If anything, they give color to an otherwise unappealing dish. I tossed in a handful and turned this pot pie into the comfort dish it’s meant to be.

It was really good. I told hubby that I still prefer my pot pie recipe better (less work). He begged to differ. I’m quite sure I will be making this again. If I do, it will be in individual ramekins and topped with the puff pastry. The chicken mixture is too soupy to attempt a traditional pie without additional thickening ingredients.

Note: There is a color difference between mine and the recipe photo. I made the filling the day before. It did look like the recipe photo. Overnight it turned orangish. I'm going to attribute that to the paprika. I used 1/2 tsp. since I doubled the amount of chicken. Also, I have a lot of orange colors in the background.
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Cosmicmother 4 years ago said:

Gorgeous photo's Diz!
Wow, it does sound like an elegant pot pie recipe! I love fennel too, the bulb and fronds, but the seeds are my favorite! I never thought to pair it with chicken, I usually use anise seed when I make chicken stew but I might have to try fennel fronds or seeds next time! :D
I was thinking brushing the layers with egg wash was odd too, but after reading the recipe I realized it was to make vol-au-vents, little pastry cups. Usually you brush egg yolk and water to hold the layers together to make the" cups" and chill in the fridge for a couple hours before baking. Some stores actually sell frozen vol-au-vents/puff pastry shells, much easier...;) But good for you on making your own pastry, just topping the filling with a puff pastry disc sounds good to me!! :)

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DIZ3 4 years ago said:

Thank you, Cosmicmother! I haven't been able to find vol-au-vents in the store for many years now. I can remember when they were the new trendy thing. There were all kinds of recipes out there using the frozen vol-au-vents.

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mommyluvs2cook 4 years ago said:

Wow, this looks delicious Diz, and I love how it's different from your usual pot pie, with the wine and fennel :) I had to look up vol-au-vents because I'd never heard of them! Too cool!

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DIZ3 4 years ago said:

Thank you, Mommyluvs2cook!

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LindaLMT 4 years ago said:

Beautiful photos DIZ! This potpie recipe presents itself much more fancier than the traditional pie kind.

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DIZ3 4 years ago said:

Thank you, LindaLMT! It is pretty fancy compared to traditional recipes. It could easily become a comfort food favorite as long as you have a fresh fennel bulb. Those are seasonal in the grocery stores around here.

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