Tue 29 Jan 2008
One of the best uses for leftover chicken is chicken pot pies.
Back in the days of the Roman empire, potpies were banquet fare, often created with surprises – even live birds — under the crust. During the time of Elizabeth I, English cooks made potpies using “chicken peepers,” tiny chicks stuffed with gooseberries. By the mid-eighteenth century, an English cookbook included a sort of telescoping pie in which five birds were stuffed one inside another, then wrapped in dough.
With a past like that, it is not surprising that immigrants to America brought an appreciation for potpies with them. When settlers moved West, so did their potpie recipes, which they adapted to local food styles with new ingredients and seasonings. By this century, chicken potpies and “meat and taters” variations had become as American as corn on the cob. They were thrifty foods, served at the kitchen table and in “home cooking” diners along country roads.
Recently, nostalgia for homespun cookery has meant a change in status for potpies. They not only are considered respectable, they’re even “trendy,” often appearing on the menus of fashionable restaurants. These are perfect recipes in which to use leftover chicken, and if you run short of a particular vegetable go ahead and substitute whatever else looks good. In fact, you can mix and match and change the ingredients, flavorings and toppings to suit the mood of the moment. To get you started, here are a few guidelines.
Tips for Making old-Fashioned Chicken Potpies
_Potpie fillings are actually stews or creamed dishes inside a crust. If you want you can also serve fillings over rice, noodles, toast points or party shells.
_To prevent a soggy bottom crust, bake two-crust pies on the bottom shelf of a preheated oven and slit the top to allow steam to escape. For decorative slits, use a favorite hors d’oeuvre or cookie cutter. Also space dumplings, biscuits and other toppings to allow for steaming.
_When making individual potpies, eliminating the bottom crust creates a better proportion of filling to pastry. One double-crust recipe for a 9-inch pie plate
Makes about 8 single-crust, 5-inch tarts. Reduce baking time by 10 minutes.
_For a different flavor in biscuits, crusts or potato toppings, crumble in a few tablespoonfuls of herbs or grated cheese.
_Potpie fillings can be prepared in advance and refrigerated, but do not pour fillings into pastry shells until ready to bake. If you plan to freeze a pie for storage, eliminate the bottom crust, sealing the top one over cooked filling. Place in a plastic bag or wrap tightly with heavy foil. Do not defrost before baking. Preheat the oven and add 15 minutes to cooking time.
Chicken Recipes – The Perdue Chicken Cookbook
Copyright (C) by Mitzi Perdue – Used with Permission
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