Chicken Pot Pie

• servings: 6

Ingredients

1 ½ - 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup heavy cream

4 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced

3 small red potatoes, cut in 1-in chunks

(or 1 zucchini, sliced, per original recipe)

5 Tbsp unsalted butter

1 large yellow onion, chopped

¾ cup frozen green peas

5 Tbsp flour

1 cup chicken broth

¼ cup cognac or dry white wine

1 Tbsp dried tarragon

2 tsp fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried)

1 tsp salt

½ tsp ground black pepper

1 egg

1 tsp water

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the chicken in a baking dish in a single layer. Pour the cream over the chicken and bake for 25-40 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken breasts.

2. Remove the chicken from the cream, reserving the cream for the sauce. Once the chicken has cooled, cut it into 1 inch pieces.

3. Place the potatoes in a pot of cold water. Bring this to a boil. After 10 minutes, add the carrots and cook 5-10 minutes more until both the potatoes and carrots are fork tender. Drain and set the vegetables aside.

4. Melt the butter in a wide sauté pan, add the onions and cook until translucent. Sprinkle in the flour; stir and cook 5 minutes, but do not brown.

Slowly add the broth to the onion mixture, whisking until the sauce smoothes out and thickens. (Which worked really well with my new flat whisk - a great tool!) Add the cream, cognac, tarragon, thyme, salt and pepper and cook 5 more minutes.

5. Add the chicken, potatoes, carrots and frozen peas to this sauce and mix gently. Pour mixture into a 2 quart casserole, soufflé dish, or large ramekins for individual pot pies.

6. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

7. Roll out the pastry into a large circle and place over the dish or cut the pastry to fit the ramekins. Press down the pastry edges, folding them as necessary. Beat together the egg and water and brush over the top of the pastry to give a nice glossy finish to the crust. Cut a few steam vents in the pastry and bake for 25 minutes until golden brown. Serves 6.