Friday, March 15, 2013

Chicken Moreoevers.

Crème Brûlée

 The other day,
I made chicken bosom bundles
stuffed with caramelized onions,
prosciutto, and cheeses.
Since the Hawthornelets won't eat the same thing twice,
 I'm going with Chicken Moreovers tonight for supper -
in the form of Chicken Pot Pies.

 My ingredients:
chicken, chopped
carrot, peeled and chopped
onion, chopped
celery, chopped
peas

Use frozen peas.
Do not use canned or I will hurt you.

Here's the chicken from the other night.
Chop into small pieces.

Heat a little butter and oil in your skillet
and cook the onion, celery, and carrot 
for about a minute or two over medium low heat.

Stir in the chicken.

Add in about two cups of chicken broth.

I liked the squiggle of liquid in this shot.

I poured in a little cornstarch slurry
to thicken it up.
About 2 TB cornstarch and 2 TB chicken stock.

Peas go in.

It wasn't quite as thick as I would like,
so I made a buerre manié,
French for "kneaded butter."
It's equal amounts of softened butter and flour.
Work the butter and flour until well-combined.
Add a piece at a time to the broth,
over medium heat, stirring until it reaches the thickness you like.


Taste test and adjust seasonings, if needed.

I added about a quarter cup of cream.

Heat through.

I gave my chicken a bit of nutmeg lovin'.

Now for the biscuit crust.
Since all three Hawthornelets 
love sausage biscuits and gravy for breakfast,
I keep a biscuit mix on hand at all times.
I buy it by the case from TJ's,
 the convenience store right outside the harbor.
It's from Jennette Brothers Food Service Distributors.
Just add buttermilk.

Mix until just combined.


Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and,
using a pastry scraper,
give it a few folds,
just until it all comes together.
Never overwork biscuit dough.

Roll out dough about 3/4 inch thick.
Freshly ground pepper on top.

Middle Hawthorne then decided he wanted potatoes in his pot pie.
He quickly nuked a potato, chopped it up,
and added it to the pot.

Ideally, I would have cooked the potatoes
in the skillet with everything else.
The starch from the potatoes is a natural thickener.

Spoon the chicken mixture into a baking dish.




Cover with biscuit dough.



Dot with butter.


Bake at 400 degrees for about 12 minutes,
until crust is browned.

Middle Hawthorne is happy.


Enjoy!


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