Chicken Pot Pie

After a long day of traveling back to Chicago from the Christmas holiday at my mom's, I just wanted to sit down and eat some good comfort food. And what's more warm and comforting on a cold winter day than chicken pot pie? I adapted the Barefoot Contessa's pot pie recipe, and here's how:


Ingredients
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Onion powder
5 cups chicken stock
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 1/2 sticks butter (equals 12 tbsp.)
2 onions, chopped
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup heavy cream
5 medium carrots, peeled, blanched and diced
3 stalks celery, diced
10 oz. package frozen peas
16 oz. package frozen pearl onions
Dried parsley and oregano


For the pastry topping:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup Crisco shortening
1/4 lb. cold butter, diced
1/2 cup ice water
1 egg white
Salt and black pepper


Directions
1. Begin by preparing the pastry topping. Mix the flour, salt and baking powder in a medium bowl. With a hand- or stand-mixer, add the shortening and butter and mix until the size of peas.
2. With the mixer on, add the ice water and mix until the dough is just moistened.
3. Place the dough on a floured surface and knead quickly into a ball. Do not knead for too long or your hands will warm the butter and your pastry topping will lose its flakiness.

4. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and cool in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
6. Season the chicken breasts with salt, pepper and onion powder.
7. Heat olive oil in large pot or Dutch oven, and saute the chicken until cooked through.

8. Set aside on a cutting board so the juices can redistribute.

9. In a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock and dissolve the bouillon cubes in the stock.
10. In the same large pot or Dutch oven that you cooked the chicken in, melt the butter and saute the onions over medium-low heat for 10 minutes.

11. Meanwhile, cut the chicken into medium cubes. Set aside. Peel the carrots and set aside. Also, chop the celery and set aside.
12. Add the flour to the butter/onion mixture and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.
13. Add the hot chicken stock to the flour mixture. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 1 minute, stirring, until thick.
14. Meanwhile, bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, drop the carrots in and blanch for 2 minutes. Remove, rinse with cold water and dice.
15. Add salt, pepper and heavy cream.

16. Add the chicken, carrots, celery, peas and pearl onions. Add 1 tsp. each dried parsley and oregano. Mix well.

17. Divide the filling into two large oven-safe dishes.

18. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide in half.
19. Roll out each half into a circle and place over the top of the dish. Pinch the dough to the edges of the dish and make a few small slits in the top of the pastry.

20. Brush with egg white, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
21. Bake for 1 hour, until the pastry topping is golden brown and the filling is bubbling hot.