Busters Recipes

Chicken Potpie
Makes 1 deep-dish potpie or 6 individual pies

SOUR CREAM CRUST:
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold, unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces
1/4 cup cold sour cream
FILLING:
8 cups low-sodium chicken stock (divided use)
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 to 5 cups cooked, cubed vegetables (any mix of carrots, leeks, celery,
potatoes, pearl onions, zucchini, corn, peas)
3 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour, plus extra for rolling out dough
1 cup heavy cream
1 egg, beaten

To make dough, sift the flour, baking soda and salt into a large bowl. Using
a pastry blender, your fingers or two knives, combine the flour mixture with
the pieces of butter until lima bean-size pieces form. Add the sour cream
and stir with a large spoon for about 2 minutes, until clumps of smooth
dough form. (You may have to work the dough with your hands, but do not
overwork; you should still see pieces of butter.) Form the dough into a
smooth ball, flatten it into a 6-inch disc, wrap it in plastic wrap and
refrigerate for 30 to 60 minutes.

To make the filling, poach the chicken in 4 cups of simmering stock. This
will take about 20 minutes. Remove from liquid and discard stock. When
chicken is cool enough to handle, cut into cubes in similar size to the
vegetables.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put remaining chicken stock in a pot to boil.
When it has reduced by half, after about 15 minutes, remove from heat. Watch
stock so it doesn't reduce too much; you need the full 2 cups.

Mix cooked vegetables with the chicken pieces. (Vegetables can be cooked any
way you like.)

Melt the butter in a large saucepan and add flour, whisking over medium-low
heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the reduced stock and heavy cream. Cook,
whisking, until thickened, another 3 to 4 minutes. (It should coat the back
of a spoon without slipping away.) Add salt and pepper to taste and pour
over the chicken and vegetables.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the pastry to fit the shape of your
baking dish. Brush some of the beaten egg on the edge of the baking dish,
lay the pastry on top and crimp around the edges. Brush more egg on top.
Bake for about 25 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.

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