Chicken pot pie - with fool-proof vodka pie crust = )

I'm not gonna lie; this isn't a quick and easy dinner in less than 20 minutes. It's one of those 'yea, i'm feeling really ambitious' cooking/baking projects; but hey, the end is rewarding...plus I did all the work, so take a seat, and enjoy the story.

i had been itching to find a reason to play with this crust recipe again. Gotta thank America's Test Kitchen for this one: their fool-proof vodka pie crust is phenomenal, flakey, and so easy to work with. Vodka? Yep, vodka. The alcohol keeps the dough moist, so it's VERY easy to work with. Once baked, it yields a very flakey crust, as the alcohol evaporates. I now use this recipe everytime I make a pie of some sort.


::gathering my raw materials::

Ingredients:

The pie crust (courtesy America's Test Kitchen)

2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon table salt
2 tablespoons sugar
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 cup cold vegetable shortening (i found using room temp shortening works fine)
1/4 cup cold vodka
1/4 cup cold water

Directions:

Process 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, and sugar in food processor until combined, about 2 one-second pulses. Add butter and shortening and process until dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 15 seconds (dough will resemble cottage cheese curds and there should be no uncoated flour).



Scrape bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade. Add remaining cup flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses.

Empty mixture into medium bowl. Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together.



Wrap in plastic and put in the fridge to chill.


Ingredients: Filling

1 tbsp cooking oil
6 to 8 oz diced uncooked chicken breasts
6 oz diced potatos
6 oz chopped vegetables (fresh, frozen, whatever you like)
8 oz chicken stock/broth
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp chicken bouillon
fresh ground pepper to taste


Directions: for filling

In a deep, medium sized skillet, heat cooking oil @ a medium heat. I started with onions and peppers, but you can omit if you wish. Start with cooking the potatos, and then add the chicken.


It doesn't really matter if you cook them together, since they're going to simmer in the stock. After about 8 minutes, add remaining veggies and chicken stock. Drop to low heat, cover and let simmer.


After about 10 minutes, add corn starch and chicken bouillon. Stir until incorporated, then cover again and allow to simmer. Let cook (continuing with low heat) for another 8-10 minutes.




Once the potatos are tender, remove from heat. The corn starch should make a nice gravy for the chicken mixture.


Remove from heat, and allow to cool for a bit. Now time for assembly. = )

Preheat your ovento 350F. Take the pie dough out of the fridge and separate into six small lumps. For this project, I ended up with 3 mini 4" pies. You can make one big one, or a few little ones. I opted for the latter. Flour a flat, clean surface, and roll out the first lump.

Doesn't have to be perfect, but make it big enough for the bottom layer of your first pie.

Place into pie pan, and allow edges to hang over. Repeat this two more times.


Fill your pies with the chicken mixture, and set aside to roll out your last three pieces of dough (The tops)


Once the tops are covered, roll up the edges of the pies, and flute them with your thumbs. There's no perfect way to flute; just pinch around the edges, get creative, or use a fork. At the end, poke holes all around the tops of the pies so they can breathe during the baking process.


Put on a baking sheet and pop into the oven for 30-35 minutes, or until they brown on top. Remove from oven, and allow to sit for a few minutes.

Allow to cool slightly, and enjoy. = )


Note: The original crust recipe calls for 2 tbsps of sugar, but I found that you can modify this with a bit more salt, for savory fillings. If you're planning to make something sweet, then keep the recipe as it is.