No Kitty... that's my POT PIE!

On Sundays I usually make a nice big meal that will give us leftovers for 2 days. It has to be good to warrant eating the same meal a couple of days in a row! With work, school and other things that come up I usually don't have the time or energy to cook something time intensive every night. So Jack and I trade off cooking 3-4 meals a week. This weekend my menu was inspired by a beloved South Park episode involving chicken pot pie. I got the hankering for pot pie so bad last night that I just had to make it today. I used classic pot pie ingredients to create my own version of this tasty dish by doing the following: instead of a heavy, tasteless pie crust I opted for puff pastry, used a roux-like base as a thickening agent for the sauce and added some tasty classic herbs like tarragon and thyme that marry so well with chicken. I saved myself some time by buying ready made items: whole roasted rotisserie chicken, fresh chicken stock from Whole Foods, veggies from the frozen aisle section and frozen puff pastry (I'm partial to Dufour pastry) . If you have any fresh thyme left over, stick the herb pack in the freezer and it will keep nicely for future use.

Caroline's Chicken Pot Pie

5 tablespoons of butter

1 large leek, finely diced

3 teaspoons of garlic, finely minced

4 tablespoons of flour

Salt/Pepper to taste

2 teaspoons of fresh thyme

1 tablespoon of dried tarragon

1 cup of heavy cream

2 cups of chicken stock
1 cup of white wine (for thinning out sauce if needed)

1 roasted chicken, shredded

1 1/2 cups of frozen peas

1 1/2 cups of frozen carrots, in bite size pieces

12 frozen pearl onions (optional)

1/2 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 puff pastry sheet (Dufour brand is preferred)

1 egg plus 1 tablespoon cream for egg wash

Thaw puff pastry according to package directions. Once it is at room temperature you are ready to go.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Shred roasted chicken (bite sized pieces!) and set to the side. In a large skillet melt the butter in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add the diced leek and cook until slightly softened. Add the garlic and cook for a couple of minutes. Sprinkle in the flour and cook until a light golden brown- it will have a dough like consistency. Slowly mix in the chicken stock until the roux has melted into the stock. Add salt, pepper, tarragon, thyme and cream to mixture. Reduce the heat and cook for 5 minutes, whisking occasionally. Thin out the mixture with a little white wine until you achieve desired consistency.

Pour the sauce over the shredded chicken, steamed veggies (carrots, peas, onions) and parsley and mix well. Transfer the hot chicken mixture to a 1 1/2 quart casserole. Roll out the puff pastry and place on top of mixture. Brush egg wash and cut slits in the pastry to allow steam to escape. Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes at 400 degrees.Enjoy!