What can I say about pot pie?

Not a whole-hell-of-a-lot, that’s for sure.

I can tell you that I never thought I’d be eating another one. 

That’s for damn sure + not in my lifetime. 

Why the hatred towards the humble pot pie? 

Well, growing up in a family of five it meant sometimes things would be a bit tight from time to time. And when things were tight, Lord help us all, it meant the on-sale 49 or 59 cent pot pies were on the table.

Sometimes twice, rarely thrice, weekly. 

I don’t think we would’ve allowed thrice weekly.

There certainly would’ve been some sort of rebellion.

We all hated those fucking pot pies. 

Those pies.

They tasted, well there’s no other way to put it: they just tasted bad. 

It was almost as if you could pinpoint the exact manufactured flavor they were going for but just missed capturing. 

By a mile. 

I can still smell their synthetic aroma while baking. 

At some point in my youth, I remember swearing to myself that I would never again, not as long as I lived, where I’ve made it to being an adult + I could have a say in what I eat: have this pot pie crap.

It would be tops on my shit list.

No not ever, ever again. 

And then it happened. 

The day came.

Where I ate my words. 

Can we take a minute?

Great…

Let’s be crystal freakin’ clear here: I ain’t downing on Ma, parenting skills or cooking skills. I am telling a story here about how I am (spoiler alert) coming to love (okay, fell head over heels) the pot pie. 

We good?

Alright on with the story…

It is making the best of what you got.

And let’s be real here:

Ain’t nobody got time to be making mini pot pies in muffin tins, from scratch for a family of five, no less.

Unless.

Unless you want to give yourself a nervous breakdown.

Or.

Or you’re me.

Where the most important thing in your weekend schedule is to make the pot pies for a third and final time.

From scratch.

Yeah, we’re kind of dedicated.

Aww, hell we’re dedicated, tenacious, don’t take no for an answer nor let a slightly too wet pie dough take you down.

It did, by the way, almost take me down.

In the end, I don’t know when it happened.

The whole forgetting of the promise from my younger self to the point where I am standing in my kitchen with pie dough in my hair, on the cabinets, in the dog’s hair and on the wall.

All while believing pot pie is where it’s at. 

No, it’s not the spawn of satan’s pot roast in muffin tin size.

It is the all about the buttery, flaky pie layers stuffed into a bacon greased tin, filled with no ordinary chicken pot pie filling but one made with thighs instead of dry-ass breasts.

Be real here folks, the chicken thighs.

They be where it’s at so get over your dang selves. 

It’s also about the fresh, less-than-24-hours-out-of-the-ground root veg + herbs but besides all that: what brings it all together?

What pushes it over the edge?

Thicken those cooking juices with buttermilk.

Sweet, sweet mother of sin.

Reclaiming the pot pie has never tasted so good.

No Ordinary (mini) Chicken Pot Pie

Prep time: 15/20 minutes

Cook time: 50 minutes total

Yield: 12 muffin tin pot pies

Ingredients:

12 ounces skinless, boneless chicken thighs, chopped

½ cup leeks, white ends only, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 cup carrots, peeled + chopped (about 2 medium carrots)

1 cup potatoes, chopped (about 3 small red potatoes)

1 cup turnips, peeled + chopped (about 1 medium turnip) 

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp onion powder

½ tsp ground mustard

½ tsp ground cayenne

½ tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp fresh tarragon, chopped

1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped

1 tsp fresh sage, chopped

1 bay leaf

½ tsp salt

2 cups chicken broth 

2 tbsp buttermilk

For the crust, make the double batch of our new favorite from Four + Twenty Blackbirds.

I am going to be honest as I’ve learned a few things about this here pie crust:

Do not get all smart + decide to blind bake the crust in the muffin tin.

Couple with the bacon grease + gravity you might end up with a slumped, lump.

Do make the dough the night before but freeze it.

Roll it out into a 9 or 10 disc, carefully wrap in plastic wrap + freeze the dang dough.

It is much too delicate to try + work with it directly from the fridge to a preheated kitchen + hot hands.

Bad news bears, I tells you. 

In the morning, about an hour before assembling your mini pot pies put it in the fridge allowing it to be somewhat palliable. You’ll be surprised how fast it gets to room temperature.

Should the dough get too soft while trying to get it just in those muffin tins, throw the tin in the freezer. Set the timer for 3 or 4 mins. Check the dough, it should have stiffen just enough to not fall apart + for you to shape it to the tin. 

Do take care of the dough situation first!

Get it all together, shaped in the tin + throw it in the freezer until you’re ready to fill the dang thing.

On with the filling…

Preheat oven to 425F

In a medium cast iron skillet add a few tbsp of bacon grease, coat pan + over medium high heat toss in chicken thighs.

Season with salt.

Cover thighs, reduce heat to medium low + cook for 3 to 4 mins.

Flip thighs, season with salt, cover and cook thighs for another 3 to 4 mins. Cut into thighs to check for doneness. They’re ready when they are no longer pink in the thickest part of thigh.

Remove from heat.

Set aside.

While the thighs are resting go ahead and break out the 4 qt sauce pot. Add in a few tbsp of bacon grease, toss in leeks + garlic.

Over medium high heat cook until soft.

Next add in carrots, potatoes, turnips, spices, fresh herbs, bay leaf + broth. Cover and simmer over low heat for 10 to 15 minutes.

When veg is soft remove lid + continue to cook until cooking liquid reduces by a 1/3. Remove bay leaf + add in 1 tbsp of buttermilk at a time until you reached your desired consistency.

Remove from heat. Set aside.

Now grab your muffin tin from the freezer and the extra pie crust (for the top) + allow to rest a bit at room temp.

About 10 to 15 mins should do.

Add the filling.

With a cookie cutter, cut out the top. Carefully lay it over top of filled pot pies and pinch together sides.

Slide into preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until brown on top.

While those pot pies are in the oven go ahead + make one of my favorite salades:

Kale salad with Bacon, Tomatoes, Hard Boiled Egg+ Spicy Mustard Dressing

1 bunch kale, stems removed and roughly torn.

a few strips bacon, roughly chopped

one hard boiled egg

a handful of cherry or grape tomatoes, halved.

Here’s the dressing recipe:

2 soft boiled eggs, mashed while still warm.

½ tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tbsp Zatarain’s Creole Mustard

3 tbsp white vinegar

½ cup olive oil

2 tbsp buttermilk

2 tbsp whole milk

In a food processor, add in soft boiled eggs, salt, sugar, pepper, garlic, creole mustard, and white vinegar. While frapping egg vinegar mixture slowly add in olive oil in a steady stream. Do the same with buttermilk + whole milk. Dressing should be a little thick.

Toss kale in dressing. Place dressed kale onto a dinner plate and next add bacon, tomatoes and boiled egg.

Let’s eat, shall we?!