Alright already! Enough with the pics nudging. I get it. When the pie comes out of the refrigerator for it's next go around, I'll take some pics and update the link.
As to the recipe ... OK. It looks like a lot of work for leftovers, and it is.
Chicken:
4 thighs (raw)
2 thighs (smoked)
1/2 carrot, cut in pieces
1/2 onion rough chopped
1/2 celery rib
Water
Salt
Put the thighs in a pan with the vegetables, cover with water, salt to taste. Bring to a fast simmer, reduce heat to a slow simmer, poach thighs for ten minutes, skimming as necessary. Add the smoked thighs, simmer for another 5 - 10 minutes, turn off heat. Allow thighs to partly cool in the broth for 15 minutes. Remove to a plate, and allow to fully cool. Meanwhile strain the broth through a fine sieve and/or cheesecloth, discard the aromatics, and reserve broth in the refrigerator.
When thighs are cool enough to work with, remove the meat and tear into bite-size unevenly sized pieces. Reserve.
When broth is chilled, remove 1/2 the fat congealed on top.
Filling:
Meat from thighs
1/2 box frozen peas
1/2 bag frozen baby onions
1/2 cup peeled carrots, diced small (brunoise)
3 tbs celery minced
2 cups rich milk, or 1-1/2 cups milk (1/2 cup 1/2 and 1/2), or (better) 2 cups 1/2 and 1/2.
1 cup broth
1/4 cup dry vermouth
3 tbs butter
2 tbs AP flour
Salt
Pepper
Rosemary (fresh), well chopped
Parsley (fresh), chopped
Tarragon (fresh or dry)
Basil (fresh or dry)
Marjoram (fresh or dry)
Thyme (fresh or dry)
Sage (fresh or dry)
White pepper
Worcestershire sauce
Hot sauce
Combine the chicken with the vegetables in a bowl, toss to mix.
Make a roux with the flour and butter by melting the butter at a low heat, stirring in the flour, and cooking while stirring frequently until the "raw" is off the flour, but the roux remains blond. About 8 minutes. Add a few tbs of the broth, and stir until smooth. Raise the heat to medium, and when the mixture is hot, add 1/2 the remaining broth, stir until smooth, bring to temp, and add the remaining broth and the vermouth. Continue this process until all but 1/2 cup of the milk is incorporated. Bring mixture to a slow boil and test for thickness which should be just an RCH stiffer than a bare nappe. If too thick, add remainder of milk. If too thin, simmer into submission.
Add the seasonings to taste. Be generous with fresh parlsey (tbs), which is more about color than taste. A "pinch" of each of the others is sufficient, but add a double pinch of either tarragon, or marjoram -- whichever of these two you prefer to dominate. Remember, you're looking for comfort food, not excitement, so go easy. I'm not going to get into the differences between fresh and dry herbs because you already know.
Combine the sauce -- which is neither a veloute or a bechamel, but rather some unholy combination (okay, so it's a creamed veloute) with the chicken and vegetables. Stir until mixed. Taste again and adjust for seasoning. Last chance. Cover and refrigerate.
Crust:
3 cups AP flour, or 2 cup AP plus 1 cup Bread
1 tbs Baking Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp salt
6 tbs lard (best), or vegetable shortening, or butter
2 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
2 tsp chopped parsley
1-1/2 - 2 cups very cold milk (about)
Sift together the flour, soda, powder and salt. Stir with a fork. Cut the lard into the flour. Add the herbs. Add a little more than 1 cup milk. Stir to combine with a few strokes of a spoon or fork. Add a bit more milk until you can form a soft, moist biscuit dough. Do not overwork. The whole process should take less than 10 stirs. Dump the dough onto a piece of saran wrap. Using the wrap, form a ball and let dough rest in refrigerator at least 1/2 an hour.
Assembly and cooking:
1 egg
1/4 cup water
Remove the filling from the refrigerator, make sure it is well mixed, and empty it into an appropriate baking dish. For this quantity a pyrex 9 x 15 is perfect.
Generously throw bench flour on your pastry area. Unwrap the cold dough and pat it out into a thick rectangle. Generously dust the top with flour. Turn the dough over and make sure the bench still has plenty of loose flour. Flour a long rolling pin and vert frickin' gently roll the dough out until it will cover the baking dish. Should be about 3/8" thick. Pick up the dough by rolling it over the pin, and cover the pie by unrolling the crust onto it. Trim off excess dough with a sharp knife. Reserve trimmings. Cut 9 vents (3 rows of 3 vents each).
Beat the egg well, and add the water. Beat until fully combined. Brush the egg wash on the crust.
Form the dough trimmings into one or two biscuits. Brush their tops with egg wash.
Preheat oven to 350. Bake pie until the crust is well browned and shiny. About 35 minutes. Meanwhile bake the biscuits in the toaster oven at 400 until browned. Snack. Tasty? Mais biensur.
Serve with a Fume Blanc or Orange Soda, as desired. A green salad is a nice starter. Pudding is a great choice for dessert. This is all about pleasing the inner child.
Rich
