Chicken Pot Pie (for two 6-inch pie pans)

I came up with this recipe when cooking for myself. I used Emeril Lagasse's recipe as a guide. It makes two 6-inch pot pies.

[The filling amount was almost perfect; there was just a little gravy left. Cutting the amount of potato back will probably correct this. My pie crust was again tough. Ugh. It looked like the flakiness was good;it was just a little tough to cut through and very crisp to eat.]

Step 1: Pie Crust - double the recipe for 9-inch single crust pie. Doubling this recipe makes enough dough for a top and bottom crust for two 6-inch pot pies. Divide the dough into 4 and form each into a flat disk. Wrap each individually in plastic wrap and get the pie dough chilling in the frig.

Chicken Pot Pie Filling: My 6-inch pie pans hold 1 1/2 cups filling, so we need 3 cups of filling for two pot pies.

1. Heated 2 cups of store bought chicken broth and briefly simmered 5 oz. of cubed chicken in it, about 4 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the chicken from the broth so it doesn't get tough and save the broth. 2/3 cup cooked chicken.

2. In the meantime, cooked 1 cup cubed red potatoes (1 potato) with some salt in water until just cooked through, about 6 minutes once came to a boil. [Cut back to 1/2 cup and cut into very small cubes. One very small potato is enough.]

3. Cooked 1/3 cup sliced carrots with some salt in water until just cooked through, about 6 or 7 minutes once came to a boil.

4. Simmered the chicken broth down to 1 cup. It was store bought and I wanted to concentrate it more.

5. Sauteed 1/2 cup chopped onion and 1/2 cup sliced celery in 2 tablespoons of butter in the pan I was using for the chicken broth until softened. Then added a pinch of thyme. You don't want to add too much thyme as it can be overpowering.

6. While the onions and celery were sauting, measure out 1/2 cup frozen peas.

7. Once the onions and celery are translucent, add 2 tablespoon flour to the pot and cook a few minutes. I had to add a little more butter to absorb all the flour. Add salt and pepper. [I thought the ones I made could have used a bit more salt.]

8. Add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Cook until flour has thickened the stock.

9. Stir in the half and half and continue to cook until heated through. The gravy should not be soupy, but it should not be gloppy either.

10. Add potatoes, carrots, peas and chicken and a tablepoon or two of chopped parsley. Mix thoroughly.

11. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees,

12. Roll out the bottom crusts and place in the pie pans. I like to brush the bottom of the crust with butter to form a barrier from the gravy, thinking this would help avoid a soggy crust.

13. Divide the filling between the pie crusts. The filling came right to the top of the pans.

14. Roll out the top crusts and place on top. Seal the edge by tucking the top crust under the bottom crust that is on the pie rim. Crimp the edges to seal them shut. Brush the top with 1 egg that has been whisked with 1 Tablespoon of milk to help it brown and give it a nice sheen.

15. Place some slits in the top for steam vents, place on a baking pan to catch drips and bake on a lower shelf to help the bottom crust brown. Turn after about 20 minutes. I didn't time how long I baked them; my guess is around 45 minutes. The crust should be browning and the gravy should start to bubble out the top.

16. Let cool a bit before eating.