Pot Pie, Oh My!

When I asked James what he wanted for dinner last night and he said, "pot pie," I was only too happy to oblige. Back in June I asked John, one the owners of the wonderful Dipsea Cafe, if he would be willing to divulge the recipe for the Dipsea's fabulous Chicken Pot Pie -- it's really the best I've ever tasted! He was so nice about it: not only did he send me the recipe, he tweaked it to a home-sized portion.

At first I thought I was reading it wrong: the recipe for six pot pies calls for almost a pound-and-a-half of butter. That's nearly a stick of butter per pie! I was beginning to understand why their version tastes so darn good...

I sautéed the leeks, carrots, celery and onion in a pan, and Chloé sifted in the flour as soon as the veggies were soft. After that, we added the chicken stock and watched a gorgeous gravy form -- I love food science! I chopped up chicken to mix in with peas and potatoes, while Chloé drifted off to play romantic melodies on the piano.

Claire jumped into the project at that point -- anything to do with pastry is right up her alley. I have to say, I fail miserably in this arena. Always have. Always will, I'm afraid. But Claire rolled up her sleeves and rolled out the sage-infused crust, and the Chanticleer on top was her own idea, a final flourish.

The pies were beautiful, the filling delicious, but my crust didn't achieve the golden perfection of the ones served at the Dipsea. Sadly, pastry is my downfall. Can anyone out there help me get over this problem? Everyone slurped it up, so it wasn't total failure. And if you're pastry proficient, you can indulge yourself with this recipe, posted on Coco's Kitchen. But I have to tell you: next time I get a craving for chicken pot pie, I'm going to the Dipsea Cafe.