Southern Fried Chicken Pot Pie

I’ve got a very busy day planned today, so there’s no time to dilly-dally. 

Checklist for 12/23/12
-Watch as much 30 Rock as possible.
-Buy new DSLR camera.
-Make French Macarons.
-Shred it with Jillian.
-Make orange marmalade.
-Read Room.
-Bake pound cake.
-Make dinner?

Usually my dinners are boring, healthy, and fairly quick.  You would be unimpressed if I showed you.  There’s a lot of tofu, kale, broccoli, beans, rice and pasta involved. 

Every once in a while you have to give yourself a little break and eat something not healthy. 

Comfort food is good for the soul.  Does anyone like pot pie as much as I do?  It’s such a good meal to have in January when it’s freezing outside.  This Southern Fried Chicken Pot Pie is my invention.  I’m quite proud of it.  Let me tell you what’s inside.

The crust is really cool.  It’s a pie dough made with cornmeal, buttermilk and butter.  Since this is a Southern pot pie, I used a little shortening in the crust, too.  Shhhh.  I don’t usually do that. 
It tastes like a cornbread-pie dough.  Yum. 

The filling of the pie is pretty easy to throw together.  I’m hoping the filling sounds good to you; it sounds good to me, but it’s kind of weird.  Onion is sauteed in butter, then milk, flour, and chicken stock is added to the pan to make a cream sauce.  Mashed potatoes and sweet corn are whisked into the cream sauce. 

This filling is poured on top of the bottom pie crust, and then topped with sliced fried chicken.  The other crust is placed on top, and then the pie is baked for 20 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbly.

And you have pot pie for all of your Southern friends to enjoy!  Just don’t invite Paula Deen. 

Southern Fried Chicken Pot Pie

Dough
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
2 tablespoons chilled shortening
1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 cup whole milk
1 cup chicken stock
1 1/2 cups prepared mashed potato 
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup sweet corn
3 cups chopped fried chicken strips

To make the dough, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt in a food processor; pulse until combined.  Add butter and shortening; pulse until crumbly and pea-sized lumps form.  Add buttermilk, and pulse until a dough ball forms.  Shape dough into 2 discs, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill in the freezer for 30 minutes

Heat oven to 400 degrees F.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat; stir in onion and cook 6 minutes, or until tender.  Whisk in flour and cook 1 minute.  Whisk in milk and chicken stock, and bring to a simmer, whisking frequently, until thickened.  Whisk in potato, salt, pepper and corn until well combined.  Set aside.

Thinly roll out one dough round, to an 1/8-inch thickness, on a lightly floured surface; transfer dough round to a 9-inch deep dish pie dish, and fit into bottom.  Pour creamy-potato-corn mixture in dish, and top with chicken.  Thinly roll out additional dough round, to an 1/8-inch thickness, and place on top of chicken.  Pinch and crimp dough edges to seal. (Optional - whisk together 1 egg + 1 tablespoon milk until combined; brush over dough for a shiny glaze.  Cut 4 slits in center of dough)

Bake 20 minutes or until golden brown.  Cover pie with foil, and bake an additional 15 minutes or until bubbly and crisp. 

Makes 8 servings