Chicken Pie with Biscuit Crust

Servings: 4
Preheat: 450°
Source: Gourmet, January 1991

Ingredients
For the filling
4 cup chicken broth
3 carrots, cut crosswise into ¼”” slices
¾ lb red potatoes, quartered lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/2″” pieces
2 lg ribs of celery, cut crosswise into ½”” pieces
2½ cup cubed cooked chicken (the meat from a 3 lb chicken)
1 onion, chopped
¾ stick (6 Tbsp unsalted butter
6 Tbsp all-purpose flour
¼ tsp dried thyme, crumbled
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg, or to taste
½ cup minced fresh parsley leaves

For the biscuit crust
1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1½ tsp double-acting baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
2 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
2 Tbsp cold vegetable shortening, cut into bits
1/3 cup grated sharp Cheddar
1 lg egg
about 1/3 cup buttermilk
an egg wash made by beating 1 lg egg yolk with 1 Tbsp milk

Directions
Make the filling:

In a saucepan bring the broth to a boil, add the carrots, the potatoes, and the celery, and simmer the vegetables, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes, or until they are tender.

Transfer the vegetables with a slotted spoon to a large bowl, reserving the broth, and add the chicken to the bowl. In another saucepan cook the onion in the butter over moderately low heat, stirring, until it is softened, add the flour, and cook the roux, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add 3 cups of the reserved broth in a stream, whisking, reserving any remaining broth for another use, and bring the mixture to a boil, whisking. Add the thyme and simmer the sauce, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Stir in the nutmeg, the parsley, and salt and pepper to taste, pour the sauce over the chicken mixture, and stir the mixture gently until it is just combined. Transfer the mixture to a 2-quart shallow baking dish or divide it among four 2-cup shallow baking dishes. The filling may be made 1 day in advance and kept covered and chilled. Bring the mixture to room temperature before continuing with the recipe.

Make the biscuit crust:

Into a bowl sift together the flour, the baking powder, the baking soda, and the salt, add the butter and the shortening, and blend the mixture until it resembles meal.

Add the Cheddar and toss the mixture. Into a liquid measuring cup break the egg, add enough of the buttermilk to measure a total of ½ cup, and beat the mixture with a fork. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture, stirring until the mixture just forms a dough, gather the dough into a ball, and on a floured surface pat it out ½ inch thick. Cut out as many rounds as possible with a 2-inch fluted round cutter dipped in flour, gathering the scraps and patting the dough out again in the same manner.

Arrange the rounds on the chicken mixture, brush the tops of the rounds with the egg wash, and prick the rounds with a fork. Bake the pie in the middle of a preheated 450°F oven for 15 to 25 minutes, or until the biscuits are puffed and golden and the filling is bubbling.

Chicken Marsala with Pancetta & Cream

Servings: 2
Source: Fine Cooking Dec 2000/Jan 2001 last page
Chicken Marsala-a classic chicken cutlet preparation- is a main dish that’s ready literally in minutes. And while I’ve always liked chicken Marsala well enough — the cutlets get coated lightly with flour, sautéed, and the pan is deglazed with Marsala wine to make a sauce — it sometimes feels a little too one-dimensional. To jazz up this classic dish, I’ve added pancetta and a little cream. Both are quick additions, but they result in a richer, more deeply flavored dish.

You can buy packaged skinless, boneless chicken breasts that are already sliced very thin. If you don’t see any in the butcher’s case, ask the butcher to slice the chicken breasts for you. I often ask at supermarkets, and it’s never been a problem. (Of course, you can slice the chicken breasts yourself, but it will take you a few minutes.)

Pancetta is Italian bacon that, unlike American bacon, is not smoked. You used to have to go to an Italian deli or a specialty food store to find pancetta, but now it’s available in most supermarket delis. If you don’t see it, ask for it. I like to buy a thick slice and dice it myself, but sometimes you’ll find already packaged pancetta sliced very thin. That will work fine, too, and it will cook even faster.
After frying the pancetta, reserve the fat to cook the chicken breasts in — another flavor boost. And don’t forget to season the chicken before you flour it. Because the pancetta adds its own salty flavor, go light on the salt, but use ample freshly ground black pepper.

For the quickest dinner, serve the chicken with sautéed spinach and crusty bread. It’s also great with mashed potatoes and green beans blanched and then sautéed until browned in spots.

You can buy thin cutlets or ask your supermarket butcher to cut some for you. This recipe is easily doubled, but you’ll likely need to cook the chicken in batches.

Ingredients
Olive oil
2 oz. pancetta (about a ¼-inch thick slice), cut into a ¼-inch dice
Flour for dredging (about ½ cup)
4 thin chicken breast cutlets, about ½ lb. total
Coarse salt
Freshly ground black pepper, preferably on the coarse side
½ cup dry Marsala wine
2 to 4 Tbs. heavy cream
Minced fresh flat-leaf parsley (optional)

Directions
Coat a large skillet lightly with olive oil and set it over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and cook until just crisp and lightly browned. Remove with a slotted spoon – leave the fat in the pan – and set aside.

Put the flour on a plate. Pat the cutlets dry. Season them on both sides lightly with salt and amply with pepper. Heat the skillet with the pancetta fat over medium high. Add more olive oil, if needed, to get about 2 Tbs. fat in the pan.

When the fat is hot, dredge a cutlet through the flour on both sides. Shake off the excess flour and immediately put the cutlet in the pan. Do the same with as many cutlets as will fit in the pan without touching. Sauté the cutlets, turning once, until browned on both sides; if thin, they should cook through in just a few minutes total. Transfer the cooked cutlets to a plate and continue sautéing the rest, adding more oil if necessary. Transfer these to the plate as well.
Pour off the excess fat. With the pan over medium-high heat, add the Marsala and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook until the Marsala is reduced by about a quarter. Stir in the cream and boil until you get a nicely thickened sauce. Return the chicken and pancetta to the pan and turn the cutlets over to coat. Let them reheat for 30 seconds to 1 min. Serve with the sauce and a sprinkling of parsley, if you like.

Chicken Alla Cacciatora

Servings: 4
Source: The Classic Italian Cookbook by Marcella Hazan
recipeNotes: If prepared ahead of time, let the chicken cool in its sauce. When reheating, simmer very slowly, covered, for a few minutes, just until the chicken is hot.

Ingredients
Frying chicken (2 ½ to 3 lb), cut into 4 to 6 pieces
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup all-purpose flour, spread on a dinner plate or on waxed paper salt
Freshly ground pepper, 4 to 6 twists of the mill
2/3 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup thinly sliced yellow onion
1 green pepper, with seeds removed, cut into thin strips
1 med carrot, sliced very thin
½ stalk celery, cut into thin strips
1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped very fine
2/3 cup canned Italian tomatoes, coarsely chopped, with their juice

(Note, I usually put more veges in)

Directions
1. Wash the chicken pieces in cold running water and pat dry very thoroughly with paper towels.

2. Choose a skillet large enough to contain all the chicken pieces comfortably, without crowding. Heat the oil in the skillet over moderately high heat. Turn the chicken pieces in the flour, coating both sides and shaking off the excess, and put in the skillet, skin side down. When one side has turned golden brown, turn the pieces over and brown the other side. When nicely browned on all sides, transfer them to a warm platter and add salt and pepper.

3. Tip the skillet and draw off most of the fat with a spoon. Turn the heat to high, add the wine, and boil rapidly until it is reduced by half. Scrape up and loosen any cooking residue in the pan. Lower the heat to medium, add the sliced onion, and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring two or three times- Add the browned chicken pieces, -II but the breasts. (Breasts cook faster, so they can be added later.) Add the sliced pepper, carrot, celery, garlic, and the chopped tomatoes and their juice. Adjust to a slow simmer and cover. After 9 to 10 minutes add the breasts and continue cooking until tender, about 30 minutes. Turn and baste the chicken a few times while cooking.

4. Transfer the chicken to a warm serving platter. If the sauce in the pan is too thin, raise the heat to high and boil it briskly until it thickens, stirring as it boils. Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve immediately.