Pie doesn't always have to be sweet........

Who says having a pie means it has to be something sweet?  This Not So Mundane Monday meal was all about savory pies (you'll see later).  But, for now, the ingredient given to J this week was fresh vegetables.

Carrots, Celery, Herbs, Parsnips, Garlic and Onions is what J decided he would use.  I can assure you, you will be surprised how these ingredients were used.

J started (on Sunday night) by placing three whole chickens in the great pig pot (remember, the pot he purchased for the crab boil?  we knew this would come in handy again!). 

He then added the roughly chopped veggies on top and water that covered those. 

The chicken and veggies cooked for 5 hours.  If you haven't figured it out yet, J decided to make a homemade chicken broth with the ingredients.  More on the chicken broth later, but here's a hint: W-O-W!

On Monday, he then took 7 thigh/legs of chicken and roasted in the stove for 1 hour.  Once the roasted chicken came out, it cooled and then he pulled the chicken from the bone.  Leaving us left with an amazingly tender and succulent meat. 

We debated on putting this picture up, but we felt it was necessary to show you promising cooks out there that a true chicken broth (homemade) will look like this after it's sat (in the fridge) overnight.  So, if you try this on your own, don't be alarmed!

J then made a homemade dough.  That's right, another "from scratch" item to list on his resume.  If you'll look closely, you can see his right hand clutching a paper towel.  J sliced his finger on the food processor and cut himself....but in true Iron Chef flavor, he didn't let that stop him!

Next, more carrots were blanched, two types of onions were cooked down and the homemade chicken broth (from the night before) was reheated with two chicken bouillon cubes added.  As you can see, the scary looking broth (that sat overnight in the fridge) re-heated perfectly.  We can't describe to you how rich this broth was.  As much work as it was to make, it was well worth it.  I, personally, could have been content just eating the broth for dinner!  That good, folks.  That good.

Once the broth was reheated, J added flour to thicken it.  While stirring, the broth was added to the onion mixture along with the carrots and a bag of frozen peas.  Can you see where this is going??

The homemade dough was rolled out, into four pieces.  The broth mixture was added to white bowls.  Eggwash was brushed around the edge of the white bowls.  The dough was then carefully placed atop and covered the wonderful mixture and was then given another eggwash bath.  J then scored the tops so steam could be released while cooking.  Pepper and a flaked salt (naturally colored pink) was added before placing it in the oven.  So, as you can see.....J turned the ingredient of fresh vegetables into a homemade chicken pot pie!  So clever.

While the potpies cooked (for 1 hour) A put together our tablescape and a fabulous appetizer (of dates wrapped in prosciutto and goat cheese, alongside green olives).  It was a great distraction from the smell of the pie cooking.

Exactly one hour of cooking later, the pie came out looking like something right out of a Southern Living magazine.  We couldn't wait to dive in, but it needed to rest/cool for 10 minutes.

Wow were these delicious.  I made the statement (the bold statement) that they came in at a close second behind the homemade bread/pasta/bolognese meal.  The homemade broth paired with the roasted chicken and vegetables had a flavor so rich and indescribable.  It will be hard to ever use canned chicken broth again.  The homemade dough added such a flaky, buttery and crispy texture as well.  It was an experience to say the least, and we all agreed we would choose a savory pie over that of the traditional sweet pie any day of the week. 

But, we did need something sweet after all.  So, we made smores out on the back porch (chimenea style).  Okay, okay.  It was WAY too cold to stay outside to roast them, so we headed in and sat around the fireplace while they roasted.  It hit the spot, at the end of a wonderful evening. 

Until next time.....A la cuisine!