More old fashioned comfort food. Chicken pie…not like the ones your mother served from the frozen aisle. Nice way to use up leftover chicken or turkey. (any cooked chicken or turkey will work, not just stewed) Make a spare pastry when making your holiday pies or just pick up a refrigerated pie crust if you don’t have the patience to make pastry.

Chicken Pie

Filling

½ cup cold chicken broth
â…“ cup flour
1½ cups hot chicken broth
2½ cups stewed chicken cut in large dice
¾ cup drained canned peas
¾ cup sliced celery
1 teaspoon salt

Pastry

1 cup all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter
â…“ cup milk

Make a paste by blending cold chicken broth and flour until smooth. Add paste to the hot chicken broth and cook over direct heat, stirring constantly until sauce boils and thickens. Combine with chicken, peas, celery and 1 teaspoon salt, and pour into 6-cup buttered casserole. Sift the 1 cup flour, measure and resift 3 times with baking powder and ¼ teaspoon salt. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives, then add milk, all at once, stirring quickly with a fork until dough just stiffens. Turn dough out onto floured board, knead half a dozen times, then roll out to make a circle about 8½ inches in diameter or to fit top of casserole, and about ¼-inch thick. Make several gashes near the center to allow steam to escape, then lay on top of the chicken filling. Crimp edge of dough, pressing it firmly against edge of casserole. Bake in a moderately hot oven (425°F.) from 20 to 25 minutes or until nicely browned. 5 servings. The Modern Family Cookbook