Gluten Free Chicken Pot Pie

Gluten-free chicken pot pie is another one of our family's ultimate comfort foods.  And if you do not feel like making your pie dough from scratch, you can always use an uncooked gluten-free pie shell from Whole Foods.  That is exactly what I did here.  I know what you are thinking, Whole Foods does not make a lattice pie shell, and you are completely right, they don't.  So what I did was take the extra pie shell since they come in pairs, and I rolled it out on a piece of parchment and gingerly sliced the lattice pieces.  It was not as easy as when I have cut wheat pie dough in my distant past, and it was far from perfect, yet it sure was pleasing to the eye; even better it tasted scrumptious! 

Whole Foods pie shells are pretty decent and they are excellent in a pinch.  I will use them often for Thanksgiving pumpkin pie, when I am thoroughly exhausted and I do not want to make one more thing from scratch.  They are light and not gritty, and do not have a funny after taste.  This is a quick and simple idea to get dinner on your table in under an hour.  But if you would like to make your pie shell from scratch see the recipe at the bottom.  Another idea would be to make the pie shells over the weekend and then freeeze them already rolled out and in the pan, completely rolled out flat with parchment paper in between, and in a zip lock and frozen, or just after all ingredients are combined and it is in the ball stage, and ready to be rolled out,  flatten it, and wrap .  Whichever way is more convenient for you. 

The aroma of freshly baked chicken pot pie will drive you wild.  I am not sure what it is about sauteeing onions, carrots and celery that just fills your home with that feeling of comfort and warmth.  Adding the fresh herbs tickles the senses, and the combination of chicken, vegetables, herbs and a light cream sauce is the perfect marriage.  Make sure to allow the chicken, vegetable, herb and cream sauce mixture to cool off before placing into the pie shell, or it will crack your pie bottom and make it next to impossible to cut the slices of pot pie. 

 

Gluten-Free Chicken Pot Pie  

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large onion, diced
2 medium carrots, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 stalk celery, cut into 1/2-inch slices
3/4 cup frozen petite peas, thawed
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup Featherlight flour mix
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons fresh thyme, minced
2 teaspoons chives, snipped
2  teaspoons fresh parsley, minced

salt to taste

freshly ground black pepper

1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and add the butter and vegetable oil.

Saute the onion and when it is translucent add in the chicken.  Saute chicken for 2-3 minutes, until lightly browned but not cooked through.

With slotted spoon, remove chicken to bowl. In the same pan over medium-high heat saute the carrots, celery for 5 minutes. With slotted spoon, remove vegetables to another bowl. Stir thawed peas into vegetables.

Prepare the sauce: In the same pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk until the mixture is bubbling and smooth, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and gradually whisk in stock, cream, and thyme. Return skillet to heat, bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. Cook for 2 minutes until sauce has thickened and is smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Stir in reserved chicken and vegetables. Set aside to cool for about 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spoon cooled chicken and vegetable mixture into a 10-inch deep-dish pie plate.

For top of pot pie take the second pie shell and on a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry into a circle 11-inches in diameter. Place pastry on top of chicken mixture. Trim pastry edge, fold overhang under and press gently all around baking dish to make a decorative edge. Reroll any trimmings and cut out to make a decorative design for top of pie. Brush pastry with beaten eggwash.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until pastry is golden brown, chicken and vegetables are tender and filling is heated through.

Yield: 6 servings





Fabulous Gluten-Free Pie Crust
This recipe is based on one of the recipes in the Chez Panisse cookbooks and converted to gluten-free by Amy Radbill.  Amy is a dear frined, my first introduction to gluten-free baking and she is currently teaching gluten-free baking classes at the Davis Food Co-op.

2 1/2 cups Featherlight Rice flour mix
1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum
3 sticks (24 tablespoons) very cold butter or Earth's Balance Buttery Sticks, or Spectrum Butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup ice cold water

Mix the flours and the xanthan gum together.  Cut the butter into the flour just until it all turns into a coarsecrumb.  Add the water 1/4 cup at a time, and combine just until you can gather the mixture roughly into a ball.  Flatten the ball, wrap it in plastic wrap or waxed paper, and refrigerate it for 30 minutes before using it.  Roll out on a lightly floured surface, using Featherlight flour mix.

Roasted Chicken with Root Vegetables

It is Sunday, and I always try to formulate a memorable Sunday dinner feast for my family.  Growing up I remember no matter where we were or what we were doing my mother made sure that our Sunday dinner was out of the ordinary and special.  That was the one day a week we set aside to eat together, to share the goings on of the week, and to gear up for the week to come.  I could be out for the day with friends but as soon as I returned I could smell the familiar aromas drifting on a puffy cloud from my mother's kitchen, and some how I knew I was safe; and I was home.  To this day those same fragrance produces that sensation of feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.  That deep imbedded impression of coziness wraps my entire being.  These are the very same feelings I like to recreate for my family.

Ever aware of our budget, to conserve time I opted to not cook an entire chicken, and am only roasting chicken parts.  This  is an exquisite and simple dish.  But to be fair, it is all in the seasoning.  I smother the chicken parts in a slightly updated version of my mother's adobo.  Put it in a Dutch oven or baking dish and allow it to brown for 15 minutes per side and then I turn down the heat of the oven and roast the chicken parts until they are a nice golden brown and the juices run clear.  Then I add the assorted seasoned root vegetables to the roasting pan and allow to roast for another 15 to 20 minutes or until they are fork tender.  Serve this over rice pilaf and take pleasure in the succulent chicken and the fall flavors of roasted root vegetables.  I don't know what it is but when the weather cools off I start craving root vegetables and this is the simplest way to cook them.  Although this dish is simple, and inexpensive, it never disappoints!!

Roasted Chicken with Root  Vegetables
4 drumsticks
4 thighs
2 large breast cut into 4 pieces
autumn adobo (see recipe)
4 carrots, peeled and chopped into chunks
4 parsnips, peeled and chopped into chunks
3 to 4 celery ribs
12 whole mushrooms
asparagus
broccoli
4 small red onions cut into 1/8
4 baby red potaoes
1 head of garlic (peeled and each clove cut in half
2 teaspoons Italian flat leaf parsley, minced
2 teaspoons sage, minced
2 teaspoons thyme, minced
2 teaspoons oregano, minced
salt to taste
pepper to taste
1 to 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Slather the chicken with the adobo.  Making sure to get the adobo under the skin of the chicken.  Take washed, chopped root vegetables and season with salt and pepper, and chopped fresh herbs.  Drizzle with some extra-virgin olive oil, combine and set aside.  Allow the chicken and vegetables to soak up the flavors for at least an hour or over night.  Place the chicken in a Dutch oven and brown your chicken for 15 minutes on each side on your stove.  Once this is complete place your chicken, onions and garlic in the the oven at 425 degrees for 1/2 hour.  Turn the chicken and add in all of the rest of your seasoned root vegetables.  Continue to roast until the vegetables are fork tender.  Serve over rice pilaf.

Autumn Adobo
6 large cloves garlic, finely minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon oregano, chopped
1 teaspoon flat leaf Italian parsley, chopped
2 teaspoons sage, chopped
2 teaspoons thyme, chopped
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Combine all ingredients to make adobo.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Enough cannot be said about Chicken Cordon Bleu.  I enjoy serving dishes that appear to be fancy, but are still budget friendly.  Once again this is a relatively inexpensive dish and yet utterly scrumptious.  Once you have your gluten-free bread crumbs (see recipe in prior posts) your dish is a snap to create.

My husband, Michael adores cheese, any cheese. Therefore anything with cheese in the recipe is a definite hit for him. As our 14 year wedding anniversary date creeps up on us, I dedicate this dish for Michael. This is a cooler weather meal that you can serve with pasta, potatoes, or with rice pilaf. You can drizzle a little creamy, wine sauce over the top or just eat the roulades as they are. Any way you serve them you will be enthralled with the crispness on the the exterior and the warm gooey texture on the inside that together makes a perfect compliment.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Ingredients

• 6 chicken breasts skinless and boneless

• 6 thin slices Black Forest Ham

• 1/2 pound Swiss Cheese slices

• 1/4 cup Featherlight flour (see recipe in prior posts)

• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 2 cups seasoned gluten-free bread crumbs (see recipe in prior posts)

• 4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only

• 1 clove garlic, peeled and finely minced

• 2 tablespoons Extra-virgin olive oil (to drizzle on top)

• 2 eggs

• Extra-virgin olive oil (to coat the baking dish with)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

.

Lay the chicken breast between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Using the flat side of a meat mallet, gently pound the chicken to 1/4-inch thickness.

Remove the plastic wrap and lay 1 slice of ham neatly over the top to cover the breast and lay a slice of Swiss cheese over the ham. Squeeze the log gently to seal and twist both ends tight to form a nice log.  Place a toothpick in the end to keep the roll tight. Repeat with remaining chicken.

Season the flour with thyme, salt and pepper. Place the bread crumbs on a plate.  Beat together the eggs and season so the flour, the eggs and the crumbs are all seasoned. Lightly dust the chicken with flour, dip in the egg mixture and gently coat in the bread crumbs.

Lightly coat a baking pan with olive oil and carefully transfer the chicken rolls or roulades onto it.

Drizzle the tops of the roulades with olive oil to help to make the exterior become brown with a light crispness.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until browned and cooked through.  Make sure the chicken juices are clear.

Slice into pinwheels and serve.

Gluten-free bread crumbs, repurposing the bread ends

Nothing need go to waste when you are cooking with gluten-free foods. Learn to repurpose leftovers and unwanted items; saving everything. For instance, loaves of bread have their imperfections in addition to two ends that most folks rarely eat. Not to mention, children who want their crusts cut off of their sandwiches. So save those unwanted slices of bread, and unsightly bread crusts and keep them in a container or zip top bag in your freezer. When the time is right, take the opportunity to make your own gluten-free bread crumbs. They are well worth the time, effort and the financial savings to your wallet.           

Once there is a nice stack of bread ends, and bread crusts then it is time to grind them up in your food processor. Add a little fresh garlic, any fresh herbs that you have on hand (some great choices are: Italian flat leaf parsley, sweet basil, thyme, sage, and rosemary), salt, pepper, and olive oil. Toast for a few minutes in the oven and voila! You now have repurposed bread ends while inexpensive, are still delicious and can be used on a variety of dishes: Chicken tenders, breading on meats, meatloaf, or meatballs. The possibilities are limitless, so enjoy yourself and be creative!

Gluten-Free Bread Crumbs

12 Gluten-free bread ends

4 cloves garlic, crushed

¼ cup fresh Italian flat leaf parsley, rough chop

¼ cup fresh sweet basil, rough chop

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

1/8 cup olive oil (or more to help lightly coat the bread crumbs for a nice browning)

Place bread ends in food processor and pulse until bread is broken up a bit. Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse until all is combined. Place in preheated oven at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Turn the bread crumbs and return to the oven for another 10 minutes. Bread crumbs should be a nice golden brown.

Bacon Wrapped Pork Roast and Smashed Potatoes

This dinner is honor of my son Daniel, who believes anything wrapped in bacon is go-o-od.  My son is 25 years old and a sargent in the army.  He is stationed at Fort Drum in upstate New York.  Daniel is my oldest child and my only son.  He has been in the army since he was 19 years old and has traveled all over the world.  He will be leaving soon for the Middle East for his first time.  So when he came to California in August 2009 on leave I made him this dish.  Of course he absolutely loved it.  it was slathered in garlic, one of his all time favorites, and then draped in bacon.  How could I miss?!
 
This year we were blessed with being able to see Daniel and my grandson DJ (Daniel Junior) three times.  Now that he is going to Iraq we will not be able to seem him for at least 12 months. That is going to be extremely difficult for our family.  His presence will be missed dearly.  In order to cope with my mother's absence I started finding comfort in making dishes that she had cooked for our family.  I decided that this strategy will help comfort me while my son is gone.  So as I made this dish again last night I thought of Daniel the whole time. I talked to him by phone as the pork was roasting in the oven and tried to make the aroma waft through the phone to him so that he could know that he is never far away from home.

This pork roast is tender, and so juicy.  Plus it is chock full of flavor.  It does not consume too much time to make and it looks very chic. The smashed potatoes is a simple side dish but looks very elegant, and tastes fantastic.

I season the pork roast with the adobo recipe my mother had passed on to us, which if you can guess consists of a whole lot of garlic, salt, pepper, oregano and olive oil. If you wanted an Italian flare to this adobo you could add parsley and sweet basil, rosemary, etc. I try to use fresh minced herbs whenever possible as the flavor is much more intense and savory. My mother taught me the technique of poking holes into the meat to add more of the flavor to each slice of meat. So I incorporated that technique into ths recipe as well

     Adobo Recipe

1 head garlic, finely minced

1-2 teaspoons salt

1/2 - 1 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon minced oregano

2 tablespoons oilve oil

Mix all ingredients thoroughly.

Bacon Wrapped Pork Roast

1 lb. Pork Roast

Adobo

Bacon

Poke holes into the pork roast and add a little adobo into each hole. Then give the pork roast a nice rub down with your adobo. Once it is nicely seasoned then you wrap the pork roast with slices of bacon. You can use kitchen string to tie the bacon in place or in a pinch use tooth picks. Then you place into a baking pan and sear the outside of the roast at 500 degrees for 15 minutes on each side. Once seared, reduce the heat to 325 degrees and allow the pork to roast until an inserted thermometer reads 140 degrees. Once this happens remove from the oven and tent with aluminum foil. Allow it to rest for 15 minutes and then slice. Don't forget to remove the string or tooth picks first. 

Smashed Potatoes

20 Baby Red Potatoes, cut into quarters

4 tablespoons butter, room temperature

1/4 cup milk, warmed

1/4 to 1/2 cup reserved potato liquid

salt and pepper to taste

2 teaspoons chopped fresh chives

Take the baby red potatoes and slice them into quarters. Place in a pot of boiling water and allow to boil for 15 to 20 minutes.

Drain the water reserving 1/2 cup of liquid to add back into your potatoes.  While the potatoes are still hot add in butter, and a little milk, reserved liquid, salt, pepper, and chopped chives. Smash potaotes and combine ingredients. Serve with additional chopped chives over the top for some added color and flavor.