(from guest hostess Madge)

Just imagine, Midge bought Larry a chicken pot pie from the grocer’s! And that was tiny and frozen!!! I never heard of such a thing.

Joe only likes them fresh, and as you know, what makes Larry (oops, Joe) happy makes me happy!

So we drove out to Uncle Henry’s farm. He was in a grumpy mood because his two best brood hens had stopped laying, then he said something about having to pay for Marge’s “hysteric tummy” or something like that, and she was old and dried up like the hens and maybe he would have to do some slaughtering, by which I think he meant the chickens, but I may have gotten some of that that mixed up.

When we got home, Joe had a couple of stiff ones, then got really angry for some reason and said “long time no roll in the hay,” which sometimes he says the funniest things and honestly, who wants to eat Crescent Rolls in the barn? But finally the red went out of his face and he told me he wanted the crust on both the top and the BOTTOM of his pie!

Well, I never! Me-Ma’s and Gran’s chicken pies never had a crust on the BOTTOM, so that was a new one on me! But, as y’all know, my best gal pal Midge is a “progressive” Yankee and her pie had crust on the bottom, and I am always eager to learn and please Larry (oops, I mean Joe of course) and I told Joe that Midge was rubbing off on me, but I guess he didn’t hear me because asked me to repeat that and then he said he was going to the bathroom and please don’t disturb him for the next 10 minutes, so I didn’t.

Well, enough chit-chat! Midge said she would come over after last Tuesday’s koffee klatch, so I started the pie crust on Monday:

Put 3/4 cup Crisco in the icebox for a few hours, then cream the Crisco with 2 C. flour and 3/4 tsp. salt:

Add enough ice water (4-8 Tbsp.) to make a soft dough:

Then pat the dough into patties, wrap them, and leave them in the icebox for a few more hours:

Midge brought this over and said I could have it! She is such a generous gal. I only had five pie pans, so now I almost have enough!

It’s bigger than my other pans, so I had to measure it:

Joe came into the kitchen to get some iced tea and said, “Yep, 8 inches, that’s about right,” which I don’t get because he’s never made a pie.

Grease the pan with butter:

Flour the counter and your rolling pin. Don’t forget to flour the dough!

I had to measure again!

I learned Midge this tip, the best way to get the crust into the pan, which she didn’t even know! First you flour the dough, then roll it up onto the rolling pin:

Then unroll it onto the pan:

Carefully arrange it in the pan, you don’t want tears or Joe will be mad at you again, then trim the edges with a knife:

What to do with the trims? When we were kids, Gran would gather up the dough into a ball, roll it out, sprinkle it with sugar and cinnamon and bake it, and just us kids got it! It was a real treat!

Personally, we don’t have any children. Joe says that’s because I am a “jean-etic disaster,” which is silly because I would never even THINK about wearing pants.

Now bake the bottom of the pie. You don’t want the bottom of the crust to bubble up and break and then Joe will get mad, so you line it with some aluminum foil and fill it with beans, and there is a funny story there about one of the Kiwanis Wives who used canned beans instead of dry, but I use a smaller pan and my favorite casserole dish. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes or until the crust is light brown.

This one got away a little bit, darn it, excuse my French!

Now make the filling. Midge brought me a bag of vegetables that were already cut up, which have to be kept in the icebox, but they were a real time-saver. Thank you Midge!

First, heat the oven to 425. Melt 1/2 stick butter in a large saucepan, then cook 1/2 C. chopped onions over medium-low heat for 3 to 4 minutes or until soft:

Add 1/3 C. flour, then stir constantly for 3 or 4 minutes, or until the flour just starts to turn brown:

Add in 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. pepper, and 1/2 tsp. of dried herbs (I had a jar of them and Midge brought me something she called bayzel which I had never had but it was delicious!) and 1/4 tsp. paprika, and stir it in.

Then slowly add 2 C. milk, whisking all the time:

Now add 1 cup of cooked chicken, 2C. of vegetables, 1-1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce, and 1 C. shredded Cheddar cheese:

Roll out the top crust, then put the filling into the bottom:

See my earlier tip to see how to do it!

You can just trim off the extra, but Joe likes them a bit fancy, so that’s what I do. Trim the crust to about 1/2″:

Then roll the extra under:

And use the handle of a fork to make it look just like Joe likes it:

This is VERY important. Use some strips of aluminum foil to cover the edges of the crust where you scalloped it or it will burn there!

1

, and make some cuts in the top of the pie so the gas can escape. Joe asked why the cuts and I told him and then he said something I won’t repeat here, sometimes he says things I don’t like. Cook it in a 425 oven for 35-40 minutes, or until the crust is browned and the filling is bubbly.

After the pie cooled a bit I cut it, half for Larry and half for Joe, and Midge said something about “maybe we should swap partners” which is a queer way to put it, and I said no, both halves are the same size!

I only told Midge this, but honestly, she is a big gossip, so I can tell y’alls too! LarppJoe said the pie was very good, and blew me a kiss as he went to his bedroom with the new National Geographic magazine! I will have to make it again with two crusts!

-Madge