Chicken pot pie: Comfort food for company

Every time I make chicken pot pie, I wonder-- why don't I do this more often? It is so mouth-watering good. We had friends over for dinner last night and this is one of those dishes that keeps warm perfectly in the oven all through appetizers and a salad course. Here's my recipe, adapted from "The Best Recipe" from Cook's Illustrated. The crust turns out perfectly light and flaky. The filling has a subtle sweet flavor of cream sherry and thyme.

Chicken pot pie

Filling:

1-1/2 to 2 pounds chicken breast tenders
1 15-ounce can chicken broth plus water added to make two cups
3 medium carrots, diced into 1/2 inch pieces
1 large sweet onion, diced
3 celery stalks, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup flour
4 tablespoons butter
1-1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup frozen peas
1/3 cup cream sherry
1 teaspoon dry thyme
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Slice chicken tenders into 1-inch pieces. Put into a large heavy pan with the chicken broth. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cover and simmer 10 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. With a slotted spoon, spoon chicken into a large mixing bowl. Pour broth into a measuring cup. In the same heavy pan, heat vegetable oil. Add carrots, onion and celery. Saute for about 6 minutes over medium heat. Put vegetables into bowl with chicken. In the same heavy pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and stir for 1 minute. Whisk in milk, chicken broth and thyme, bring to simmer and stir until fully thickened, about 1 minute. Add sherry and parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir into bowl with chicken and vegetables. Stir in peas. You can cover this and refrigerate overnight if you like until ready to use. Reheat on the stove top before constructing your pie.

Pour filling into a 9-by-13-inch casserole dish. Top with pastry crust. In a small bowl, beat an egg white with 1 tablespoon water and brush over the top of the crust. Make five 1-inch cuts in the crust to vent. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. You can leave this in the oven once you've turned it off so you can enjoy appetizers with your guests before serving dinner.

Savory pastry crust:

1-1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick of unsalted butter, chilled
4 tablespoons vegetable shortening, chilled
3 tablespoons ice water

In a food processor, mix flour and salt. Cut butter into 10 or so slices, sprinkle into the flour, tossing a little to coat. Pulsate for 1 second, five times. Add shortening. Pulsate again for 1 second, five times. Turn into a mixing bowl. Sprinkle water into dough. With a rubber spatula, mix water into flour mixture with a folding motion. Add a fourth tablespoon ice water if needed. Shape into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for 30 minutes or overnight.

On a floured sheet of waxed paper, roll dough into an 11-by-15-inch rectangle. Fold in half gently and then unfold to cover the chicken filling in your casserole dish. Tuck in overhanging dough to make a nice edge. Bake as directed above