Now THIS is a chicken pot pie

Last time, I wrote about the bland, gluey disappointment that is a Harrow's chicken pie. But I realized I had to put up or shut up, lest I seem like a hater.

So last night I made chicken pot pie from scratch. Went like this:

Chicken stock (okay, that part was pre-made) in a pan with black peppercorns, bay leaves, fresh sage, thyme, oregano.



In goes the chicken breast, which poaches for about 20 minutes.



The breasts come out, and in go diced carrots and celery, plus white boiling onions, for five-ish minutes. And then they come out too.



And the chicken is shredded.



And then a roux sauce, which I love because it begins with melted butter.



The stock is strained and used to make the roux.



And then the chook and the veggies go into the sauce, along with fresh rosemary and frozen peas.



Pastry time.

Full disclosure: I had completely intended to use the Good Wives puff pastry I'd picked up the week before. But while rootling around in the back of the freezer, I found something labeled "Be-Ro ruff puff, 12-21-08." Which left me with two questions:

1) Is year-old frozen pastry still good?

2) Why do I have absolutely no recollection of making pastry a year ago??

Obviously I'd used the time-honored recipe from North-East England's premiere flour distributor; I just had no memory of doing so.

Anyway, it defrosted well and was perfectly pliable. And so there was pie. Into a 350-degree C oven for 25 minutes.

See, Harrow's, when I say "chicken pot pie," this is what I mean:





Any questions?

Sixty years of Harrow's chicken pot pie. Why?

When I heard that Harrow's Chicken Pies was opening a second location five minutes' drive from our house, I was intrigued.

This family-owned business has been selling their pies in Reading for 60-some years (or 50 or 70, depending on which page of their website you read), longevity that suggested quality.

On Saturday, we got a coupon in the mail for $2 off an order. As it was getting toward lunchtime, and they promised takeout pie, we decided to head over.

The store is on the intersection of Rtes 16 and 38 in Medford, next to a Dunkies and across the street from a Dunkies. It's a small space, mostly occupied by coolers filled with pies of different sizes. We opted for two individual pies with vegetables (you can also get them without).

Now maybe I'm crazy, but to me, "takeout" means "to eat immediately." That's the point; that's what distinguishes a takeout pie from a frozen pie, which is evidently meant for consumption at a later date.

However, it turns out that if you actually want a hot pie, you have to call in your order a half-hour ahead of time, which is how long it takes to heat one up.

(Note to Harrow's: there are now clever machines called "micro-waves." You might could look into them.)

So much for our plan of grabbing a quick pie for lunch. As we were already hungry, we ate something more immediate and postponed the pies until dinner.

And so, that evening, we sat down to chicken pot pie.

The first thing we noticed was the pastry: it was incredibly short and flaky and a little sweet. And about as thick as a postcard.

The second thing we noticed was the sauce: pale, thick, bland, glutinous. I'll just come out and say it: wallpaper paste.



There were several generous chunks of chicken:



And, as promised, vegetables: uniformly diced carrot and cubes of al dente potato.



It's quite possible that Harrow's is the epitome of the Boston chicken pot pie; that its success lies in an understanding of the preferences of its customer base.

(That it was voted Best in New England by the Phantom Gourmet is a clue in itself.)

But to me, chicken pot pie shouldn't be nondescript; it should be a celebration. It should begin with a mirepoix; there should be pearl onions and peas; the roux should be perfumed with rosemary and thyme.

And the pastry — either puff or pâte brisée — should be thick enough that the exterior is crisp, while the underside becomes a soft sponge that soaks up the flavors of the filling.

At some point soon, I'll show you what I mean.