Buttermilk Biscuit Chicken Pot Pies

Crossing biscuits and gravy with chicken pot pies!  Our deconstructed pot pie?  Or our open-faced pot pie?  Whatever it is, it's freaking delicious.

Justin had been wanting to do pot pies recently; the traditional kind with a pie crust.  We even bought a perfect sized ramekin to make a family-size one in.  But... he's been on another Southern Style Buttermilk Biscuit kick and made such a perfect, huge batch.  We'd recently seen some traveling food show where a restaurant was known for their chicken pot pie biscuits and gravy and we both drooled on ourselves a little when we saw it.  We had the biscuits, we had the chicken, we had most of the vegetables... it was on!

I just roasted some seasoned chicken thighs at 425 degrees F for 30 minutes.  I leave the skin on while cooking and it comes out ridiculously crispy, like cracklins or chicharrones.  Then I removed it before pulling the meat off the bone.  I'm not going to lie... I ate 2 of the skins straight up and felt guilt.  Massive, delicious guilt.  I just threw the remaining skins into our freezer bag of broth-makin' scraps, but I kind of wish I'd kept one of the super crispy ones to chop up and sprinkle on top of the plated biscuit pot pies.

The potatoes I cooked real quick while I was chopping up and sauteing the veggies, it doesn't take too long to cook them.  The instructions are below.

This recipe makes a large amount of gravy/pot pie filling.  If it's more than you want, you can always freeze it.  Or just cut the recipe in half.  Or make somebody's day by sharing it with them... that's what we did.  Justin took most of the batch to work to share with his coworkers since it's just the two of us at home.

Going back a little ways with some Stiff Little Fingers doing "Straw Dogs".

BUTTERMILK BISCUIT CHICKEN POT PIES
Time:  about 35 minutes
Difficulty:  Easy
Makes:  about 10 cups (10 servings - large batch!)

• 12 tablespoons butter (1.5 sticks)
• 2 cups carrots, diced 1/2" (about 3 medium)
• 1.5 cup celery, diced 1/2" (about 2 stalks)
• 1.5 cup onion, diced 1/2" (about 1 medium)
• 1.5 cups crimini mushrooms, diced 
• 1 teaspoon rubbed sage
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric (optional for colour)
• 3/4 cup flour
• 5 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups potatoes (about 1 medium), diced 1/2" and cooked (see How To below)
• 1 cup peas, frozen
• 3 cups cooked chicken, cubed 1/2" (about 4 thighs or 3 breasts)
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce
• 1/4 cup packed basil, chopped
• salt to taste
• Southern Style Buttermilk Biscuits (see recipe here)

In a large skillet or stock pot (that holds at least 4 quarts), melt butter over medium-high heat.  Add carrots and celery, cook about 5 minutes.  Add onion and mushrooms, cook 3-4 minutes until onions are translucent.  Add sage, black pepper and turmeric, cook 1 minute.  Add flour and stir until incorporated, cook 3-4 minutes.  Pour in chicken broth and whisk until thickened, about 5 minutes.  Turn heat to medium and stir in heavy cream, potatoes, peas, chicken, hot sauce and basil.  Add salt to taste and serve over Southern Style Buttermilk Biscuits.

How To Boil Potatoes
Dice potato into 1/2" cubes.  Place potatoes in a large pot.  Add cold water to cover 1" above the potatoes.  Add a generous amount of salt.  Bring to a boil and cook about 6 minutes.  Potatoes should be cooked through but still firm.

Cheesy, Creamy Cauliflower Soup

When we go grocery shopping, we always go with a budget and a list which means we generally have the week's meals planned out.  Sometimes, things that weren't on the list sneak into the cart.  This time I grabbed a cauliflower with no ideas for it... if nothing else, I knew it'd get thrown into the roasted veggie mixes (we eat baked chicken and roasted veggies once or twice a week for dinner).

I don't know why, but I decided I wanted cream soup, and I've never actually made a cauliflower soup, so it seemed like the thing to do.  The cheese was a last minute idea since I remembered we had them in the fridge, and I'm glad I did!  This soup came out great... I really liked it.

I can't even tell you why, but I've had Billy Joel running through my brain... which then, instantly makes me think of the Gimmes.  So Me First and the Gimme Gimmes doing "Only The Good Die Young" (because they didn't eat their cauliflower).  -jen

CHEESY, CREAMY CAULIFLOWER SOUP 
Prep Time:  20 minutes
Cook Time:  35 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Makes:  11-12 cups

• 6 tablespoons butter + 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, separated
• 1 large onion, diced (about 2 cups)
• 3 medium carrots, diced (about 1.5 cups)
• 2 celery stalks, diced (about 1 cup)
• 1 poblano or green pepper, seeded and diced (about 1 cup)
• 1 medium head cauliflower, roughly chopped
  
• 3-4 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1.5 cups shredded Asiago cheese
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar or Cojack cheese
• 2 teaspoons sherry
• several dashes Worcestershire sauce
• salt and pepper to taste
• a few dashes of cayenne pepper or Sriracha sauce (optional)

In a large stockpot, saute onion, carrots, celery and pepper in 6 tablespoons of butter over a medium-high heat until vegetables are softened, 5-7 minutes.  Stir in cauliflower, garlic, thyme, marjoram and crushed red pepper flakes.  Cook an additional 2-3 minutes.   Add chicken broth and bring to a boil, then simmer until cauliflower is tender, about 10 minutes.  (At this point, I like to use a stick blender or regular blender to blend about 2/3 of the soup, smoothing it out a little but I like to leave a few chunks.  You can leave everything whole, or blend the whole thing, whatever you prefer!)

Meanwhile, in a small sauce pan, melt remaining 1 stick of butter.  Stir in flour and cook over a medium heat for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, to make a roux.  Remove from heat.  When the cauliflower in the broth is tender (and blended, if you're blending any), add the roux and the heavy cream.  Bring back to a boil, then simmer, stirring frequently until thickened, about 5 minutes.  Add the cheese, one handful at a time, stir until completely melted before adding next handful.  Add sherry, Worcestershire, salt and pepper to taste, and cayenne or Sriracha, if desired.

I garnished mine with some of the shredded cojack and some diced scallions I had in the fridge.

Chicken In Gravy Over Barley

A few weeks ago, the idea for this meal came to mind... I don't even remember why.  But it's one of those delicious southern comfort foods.  I originally was going to put it over white rice... but the fact is, we really prefer barley over rice.  I think I've mentioned that before.  And it went real well with this chicken in gravy.  It was actually quite fast to make tonight because we'd baked 8 chicken thighs the night before.  So I just used the leftover chicken for this.  It'd actually double just fine for a potpie filling, too!  Or over biscuits if you wanted to get real southern!

Man, I put this song on a comp a few weeks ago for our work commutes... and the song just won't get out of my head!  I was a fan of the original... but this version is so, so much better.  Down By Law covering "500 Miles". -jen aka zigzag, heheh

HERBED BARLEY
Time:  40 minutes
Difficulty:  Easy
Servings:  4-6

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cups barley
• 3 cups water
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1.5 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
• 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 3/4 a teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat.  Add barley and stir to coat.  Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring until the barley smells toasty.  Add water, soy sauce, sage, thyme, coriander and pepper.  Bring to a boil.  Cover and turn heat to low.  Simmer for 35 minutes.  (Do not lift lid or stir!)  Remove from heat and let rest 5 minutes.  Fluff with a fork.  You can make the chicken gravy in about the same amount of time it takes the barley to cook.

CHICKEN IN GRAVY
Time:  25 minutes
Difficulty:  Easy-Medium
Servings:  4-6

• 3 tablespoons chicken fat (if your chicken didn't render this much, use butter for remainder)
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 medium carrots, diced
• 3 stalks of celery, diced
• 1/2 a medium onion, diced
• 6 tablespoons flour
• 3 cups chicken broth (or 3 cups of water with chicken bouillon cubes or chicken base)
• 2 teaspoons dried rubbed sage
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon fresh or dried chives
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• salt to taste (some chicken broths are saltier than others)
• meat of 4 baked chicken thighs, shredded (see below for baking instructions)

In a skillet over medium-high heat, heat chicken fat and butter.  Add carrots, celery and onion.  Cook, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes.  Carrots should be fork-tender, meaning a fork slides easily into them.  Sprinkle flour over the vegetables and stir until absorbed, cook for 2-3 minutes.  Whisk (using an actual whisk!) in chicken broth, sage, thyme, chives, the three peppers and salt, if needed.  Continue whisking until gravy has thickened to desired consistency, turn heat to low, add the shredded chicken and cook for a few minutes until chicken is warmed.  Serve over herbed barley.  (Or use for the inside of a potpie!)

BAKED CHICKEN THIGHS
Time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

• 4 medium chicken thighs, skin on
• choice of seasoning (salt & pepper if nothing else)
• olive oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees, F.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil (simply for ease of clean-up) and drizzle foil lightly with olive oil.

Season the bottoms of the chicken thighs, the place face-up on pan.  Lift skin from meat and season both under the skin and over the skin.  Bake at 450 degrees F for 30 minutes.  Chicken should be at 165 degrees, and juices should run clear.  If cooking the gravy recipe above, then reserve the chicken fat!

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

I like my creamy soups real thick... like a gravy!  Justin, however, prefers his a bit thinner, and that's how we usually make them.  This time around, I decided I was in the mood for a thick-ass soup.  Really, this could simply be used as a chicken pot pie filling if you wanted, because that's pretty much what it is.  Ohhhh... but it was so good!  I think I need to heat up some leftovers while I type this up.

You'll note that I used frozen peas & carrots in the recipe, when everything else is fresh.  I purposefully did this simply because the frozen peas and carrots ALWAYS make me think about pot pies... that 1950s retro thing, I dunno.  I also wanted to be really productive and bake some pie crust to sprinkle on top, but I got lazy (and intoxicated) and went with crumbled crackers instead.   And lastly, it seemed like a pain to write this in the recipe, but it calls for 1 cup + 2 tbsp butter.  Well, I actually used the chicken fat from baking chicken for those last 2 tablespoons instead of butter, to help lend a little extra chicken awesomeness to it.

NOFX's "Mattersville" came to mind as I was thinking of how homey this soup was.  I haven't thought about this song in a little while, it makes me laugh.   -jen

CHICKEN POT PIE SOUP
Time:  45 minutes
Difficulty:  Medium
Yields:  About 12 cups

Bonus pic!  Deformed bell pepper with alien pods bursting
open inside of it!

• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 large orange bell pepper, minced (about 1 cup)
• 1 medium yellow onion, minced (about 2 cups)
• 3 stalks celery, finely diced (about 1 cup)
• 8 oz package of mushrooms, diced
• 1 heaping tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 cup frozen peas & carrots mixed
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
• 2 teaspoons rubbed sage
• 1 teaspoon savory (it's an herb, for those of you not familiar - it's optional)
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons flour
• 4 cups whole milk
• 4 cups chicken broth (homemade preferable for super chicken flavour!)
• 2 cups cooked chicken, cubed
• Add salt to taste (some broths are saltier than others)

In a large stockpot, melt butter over medium-high heat.  Add bell pepper, onion, celery, mushrooms, garlic, peas & carrots.  Cook until tender (about 10 minutes with that many veggies).  Add thyme, sage, savory, paprika, white pepper, cayenne pepper and lemon juice.  Stir in flour, coating all the veggies, and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes.  (It will be paste-like.)  Add the milk and broth all at once and whisk until the roux (flour/butter paste) is fully broken down and there are no flour lumps.  Continue stirring until the soup just begins to boil, then turn heat to low and add chicken.  Taste soup at this point and add more salt if necessary.  Remove from heat and serve with crumbled crackers on top.

Giardiniera

Giardiniera is a pickled, spiced vegetable mix, often used as a condiment for food in the Midwestern U.S.  Jennifer grew up in the Chicago area and was very familiar with this mix as a topping for Italian Beef sandwiches so we decided to try some here at home.  This is not an authentic Italian giardiniera as it has some jalapeños, olives, fennel, etc and the Italian variety, as I understand it, is more spartan with onion, zucchini, carrots, celery, and cauliflower in vinegar.

We just went to the farmer's market, decided what looked good, and went with that for veggies.  I suggest that if you like something specific, use it.  If you don't like something I used, leave it out or substitute something else.  This really is just a pickles veggie condiment so get creative.  Do green beans if you like.  Get nuts!

While giardiniera is usually pretty hot, I don't like to make mine burn-the-taste-buds-off hot.  Add Serrano peppers or more red pepper flake if you like the scorching, mouth-blistering heat.

I know I'll probably hear from 15 different people how this isn't authentic or whatever but you know what?  It's not the end of the world.  This is:  -justin

GIARDINIERA
Time: overnight +20 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Servings: About 2 1/2 pints worth

VEGGIES

• 1/2 cup cauliflower, diced
• 1/2 cup carrots, diced
• 1/2 cup celery, diced
• 1/2 cup fennel bulb or stalks, diced
• 3/4 cup banana pepper, seeded and diced
• 3/4 cup sweet Hungarian pepper, seeded and diced
• 2 large jalapeños, seeded and diced
• 1/4 cup salt
• water to cover

 PACKING LIQUID

• 1/4 cup pimento stuffed green olives, diced
• 2 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 cup distilled white vinegar or white wine vinegar
• 1 cup olive oil
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flake
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp thyme

Place all the veggies in a bowl, add the salt, add enough water to submerge the veggies, cover with plastic wrap and leave in fridge over night.

The next day, drain and rinse veggies under cold water.  Add the green olives and minced garlic to the drained veggies.  In a large bowl, whisk together the vinegar, olive oil, oregano, red pepper flake, black pepper and thyme.  Place the vegetables in your storage container of choice (I recommend glass jars), add the whisked liquid.  Store in fridge for 2 days before serving.

Note:  Storing it in the fridge, the oil will separate and congeal on top.  Either take the jar out of the fridge a half hour before you know you'll need to use it.  Or if you need it immediately, because it's so awesome you can't wait a half hour, just remove the lid and microwave for 30 seconds and stir.

It's great on salads, sandwiches, soups, as a side dish for a heavy or greasy meal, mixed in rice dishes or casseroles, etc.

This batch was made with broccoli instead of cauliflower.  (We prefer cauliflower.)

We also sometimes cut the vegetables smaller for a small relish!