Frank's Chicken Pot Pies

There are lots of chicken pot pie recipes.

None like Frank’s.

It's easy.

Chock full of fresh carrots....


sauteed onions, peppers, celery....

and shredded chicken.


A killer homemade white sauce



seasoned with celery seed, crushed red pepper, bouquet garni.








And your choice of pastry to top them.

And so good.

Every single time.

He makes them in quantity.

And freezes them.

Someone moves to a new house and you want to take them dinner.

Done.

Need comfort food fix.

Done.

Surprise guests drop in.

Done.

Couldn't be easier.

Thanks Frank!


Frank’s Chicken Pot Pies


8 whole chicken breasts, boiled in homemade chicken stock, shredded
8 stalks celery, sliced in half, then chopped in bite size pieces
3 lb bag carrots, peeled, sliced in half, sliced into bite size pieces
3 large sweet onions, chopped into bite size pieces
6 mixed green, yellow and red bell peppers, chopped into bite sized pieces
1 stick plus ¼ stick unsalted butter
1 and ½ cups all purpose flour
2 quarts roasted chicken stock
1 to 2 tbsp Bouquet garni
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 to 2 tbsp dried parsley
1 to 2 tbsp Celery seed
Crushed red bell pepper flakes to taste
4 pkg prepared pie crust (2 boxes unrolled pie crust) or if you’re industrious, make your own or use phyllo or puff pastry dough. It’s your call.
4 square aluminum baking pans

Boil carrots, drain and rinse with cold water.
Cook celery, onion, bell pepper in butter til soft, not brown.
Two large bowls…divide the carrots, peppers, onions among them.
Divide chicken between bowls.
Melt butter add flour, make paste, add 2 quarts chicken stock, seasonings and stir til thick .
Divide between two bowls, season to taste with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir. Put in baking pans, top with pastry. You can get creative on the how you do the top with the pastry. Or just roll it out, cover and poke with fork …. Wrap with clear plastic wrap then aluminum foil.
Freeze.

To cook: Don’t thaw.
Preheat oven 375 degrees. Remove foil and saran wrap and place on cookie sheet. Cook for an hour and 15 minutes, cover with foil if browning too quick.


Makes 4.

Click here for a printable recipe!


One Year Ago on Feeding Groom

Frank's Chicken Pot Pies

Frank's Pickled Okra

The Recipe from Cotton Country, a Junior League Cookbook

The Okra

The Long Red Chiles

The Boiling Jars

Garlic and Dill Seed

The Process Begins..

And Continues..

There's One in Every Crowd!

Ten Minutes in a Hot Bath

We're Done!

Wait for three weeks before eating. Make as many as you can. These go fast.
Happy Labor Day!

Frank's Pickled Okra

Frank's Grouper with Mango Salsa

Our good friend, Frank, he of the to die for short rib post, does a mean grouper. He does it so well, it’s all you want to eat for the rest of your life.

Or at least you think so while you’re eating it.

The original recipe was created by Frank and his sister in law, Margaret, on a family trip to Florida where the weather was rainy,the children were wild and grouper was plentiful. Late one evening while enjoying libations, they discovered they were starving and the following recipe was born.

Grouper fillets coated in crushed peanuts and garlicky bagel chips sautéed til golden brown on both sides and run in the oven for 10 minutes to cook to perfection, then topped with a bright mango, yellow pepper salsa. What a combination.

Final pics of this dish exist but I can’t get to them. So you’ll have to put up with teaser photos and imagine how beautiful it was…nutty brown with bright yellows and oranges on top of the perfectly cooked fish.

Growing up, my mother always said you should leave a little bit on your plate to be polite.

Not with this dish.

Nope.

Won’t happen.

Frank’s Grouper with Mango Salsa

8 good sized grouper fillets, seasoned well with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 eggs, beaten with a bit of milk…enough to coat sides of the grouper
A cup of all purpose flour
Butter
Extra virgin olive oil
4 ounces dry roasted Spanish Red Peanuts
½ bag New York Style garlic flavored bagel chips

Preheat the oven to 375.

Chop the peanuts and the garlic chips in a food processor well mixed.

Put in large roasting pan.

Put several large oven proof skillets on stove over medium-medium high heat. Swirl extra virgin olive oil in each pan and add large pat of butter.

While that melts, dredge the grouper in the flour, egg mix and the peanut mix on both sides. Put grouper in the pan as you finish and cook til golden brown on both sides. Put skillets in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.

Top with mango salsa and serve.

Serves 8.

Mango Salsa

2 large mangos, peeled and chopped
1 large yellow pepper, chopped
1 large orange pepper, chopped
Juice of 2 limes
Handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
1 fat garlic clove, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Mix and let sit and think while you do the grouper.

Makes 2 cups.

Frank's Grouper with Mango Salsa

Frank's Short Ribs with Brussels Sprout Hash with Caramelized Shallots and Roasted Veggies

We have a friend who cooks. And I mean cooks. He can run the gamut from Chocolate Mousse to Chicken Liver Pate. He cooks all the time. And he lives alone. I can’t imagine what the neighbors think at two in the morning when he takes his short ribs out of the oven because they have cooked for four hours and need to sit. That’s what I’m talking about.
Cooking all the time. One night he went to dinner at a mutual friends house and she served short ribs with winter vegetables. That was two years ago. He hasn’t gotten over them yet.
Frank dreamed about them. And one day decided to cook them. We do dinner with him just about every Wednesday night. He always arrives with a large box ready full of things ready to cook. He brought the short ribs and we finished them on the top of the stove and served them with Brussels Sprout Hash with Caramelized Shallots from November 2007’s Bon Appetit and Roasted Veggies. I’m here to tell you this was the meal that dreams are made of. The short ribs absolutely melt in your mouth.
No conversation took place at this meal. Just a lot of moaning. Swaying back and forth. One hand in the air and the other over your heart kind of good. Just another Wednesday night!

Frank’s Short Ribs

This is a two day process. Buy 2-3 pks of short ribs. Should be at least 3 per package. Season liberally with lots of fresh black pepper. Pour yourself a big old glass of red wine to sip on while you cook. Preheat oven to 225.
Heat a dutch oven or cast iron skillet that you can cover with a glass top and put a tbsp of bacon grease. Don’t gag…this is all about depth of flavor. When the grease is barely smoking put short ribs in the pan and brown on all sides about 3-4 minutes per side. Add more bacon grease if the pan needs it. Once browned, remove from pan. Once all are done, pour your glass of red wine in the skillet and deglaze.The wine will bubble up and then start to cook off. Peel five or six cloves garlic, cut in half and throw in the pan. Add three sprigs fresh rosemary, whole, 1 medium onion cut in quarters, a couple stalks of celery and add the short ribs back to the pot. Cover with chicken stock filling pan about 7/8ths up to the top. Put cover on Dutch oven and cook for four hours.
When done pour broth into large glass container that you can put a top on and refrigerate overnight.
Refrigerate the short ribs as well. The fat will rise to the top of the glass container and you can throw it away.
Frank is “fat averse.” He cannot stand it. And he will spend a lot of time getting the fat off of food.
“Dissect”, Frank’s term, the short ribs.”Get every morsel of fat off the ribs and give to your favorite large dog.”
Reheat the short ribs and the broth on top of the stove until hot. Thicken the broth with a bit of cornstarch. Serves 4.

Roasted Veggies

4 carrots, sliced
4 medium Yukon gold potatoes, quartered
4 parsnips, peeled and sliced
6 large garlic cloves, unpeeled
1 large sweet onion, quartered then separated
Extra virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
Preheat oven to 400. Toss all ingredients in bowl and put on cookie sheet.
Roast for 15 -20 minutes or til golden brown. SO SO Good!!

Frank's Short Ribs with Brussels Sprout Hash with Caramelized Shallots and Roasted Veggies