Savory Chicken Pot Pies

Directions

Season chicken parts to taste with salt and pepper.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter and oil together in soup pot.

Add chicken and brown.

Add chicken broth, quartered onion, celery chunks and carrot chunks and bring to boil.

Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is tender, 20 to 30 minutes.

Let cool. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Next day, skim cold chicken fat off top of broth.

Reserve ¼ cup fat for making Rich Pastry Crust.

Heat broth and remove chicken.

Skin and bone chicken parts.

Discard skin and bones.

Cut meat into 2 inch chunks and set aside.

Strain broth.

Reduce over high heat to 3 cups. Combine ¼ cup melted butter and flour in saucepan and gradually stir in broth.

Bring to boil and boil 1 minute.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Stir in tarragon.

Cook pearl onions, potato, sliced carrots and broccoli separately in boiling water until tender, 5 to 10 minutes each.

Drain.

Toss together cooked chicken, cooked vegetables and mushrooms.

Stir in chicken-tarragon sauce.

Make Rich Pastry Crust.

Divide dough in half and gather into 2 small flattened rounds.

Roll first half on lightly floured board to ¼ inch thick. Cut dough to fit tops of 2 casseroles, leaving enough dough to overhang edges by 1 inch.

Repeat with second half of dough.

Brush edges of casseroles with egg yolk and place crusts atop casseroles.

Flute edges. Make 4 triangular cuts in center of each crust and fold back tips of triangles.

Brush crust with egg yolk (save egg whites for another use).

Bake for 20 to 30 minutes.