As satisfying and hearty as the pot pie is, it's a difficult task to take the humble dish from homey to glamorous. But as we've learned this week, cooking our way though American Flavor, Andrew Carmellini has the ability to transform food from comforting to breathtaking.
The stewy filling of Carmellini's Chicken Pot Pie is vegetable-rich with carrots, celery, onions, mushrooms, peas, cremini mushrooms, and new potatoes with chunks of braised chicken legs and a subtle touch of smoke and heat from chipotle Tabasco sauce. When you're finished simmering it, you might be tempted to break out a spoon and call it a day. But it's the crust here that really makes the dish.
Instead of going with the traditional biscuit crust (and you know that Carmellini can make a mean biscuit) he goes with a thin crust that puffs up and bakes into a cracker-like dome, encasing the pie in a crisp that's just waiting to be shattered. It's the perfect salty-crunchy accompaniment to dip into the bubbling chicken filling.

Nava writes, “There are no words to describe this recipe other than ‘a deep dish of absolute comfort.’”

I’m not afraid to admit it. You see I’ve been a pastry snob pretty much all my life. Not only that, I’ve been a pie snob as well.

I grew up in a house with my mum making her pastry from scratch. I’m sure the thought of using frozen pastry never crossed her mind. So without really thinking about it, I was determined to always be a home made pastry gal. Like my philosophy on packet cake mixes, I wasn’t going to ‘lower my standards’.