Hot Pies For A Flavor Of Mom’s Comfort Food, Consumers Are Buying Takeout Pot Pies

The rich aroma of chicken pot pie mingles with exhaust fumes in the crisp winter air, like Mom’s home cooking gone diesel.

In a strange juxtaposition of the old and the new, pot pies have become one of the hottest drive-through foods of the ‘90s.

About 40 million pot pies were sold over the counter and at drive-up windows at KFC restaurants last year, and sales are expected to increase 12 percent this year.

Diners are buying ready-made pot pies at $3 to $5 each not only because they’re convenient, but because the simple combination of chicken, gravy, carrots and potatoes in a pastry crust is a comforting throwback to the past.

“People eat out several times a week and they’re tired of trendy cuisine,” says Jean Litterst, KFC spokeswoman. “They want something like Mom would make.”

Many of the pot pies on the market are indeed like something Mom would make. The newcomers bear little resemblance to the puny frozen pot pies of the 1950s, which featured mushy vegetables and microscopic bits of meat in a thin, bland gravy.

KFC’s pot pies are on the sweet side, but not at all bad. They’re filled with big chunks of chicken and firm vegetables, and topped with a burnished, Pepperidge Farm puff pastry crust.

Boston Market’s pot pie perhaps isn’t as handsome, but it it tastes just as good. Big slices of chicken, along with peas and fresh-tasting potatoes, are napped with a tarragon-scented chicken gravy and topped with a delicious herbed crust.

On busy weeknights, it’s hard to beat the convenience of a carryout pot pie. But on weekends, when steaming up the kitchen is a pleasure instead of a chore, the lowly pot pie can be taken to new heights.

Give thanks that life has progressed since the Middle Ages, when pot pies took all day to make. They were made in a pot - hence the name - lined with pastry and filled with meat, potatoes and vegetables, then topped with a crust and covered with a lid. The pot was hung over an open fire to bake.

Today, making a homemade pot pie isn’t the chore it was even two decades ago, thanks to conveniences Mom never had such as rotisserie chicken, food processors and frozen puff pastry.

Those who just can’t get enough of KFC’s chicken pot pie can duplicate it easily at home with the recipe that follows. Like KFC, we let Pepperidge Farm provide the crust and Campbell’s contribute the sauce. Adding a small amount of sugar to Campbell’s cream of chicken soup produced a dead ringer for the gravy in KFC’s pies. Using a supermarket rotisserie chicken made assembling the pot pie a snap.

The recipe calls for a 9- by 12-inch cake pan instead of individual pans, although it would be simple to buy individual aluminum pie pans and fill them instead. The baking time would be the same.

David Rosengarten came up with an incredible, company-worthy chicken pot pie in his new book, “The Dean & DeLuca Cookbook” (Random House). A buttery, flaky crust tops a filling of chicken, pearl onions and tender green beans in a rich cream sauce seasoned with rosemary.

The last pie is a hearty dish of sausages, parsnips and onions topped with a crust, from “One Bowl” by Kelly McCune (Chronicle Books). The recipe calls for gourmet sausages, such as apple and sage, which are available now in many stores; regular pork sausage may be substituted. Parsnips resemble white carrots and have wonderfully sweet flavor. They’re a nice addition to this pie.

Almost KFC Chicken Pot Pie

1 rotisserie chicken

1 sheet Pepperidge Farm frozen puff pastry

6 medium potatoes (about 1-1/2 pounds)

1-1/2 cups sliced carrots

1 cup frozen peas

Salt, pepper

2 cans (10-3/4 ounces each) Campbell’s condensed cream of chicken soup

2 soup cans milk

1-1/2 teaspoons sugar

Remove skin from chicken and shred meat into bite-size chunks. Measure out 4 cups and set aside, reserving any remaining chicken for another use.

Remove puff pastry sheet from box and thaw at room temperature. Meanwhile, scrub potatoes and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (peeling is not necessary). Place in a large pot. Add carrots; barely cover with hot water. Cover, bring to a boil and simmer until vegetables are just tender, about 10 minutes.

Place frozen peas in a strainer. Pour potatoes and carrots over the peas in the strainer and drain. Season with salt and pepper.

In same pot, combine soup and milk, stirring until smooth. Heat to a simmer. Stir in sugar. Add shredded chicken and vegetables and simmer until warmed through.

Unfold pastry sheet and roll out on a lightly floured board to a rectangle slightly larger than a 9- by 12-inch pan. Pour hot filling into pan. Moisten edges of pastry and place over filling, moistened edges down. Fold edges over rim of pan and press to seal.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown.

Yield: 6 generous servings.

Chicken Pot Pie With Rosemary

Dough:

1-1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, chilled and cubed

1/4 cup ice water

Filling:

2-1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut in 1-inch pieces

Salt, pepper to taste

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons garlic, finely minced

3 ribs celery, cut into 1/4-inch dice

2 large carrots, cut in 1/4-inch rounds

1 quart water

1/4 pound thin green beans

1 cup tiny pearl onions

5 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup flour

3 cups boiling chicken broth

1 cup milk

1/3 cup half-and-half

2-1/2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary

1 egg beaten with 2 tablespoons water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place flour, salt and butter in a food processor and pulse about 6 or 7 times, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (Tiny chunks of butter in the flour ensure a flaky crust, so be careful not to overprocess.)

While machine is running, add ice water through the tube and process until the dough starts to come away from the side (do not let it form a ball). Working quickly and handling the dough as little as possible, place dough on a lightly floured surface, shape into a ball and flatten slightly. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Season chicken well with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes, or until very lightly browned. Set aside.

Add remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan along with the garlic, celery and carrots and cook until tender, about 6 minutes. Set aside.

In a saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add green beans and cook until almost tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from water with slotted spoon, drain in strainer and immediately plunge beans into ice water. Drain and set aside.

Peel onions but leave root intact so onions hold together. Add to boiling water and cook for 10 minutes. Drain in a strainer, rinse and remove the root ends.

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and whisk for 1 minute. Add broth, milk and cream. Bring to a boil, whisking; reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and rosemary.

Place chicken and vegetables in a 1-1/2-quart baking dish. Pour sauce over filling and mix well.

On a floured surface, roll dough to a round that is about 1-1/2 inches larger than the baking dish. Place over the filling and crimp the edge. Prick top with a fork. Brush dough with the egg mixture. Bake until golden brown, about 45 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes before serving.

Yield: 6 servings.

Sausage, Parsnip and Onion Pie

1-1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour

Pinch of salt

12 tablespoons (1-1/2 sticks) cold butter

4 tablespoons ice water

18 tiny pearl onions

Pinch of sugar

1 pound sausage (preferably 2 varieties of gourmet sausage), cut in bite-size pieces

1/4 cup red wine

2 medium parsnips, peeled and cut in 1-inch pieces

1-1/4 cups beef broth

1 teaspoon dried sage

8 sprigs parsley, chopped

Salt, pepper to taste

Make dough in a food processor using flour, salt and 8 tablespoons butter. Add ice water through the tube and process until the dough forms a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.

Peel the skins off the onions and trim off the root. In a large pot over low heat, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter. Sprinkle the onions with sugar and cook them, stirring often, until well browned, about 10 minutes. Remove to a plate lined with paper towels and drain. Pour off the fat in the pot. In the same pot over medium heat, brown the sausage pieces. Remove and drain with the onions. Pour off any excess fat.

Pour the wine into the pot, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot and cooking down the wine, about 2 minutes. Add the parsnips and broth and simmer, covered, until the parsnips are just tender, 15 minutes. Remove the parsnips with a slotted spoon and set aside with the onions and sausage.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

With fingers, work remaining 2 tablespoons flour and 2 tablespoons butter into a paste. Stir paste into bubbling broth, a small amount at a time. Cook and stir until broth is thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add sage, parsley, salt and pepper. Add onions, sausage and parsnips and mix well. Pour into a deep pie plate.

Roll out dough to a circle 1/2-inch larger all around than pie plate. Place pastry over filling, folding edges under and crimping. Press edges firmly to plate. Make several slits in top. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes, until crust is golden.

Yield: 4 servings.