personal potpies, please!

the other day while i was at world market (where i should really not even be allowed to enter with a credit card), i found these absolutely precious souffle ramekins on sale for $3 for a set of 4.  my mind started racing with recipes for things i could make in cute individual servings: molten lava cakes, three-cheese souffles, flan, individual baked macaroni and cheese... and of course, the classic potpie.

i decided to make a lighter version of the classic potpie with crust only on the top instead of all the way around, so the ramekin worked perfectly.  i made my filling, ladled it in individual portions, topped the whole shootin' match with pie dough, and in the oven it went.

i started by prepping the veg: cut up two medium stalks of celery, two medium carrots, and one small onion in similar sized pieces.  this is called a mirepoix (look at all these fancy cooking terms you're learning, hahaha!).  heat up a tablespoon or so of butter along with a splash of olive oil in a pan. *note:  the butter gives the veg flavor when you're sauteeing them, but it can burn easily.  mixing in a splash of oil helps keep it from burning!*  sautee the veg in the pan with some S&P until they are soft.

after about 5 or 10 minutes of sauteeing, it's time to start the roux.  add about three tablespoons of flour right to the pot and stir it around to coat the veg.  let the flour cook until it toasts and loses its raw-flour flavor.  next, add one 14oz. can of chicken broth and 3/4 cup of fat-free half and half (or 2% milk or heavy cream) to the pot and stir in half a pint of quartered baby button mushrooms.  bring up to a simmer and watch the mixture thicken (thanks to that roux we made!).

while it simmers, take a fresh rotisserie chicken (or leftover white/dark meat from dinner the night before if you have it in your fridge), and shred the meat into a bowl.  you'll need about two cups for four potpies. once your sauce has thickened, add the chicken to the pot and stir.  at this point, taste and season with S&P and a pinch of nutmeg.  finally, add a big handful of frozen peas and stir until everything is warm and the filling has thickened.  *note:  is your filling too runny?  spoon some of the liquid from your pot and put it into a small bowl with another tablespoon or so of flour, and whisk until completely smooth (this is called a slurry).  pour this back into your pot and stir until it gets thick!*


now its time to fill the ramekins!  make sure they are good and clean and then set them up on a cookie sheet.  ladle the potpie filling in to each one, making to leave some room at the top.

take a sheet of pie dough from the refrigerated section of the grocery and roll it out slightly to make it a little thinner.  find a bowl or tupperware that has a slightly larger opening than the ramekins and use it to cut out four potpie tops. you'll want some extra dough around the sides so you can stretch it over the ramekins!

once you have the pie dough on the top, put a little egg-wash on top (one egg and a few teaspoons of water, beaten up) and take a sharp knife and slit the top so that the steam can escape while the pies bake.  bake them in the oven according to the pie dough directions on the box.  the filling is already nice and hot, so all we're doing in the oven is getting the nice golden-brown and crusty top that everyone loves!

be very, very careful when enjoying these pies as they are absolutely MOLTEN on the inside (oh, and the ramekins themselves are very hot... a little fact that I forgot when picking one up...).  this is a perfect dish when you want a little taste of home or a big punch of flavor in your own personal cup :]

share these with friends or eat them all by yourself!  enjoy!