I have quite a few cookbooks, but there is only one that I pick up and read front-to-back like a “real” book: The Pastry Queen by Rebecca Rather. And I do it a couple of times a month. I can close my eyes and recite a couple of the recipes by memory, much like the way I recited simple German verb conjugations in the 6th grade.

I could psycho analyze why I’ve taken to her book the way that I have - maybe it’s because she’s a fellow Texan, maybe it’s because I’d love the idea of leaving this big city behind for the beautiful hill country myself. But there’s really no need for all the soul-searching psycho babble - just take one bite of her All Sold-Out Chicken Pot Pie.

I’d call it the “ultimate comfort food,” but depending on the day and my mood, I could apply that label to just about anything edible That’s why we had chicken pot pie on a day when it reached 92 degrees outside.

It’s a rich and creamy concoction that lends itself to the flavors of the season. I stuff mine full of produce (peas, carrots, potatoes, and sweet red bell peppers) in the summer and leftover turkey and green beans at Thanksgiving. I stuff my husband’s bowl full of chicken, without a green pea in sight. And the crust. Oh my goodness, the crust. Can you ever go wrong with cream cheese?

The long list of ingredients might look daunting for a Tuesday night dinner, but start to finish, it only took me about an hour and 10 minutes with all three components going at once. Shuffle the recipe around to suit your veggie tastes and accommodate what you have on hand. And then crank down the AC, turn on some Christmas music, and tell me if it doesn’t feel like winter-in-a-bowl to you, too.

Chicken pot pie, adapted from The Pastry Queen
Filling
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium-size yellow onion, chopped
1 large russet potato, peeled and diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, diced
8 ounces button mushrooms, sliced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 purchased cooked rotisserie chicken or 1 whole stewed chicken, cooled (I use 4-6 chicken breasts, poached and shredded)
8 ounces fresh green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 (8-ounce) package frozen peas

Cream Sauce
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup all purpose flour
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
Dash of Tobasco (I use 1/2-1 tsp or so)
Salt and freshly ground white pepper (I use black pepper)

Pie Crust
1 cup (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces
3 cups all purpose flour
10 ounces chilled cream cheese, cut into large pieces
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper (I use black pepper)
1 large egg

To make the filling:
If cooking chicken breasts, pound the chicken breasts to 1/4-1/2 inch thickness and place in a pot of simmering water before chopping veggies so they’ll be ready to shred while the veggies are sauteing.

Melt the butter in a large sauté pan set over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots and celery and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, bell pepper, and mushrooms and sauté about 15 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Stir in the crushed red pepper, thyme and add salt and pepper to taste.

While the vegetables are sauteing, skin the chicken, pull the meat off the bones and shred the meat or cut into bite-size pieces. Stir the peas and chicken into the vegetable mixture. Set the filling aside.

To make the cream sauce:
Melt the butter over medium heat in a large saucepan. Add the flour and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the chicken stock and cook the sauce over medium heat until it thickens to the consistency of a cream soup. Add the cream, hot pepper sauce, and salt and white pepper to taste. Pour the cream sauce over the chicken filling and stir to combine. Fill individual 1/4-cup capacity oven-safe bowls three-quarters of the way to the top with the creamed chicken filling.

To make the crust:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, pulse the butter and flour until crumbly. Add the cream cheese, salt, and white pepper. Continue pulsing just until the dough forms a ball.

Set the dough on a flat surface dusted with flour. Use a floured rolling pin to roll the dough out to 1/4-inch thickness. Measure the diameter of the pot pie bowls—mine are about 4 inches across—and cut out dough rounds that are 1 1/2 inches larger in diameter. Whisk the egg in a small bowl. Lay the dough rounds on top of the pot pies, making sure the dough hangs evenly over each bowl. Brush the dough lightly with the beaten egg. Bake the pies for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown. Serve immediately.

You can also bake this in two 9-inch dishes or a single 9×13 inch dish, rolling out the dough to just slightly larger than the dish and topping it with the pastry, and tucking in the sides of the pastry.