Chicken and Biscuits, not Pot Pie
After a long debate, I have stopped calling this Chicken Pot Pie. A pot pie would have a pie crust, possibly top and bottom, and this does not- it has biscuits on top. I agree; I was wrong. I blame my mother...The recipe was titled "Vermont Chicken and Biscuits," although my mom has been making me some version of this my whole life (I think it came off the Bisquik box, but don't tell anyone).
This recipe came from the Vermont angle of the cookbook "At Blanchard's Table" (they moved from Vermont to Anguilla to start a restaurant).
Since the original version made 12 servings, here are the portions I used to serve 2... for 3 days:
3 lbs chicken breast
1/2 large onion
1/4 c shallots
1 stalk celery
2 carrots
1 bay leaf
3/4 t thyme
3/4 T parsley
1 c chicken broth
1/8 c flour (of course, I didnt measure that- I just eye balled 1/2 of 1/4 cup. Duh)S&P
Add chicken, onions, shallots, carrots, herbs, broth, and 2 cups of water into a large pot and boil, then reduce to low. Directions says for 1-1.5 hours, I think I did 1 hour total. (You are supposed to take out the chicken and reduce the broth down for another hour, but I didnt do that for very long- I think at 45 minutes I took the chicken out- and layered in the pan, let the gravy simmer down while I made the biscuits.)
Meanwhile in a bowl elsewhere, I added together 3/4 c flour, 1/12 cup (yup, one twelfth... a couple tablespoons) cornmeal, 2 t baking powder, 1/4 t salt, mixed together with 2.5 T butter and 1/4 c and 2 t milk. (This is what happens when you cut 12 servings to 3). To be honest, I'm having a hard time remembering, but I think I went back and doubled the biscuits because I opted for a shallow long pan (a gift from my mamma). so 1.5 c flour, 1/6 c cornmeal, 4 t bpwder, 1/2 t salt; 5 T butter, and a little more than 1/2 c milk. (You can use a cookie cutter, but I just made flat pancake looking things. 1/2" thick)
Preheat oven to 475, pour gravy over chicken, layer biscuit dough on top. Bake for 20 minutes.
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