Grandmother Hamden's Chicken Pie

This is an older recipe, and has a very narrative style to it, giving amounts such as "add a bit of cream." No precise measurements, which tells me that Great Grandmother Ethel Hamden Crockett must have cooked it so many times that she just knew what the right amount looked like! I think all good cooks have that natural sense of what amounts are just right. And you don't need to identify exact amounts because you have to see how the ingredients come together on a given day. What artistic freedom in cooking!

Speaking of artistic freedom, I did not follow all of the recommended ingredients. I'm partial to vegetables in a chicken pie, and couldn't bear to have the pie be veggie-free. So, I tossed in some vegetables. The recipe also calls for something I've never seen in a chicken pie...Boston Commons crackers. I went looking online, and evidently you can still get them, but not where I live. So a substitute of saltines can be used. It felt strange putting crackers in with the chicken, and I was concerned the pie would be too dry. As a result, I may have added too much "bit of cream." The end result was a soggy bottom crust, which didn't spoil the flavor of the pie, but was disappointing. I actually think Great-Grandmother intended for you to put the ingredients into a greased casserole dish, and just cover the top with a crust. That would eliminate any soggy bottom crust issues. But again, I'm a little set in my ways with some foods, and I felt this need to have a bottom and top crust. So I own that I learned something from the wisdom of the past!




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