Saturday, May 16, 2009

Recipe: Chicken Savory Pie (a la Rodney Henry)

Was watching Paula Dean's "Best Dishes" show this morning on Food Network and was most impressed with a guest chef and musician, Rodney Henry, owner of Baltimore pie shop (and coffee house), Dangerously Delicious Pies. Loved this guy's energy and his take on a most interesting dish: Chicken Savory Pie.

I really like this guy's vibe and i think he would be great with his own show. Hip, down-to-earth, funny, and... most importantly... he can cook his ever lovin' ass off. i'm a DC native and get up to Balto a sometimes when i'm back home visiting family, and after seeing his segment, i'll be sure to seek out this joint the next time i'm in Baltimore and give this guy some love.

You can find his bio here.
And a nice YouTube piece on Rodney that includes clips from his appearance with Paula Dean here.

But seriously, i wouldn't be surprised if this guy ends up with his own show one day. if the guy from Charm City Cakes and that pseudo, and that somewhat "clownish" over-the-top hipster Guy Fieri can get a show, why not this guy? he trumps them both on style and "authentic" (not put on or phony) personality by miles... just my 2 cents.

Other hints that this guy might be getting groomed for a pilot and that maybe this appearance on Paula's Show may have been a "screen test" of sorts comes from the fact that i noticed from Henry's restaurant website that he also appeared on The Neelys Road Tested show for the Food Network in 2008. Both the Neelys and Paula Dean were "discovered" and are executive produced by Gordon Elliot. Could it be an accident that this really charismatic, talented guy has appeared on 2 programs that Elliot produces on the Food Network? I doubt it.

Well... if anyone is listening (er, reading..) at the Food Network or at Gordon Elliot's production company... GET ON THIS GUY... he's got star quality, he's fun to watch and it looks like he as a unique culinary take that would attract a loyal following...

Below find the recipe of the Savory Chicken Pie that he made with Paula... sorry, couldn't find a picture, but you'll have to take my word for it. looked righteous... gonna have to try it one day.
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Savory Chicken Pie

Recipe courtesy Rodney Henry

Prep Time: 30 min

Cook Time: 2 hr 35 min

Serving: 1 (9-inch) pie


Ingredients:

3 whole carrots, peeled and chopped

2 Vidalia onions, quartered

1 (5-pound) whole chicken

1/4 cup salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 stick butter, softened

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

2 sprigs fresh sage


Filling:

1 cup sliced carrots

4 red potatoes, sliced thin

3/4 cup corn

1/2 cup peas

2 1/2 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup all-purpose flour


Crust:

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface

2 tbs salt

1 tbs sugar

1 1/2 cups vegetable shortening

2 cups cold water

1/2 cup butter, melted


Directions:


For the Chicken:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Stuff onions and carrots into the cavity of the chicken. Rub salt, black pepper and butter into skin of chicken. Place rosemary sprigs under the skin and place into a roasting pan. Place sage on top of chicken and roast for 1 1/2 hours.


Remove the chicken from the oven. Transfer to a cutting board and allow to cool.


For the filling:

Place carrots and potatoes on sheet pan and season with salt and pepper. Place into the preheated oven and roast until caramelized.


When chicken has cooled, discard the onions, carrots, sage and rosemary. Pull the chicken meat off the bones and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Place into a large bowl with chicken juice from roasting pan along with potatoes, carrots, peas, corn, heavy cream and flour. Mix together well. Set aside for crust. *Cook's Note: Filling will be thick.


For the crust:

Knead all ingredients together in a large bowl, slowly adding the water. Divide into 2 pieces and roll out on a lightly floured work surface. One will be the bottom crust, the other the top. Place 1 piece of dough into the bottom of a 9-inch pie dish. Add filling and top with the other piece of dough. Crimp the edges together with a spoon or a fork. Brush the top crust with melted butter and bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes.

7 comments:

Stephanie J. said...

thanks for this! i saw this show and wanted to make this!!! I just started it!!!! thanks for posting

HerbyN said...

glad i could help, Stephanie. Please let me know how the recipe works out. i can't wait to try it myself...

stephanie j said...

so. the crust was no good! I had to use a normal crust recipe for this. The inside was good, but a little thick, i would make it a little gravier. all in all, not the best. even though it looked marvelous on paula deen... :/

HerbyN said...

interesting... i kind of thought the filling looked a little pastey on TV... you know you always want to account for a little drying out during the cooking process...

and the crust... don't get me started on crust... i may be the worst baker ever... still working on bread and have never gotten a homemade crust right...

thanks for the tips, though... i think if i try it i'll add more liquid, less flour to the filling, and be careful with the crust...

did you roast the chicken like on the show? how did that go? might be worth trying just the roast chicken part of the recipe.

anyway, thanks so much for the feedback!

stephanie j. said...

i did roast the chicken like they did, and it turned out great! very very moist, and just delicious.

RickB said...

Hey Herby, I agree with you 100% that Rodney would be perfect for his own show. I'd watch it.

Also, I've got my chicken pie in the oven right now and I hope it turns out ok. I didn't read Stephanie's comment before I made the pie crust so I have my fingers crossed. I noticed that I had to use a lot less water than what they said to use on the show. About a cup instead of two cups. Or else my dough would've been too wet. The other thing I changed was I put the chicken in a crock pot instead of roasting it in the oven. I'll report back my results!

By the way, was it just me or did it seem like Paula had a little crush on Rodney? :)

HerbyN said...

@RickB... i'm with you re: Rodney's own show... someone questioned whether he has enough versatility (enough recipes) to carry a show for more than a season... i mean, how many pies can a brother make, they asked?

personally, i don't agree with that argument... if you ask me the main thing that most Food Network hosts lack is... PERSONALITY... if you have that, an audience would watch a compelling, charismatic person make freakin' lemonade (e.g. Paula, the Nealys)...

anyway... we can only wait (and hope), that we get more rodney on air...

regarding your pie test... please do let us know how it turns out.

and thanks for posting.

h.

p.s. yeah, i think paula had a little crush on RH... there was definitely a simpatico and chemistry between them that made that particular episode uniquely compelling and watchable...