Comfort food.

What a terrible week this has been. Thank goodness we've finally crossed the threshold into Friday. It's times like these that make me really appreciate comfort food. Carbs, butter, and overall flavor -- that's the stuff.

For so many of us, the automatic response to a birth/death/launch/milestone is to cook, bake, or buy food for the folks involved. Besides being a surefire way to lure people to events (think open houses, or every club meeting in college), food shows people you care -- it's a way of sharing something of yourself with others, a way of invoking those who have cooked for you to pass on the good feeling. Sometimes it's celebratory, other times offered in comfort. Either way, it's an important part of our social fabric. In Filipino culture, the standard greeting literally translates to, "Have you eaten yet?"

And few things are more comforting or welcoming than a flaky, buttery, double-crusted chicken pot pie. For me, a bottom layer of crust is mandatory. For all pies, sweet or savory, mine must be a tidy little pocket with crisp layers of pastry enveloping whatever goodness bubbles within. In this case, it's a rich, creamy sauce studded with cubes of roast chicken and vegetables -- irresistible.

As with all slow-cooking comfort food, I'm sure you could speed up the prep time considerably by using rotisserie chicken, frozen vegetables (perfectly respectable), and store-bought crust. Otherwise I recommend splitting the project into multiple days. It takes some time, but it's totally worth it. It's like a hug for your mouth.

What's your favorite comfort food?

*
Chicken Pot Pie
Adapted from Ina Garten
Makes four individual pies (5-6" in diameter) plus some extra filling

3 split chicken breasts, bone-in, skin-on, roasted*
Olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 c chicken stock
12 T unsalted butter
2 c chopped onion
1-2 T fresh thyme
3/4 c all-purpose flour
3 T heavy cream
2 c medium-diced carrots, blanched for 2 minutes
1 1/2-2 c frozen peas
1/2 c minced fresh parsley leaves
1 1/2 recipes pie crust (sans topping)
1 egg
1 T water

Remove roast chicken from skin and bones, then cut into 1" cubes. In a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock. In a large pot, melt the butter and saute onions and thyme over medium-low heat for 10-15, until onion is translucent. Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 min. Add the hot chicken stock to the sauce. Simmer over low heat for 1 min., stirring, until thick. Add 2 t salt, 1/2 t pepper, and heavy cream. Add the cubed chicken, carrots, peas, onion, and parsley. Mix well.

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Roll out pastry crust and fill oven-proof bowls or individual pie plates. Divide the filling equally among vessels. You will likely have extra filling, which can be saved for future pies or topped with biscuit dough. Roll out the rest of the pie crust and top the pies. Crimp edges, cut slits on top, and brush with egg and water, beaten together. Sprinkle with salt and cracked pepper. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling hot.

* To roast chicken, preheat oven to 350ºF. Drizzle split breasts with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roast for 35-40 min, depending on the size. Let cool and remove from skin and bones.