Food for Thought – Shannon's Site

A Chicken Pie at Nanny’s House

As far back as I can remember, my Dad, Sister, and I always made frequent visits to my Nanny’s house. As a child, Nanny’s house always had a new adventure. Her house was old but made new by the hard work of her and my Grampy. Her house had old pillars that reminded me of ancient Greece. The living room was the largest room in the house, with plenty of room to have a family Christmas party. The ceilings had an intricate design, and the house was covered in soft carpeted floors. The kitchen is where the magic happened. For breakfast it was always cereal and toast with homemade jelly, because as a picky eater eggs were never on the menu. Supper was always in the kitchen, and was smaller than lunch, but always a balanced meal. Lunch was known as “Dinner” at Nanny’s, and always put together perfectly. It was held in the dining room, where the table was covered in an emerald green tablecloth. Plates, silverware, and cups were all set out before dinner was served, and there were trivets set out to signify the impending meal. Dinners at Nanny’s represented the togetherness of a family, and the love we all share for each other. Nothing represents that more than my favorite dish, Chicken Pie.

Chicken Pie is a dish my Nanny always made for me, because it was my absolute favorite. It is similar to Chicken Pot Pie, minus the vegetables. As a child, vegetables weren’t an option, but a plain pie crust was. Nanny always had the works for dinner. Smells of fresh potatoes, and garden peas filled the kitchen. Homemade rolls that fell apart at the touch were most definitely my favorite side dish. At last, the chicken pie would be ready and placed on the table, steaming hot. My Dad would serve everyone a piece, while being extra careful not to get burned by the pie pan. When I was a small child, my favorite part of the pie was the crust. It was plain, just the way I liked things back then. As I grew up, I began to crave the inside filled with chicken and homemade gravy. The chicken was saturated in gravy, so it melted in my mouth. I wish I had realized the rarity of this delectable meal when I was younger, and maybe then I would have savored it a little more.

The food we enjoyed together is what made family meals complete. At six years old, my parents decided to divorce, so some might say my family wasn’t whole anymore. Like Chicken Pie, my family now consists of many different parts. The homemade crust is similar to my biological family. It is what you first put down in the pie plate, the foundation of the dish. Then you add in the gravy and chicken. The filling is what gives the pie flavor, much like the new family I gained through my stepdad and my biological dad’s girlfriend. Without the filling and the crust, the pie could never be whole. The way I see it my parents divorce didn’t break me, it’s what built me into a whole person, a whole pie.

My Nanny is who makes my family complete, and we are her greatest joy. My Nanny has always loved cooking, baking, and visiting with her family and friends. Nanny is now 93 and had to move out of her exquisite house into a smaller assisted living facility, so she can’t make exquisite meals like she used to. I spoke with Nanny recently to find out what she remembers about my days at her house as a child. This first thing she said was “I already had it [Chicken Pie] made so I could spend time with you, and it’s a meal that I knew you really liked.” This didn’t surprise me, because the togetherness of family is something Nanny cherishes so much, which I’ve always admired about her. It is important to her that everyone she loves is fed, taken care of, and happy. When I was about eight years old, nothing made me happier than Nanny’s chicken pie.

Interestingly enough, Nanny and area quite similar when comparing our food interests. We both like to snack on popcorn while watching tv in the evenings, and we both love chicken pie. When I asked Nanny what her favorite meal is, she told me it was chicken pie and fried chicken, she then added “I’m a chicken person I guess.” You could say Nanny and I are both chicken people, but a more important similarity is we both love my Grampy. My grandparents spent seventy plus years together and they were the epitome of love. My Grampy passed away after a long fight with Alzheimer’s a year ago, which was felt by my entire family. My Grampy was 96 when he died, and he did so many great things throughout his life. When most families lose someone, they often turn to a comfort food. Chicken Pie is the most comforting food to me because it reminds me of all the memories, I shared with my Grampy and the rest of my family. All of the annual family Christmas parties are now baked into the Chicken Pie. They are scattered throughout the pie, and with each bite you are given a taste of a memory.

As I’ve grown over the years, I now understand why Chicken Pie is so important to me. When you’re a kid, you don’t realize how special a moment is, and how fast everything can change. Now that I’m older, I can see why my Dad cherished all the times we spent together eating dinners at Nanny’s. I recently spoke with my Dad about Nanny and what she means to him, and he thoughtfully put it “my mom was able to poor all of her cooking knowledge, experience, and love of her family into one dish [Chicken Pie]. She was delighted that she made a dish that everyone liked.” The love my Nanny, Dad, Grampy, and the rest of my family shares for each other is what made the memories behind a home cooked Chicken Pie so special. Like the ingredients of Chicken Pie, our family is at its best when we are all together. Chicken Pie wouldn’t be complete without the chicken, gravy, and pie crust all together, and neither would our family. It’s the togetherness and love, no matter what we go through, that means the most whenever I look back fondly on the memories of dinner at Nanny’s house.

The Recipe:

cover one or two chicken breasts with water and simmer with some chopped onion, salt, and pepper until tender, and flakes off the breast
you can add a chicken bouillon cube to add some flavor to the broth if you would like
remove the chicken and cut or shred into bite-sized pieces, and set aside
mix two tablespoons of flour with half a cup of cold water
mix the flour and water until it is very smooth with no lumps, add this mixture to the broth you cooked the chicken in
bring to a boil and cook until it thickens stirring constantly (approx. 4-5 mins)
Strain the mixture, filtering out the onion and any other stuff you don’t want in the gravy
Add the chicken to your gravy
Pour the mixture of of chicken and gravy into a prepared piecrust
Cover with the top piecrust making sure you put vents in the top pie crust using a knife
Bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until the crust is brown and it looks bubbly!