Take the chill off with one at home

There are few things more satisfying for a cold winter’s meal than a personal-size, fresh from the oven pot pie, chock-full of chicken and vegetables in a luscious, creamy sauce, and topped with a crisp and flaky delicious pie crust. Oh, that first bite.

Chicken pot pie isn’t hard to make, but it does take a little time. The trick is getting all the ingredients to the right degree of doneness. You have to avoid under-cooking the carrots, onions and celery, and avoid over-cooking the meat and peas. The sauce needs to be not too thick or too thin, and the crust needs to be perfectly browned, seasoned and cooked through. But you don’t have to be Goldilocks to get it just right.

A thoughtful cook pays attention to each of the components — chicken, vegetables, sauce and topping. Special attention needs to be paid to seasoning, too, because it elevates the pot pie from tasting leftover-ish and ho-hum-bland to fresh, bright and special.

My recipe borrows from recipes, experience and my own idiosyncrasies on flavoring. Each element is freshly prepared, avoiding a mash-up committee of leftovers.

Chicken: Use thighs or breasts or a mix of both. Poaching the meat in chicken broth not only intensifies the broth (to be used in the sauce) but also it yields the tenderest meat. Always shred the meat by hand; the tender, irregularly shaped pieces will mix evenly with the vegetables

and, just like pasta, cause the sauce to cling. Do not dice the meat.

Vegetables: A quick saute keeps the colors bright and cooks off some of the liquid. Why? Added raw to the sauce, the veggies will not be fully cooked by the end of the short baking time, and they will release liquid that will thin the sauce.

Sauce: Even though you salt and pepper as you go, the filling will need a pick-me-up boost. Lemon juice or wine won’t work because their acids have a dulling effect on the colors of the vegetables. Sherry, however, is an ideal flavor booster because it is intensely flavored while less acid. Other uppers are fresh herbs, Accent (the flavor-enhancer, MSG) and a few drops ofhot sauce. I use them all.

Crust: There’s a topping for every level of cooking skill. My vote goes to piecrust pastry, the easiest and most familiar for most home cooks, and it provides just the right ratio of crustto-filling in each bite. Boost the crust with an egg wash to deepen the color and a good sprinkle of coarse salt and freshly cracked pepper. Packaged puff pastry is easy and can be dramatic, but too often it is under-baked resulting in a thick doughy patch in the center of the pie; even the best restaurants have that problem. Biscuits work well, too, but the finished dish looks cobbler-ish rather than like “pie.” Don’t bother with a bottom crust.

Dish: The pot pie can be baked in one large 9-by-13inch pan, although portions never seem to divide evenly. For individual luxury, divide the filling among four to six ovenproof dishes with a capacity of about two cups each. For the best ratio of filling to crust, the ideal shape is an oval about 1-inch deep. These odd-sizedishes are often found atdiscount stores.

To complete the menu, keep it homey, and serve potpies with a simply dressed green salad and pudding for dessert. Try to be humble when a slew of compliments come your way.