Recipe - Chicken Ham And Fennel Pot Pies

5 cup Canned lowsalt chicken
broth
2 small Fennel bulbs; trimmed,
halved lengthwise,
triangular core discarded,
thinly cut or sliced up
1 Three fourths pound Skinless boneless chicken
breast halves; cut into
1inch pieces
One half cup Diced carrot
5 tablespoon Unsalted butter
5 tablespoon All purpose flour
2 One half cup Milk; (do not use nonfat or
lowfat)
3 tablespoon Fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoon Fennel seeds; crushed
One half teaspoon Salt; (or more)
One fourth pound Thinly cut or sliced up country ham;
cut into matchsticksize
strips
Pie Crust; (see recipe)
1 Egg white; beaten to blend
(glaze)

Bring broth to boil in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add fennel; cook 7
minutes. Add chicken and carrot; simmer until fennel, chicken and carrot
are tender, about 10 minutes. Pour into strainer set over bowl; reserve
broth for another use.

Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over mediumhigh heat. Add flour; stir
2 minutes. Gradually add milk and whisk until sauce thickens, about 4
minutes. Add lemon juice, fennel seeds and One half teaspoon salt. Add chicken
mixture and ham. Season with salt and pepper. Divide filling among eight 1
1/4cup soufflé dishes or glass custard cups. Cool completely.

Roll out pie crust on flour surface to 1/8inch thickness. Cut out 8
rounds, each measuring One half to 1 inch larger in diameter than soufflé
dishes, gathering dough and rerolling as necessary. Cut out leaf
decorations from dough scraps, if desired. Lay 1 dough overhang firmly to
adhere to sides and top rim of dish. If using, brush bottom side of cutouts
with water and place on dough; cut slits in dough for steam to escape. (Can
be made 1 day ahead. Cover each with plastic; chill.)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Place pies on large baking sheet. Brush crusts with
glaze. Bake until pies heated through and crusts are golden, about
40 minutes.

PIE CRUST

Makes 8 small cups

3 cups sifted all purpose flour
Three fourths teaspoon salt Three fourths cup (1 One half sticks) chilled unsalted butter,
cut into pieces 4 One half tablespoons chilled vegetable shortening, cut into
pieces 6 tablespoons (about) ice water

Combine flour and salt in processor and blend. Add butter and shortening
and process, using on/off turns, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 4
tablespoons water; blend in. Add enough additional water by tablespoonfuls
to form moist clumps. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in
plastic and chill until cold, at least 1 hour or up to 1 day.

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