“My Husband’s a Jerk Chicken Pot Pie: Pound chicken til it’s unrecognizable. Pack flour quickly. Use only essential ingredients. Simmer without a lid allowing the vapor to escape swiftly from the mixture.”

For someone who loves baking and musicals, it took me a really long time to get into Waitress. Now that I’m into it, I’m DEEP into it. This is my rendition of Jenna’s chicken pot pie. Recipe makes one pie, but I doubled to make two.

I N G R E D I E N T S

Pie Crust

• 2 sticks of cold butter, diced
• 2 1/2 cups of flour (315 grams)
• 2 teaspoons of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 cup of ice cold water, subbing 1 tablespoon of the water with apple cider vinegar
• 1 egg for eggwash

Filling

• 3 tablespoons of butter
• 1/4 cup of flour
• 3/4 cups of milk
• 1 cup of chicken broth
• 1/2 pound of chicken breast
• 1/2 cup of diced onion
• 1/2 cup of diced bell pepper
• 1/2 cup of diced sweet potato
• 1/2 cup of frozen green peas
• 1 tablespoon of jerk spices
• Salt and pepper to taste

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D I R E C T I O N S

1. Prep the filling first. Place the chicken breast in a saucepan of just enough water to cover it. Add half of the jerk spices. Turn the stove on high. Once at a boil, lower the heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 5-8 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken registers 165°F. Once cooked and cooled, chop into bite sized pieces or shred.
2. In a small saucepan, boil the peeled and diced sweet potato until fork tender. Remove from heat and drain.
3. In a large pot, melt the 3 tablespoons of butter on medium high heat. Add the bell pepper and onion and cook until tender.
4. Stir in the flour and cook for a minute. Add in the milk and broth and bring to a boil, stirring constantly while it thickens.
5. Add the frozen peas, chicken, sweet potato, and remaining jerk spices. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Continue stirring until peas are cooked. Let filling cool while making the pie crusts.
6. In a large bowl, add the 2 1/2 cups of flour and mix in the 2 teaspoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt.
7. Cut in the very cold butter using a fork and knife, and then use your hands to combine the butter chunks with flour until the butter resembles the size of blueberries.
8. Drizzle in the water and vinegar mixture. You may not need the entire amount for the dough to come together.
9. Turn the mixture onto the counter and use your hands to press into a shaggy dough. Work quickly so the butter doesn’t melt. There should be visible butter pieces in the dough, it should not be completely smooth. Butter chunks evaporate in the oven, leaving light and flaky layers. If you overwork the dough, you will get a tough crust without layers. Divide dough into two equal discs. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour.
10. Roll out one of the chilled discs of dough to about 1/8 inch thick, working quickly. Flour work surface and rolling pin as necessary. Roll the crust into a metal 9 inch pie pan. Refrigerate while you roll out the other dough disc to the same thickness.
11. Preheat the oven to 425°F with a baking sheet on the middle rack.
12. Fill the pie pan with filling and roll the second crust on top. Press the edges of the top and bottom crust together to seal. Use scissors or a knife to cut the excess crust right to the edge of the pie pan. Crimp however you’d like. Use a knife to cut vent holes on top to allow steam to escape. Freeze for 15 minutes.
13. Make an eggwash by beating an egg with a splash of water or milk. Brush the eggwash on the top crust.
14. Bake at 425°F for 20 minutes. Lower the heat to 375°F and continue cooking for 35-40 minutes until golden brown.