Of course there is a secret to the stunning chicken pot pie served at Twisted Sisters Pub & Grill — there must be.
Perhaps they shave in slivers of prized truffles to create the earthy, elegant savor in the broth. Maybe they touch it with saffron just before serving, lending that soft, herbal note. It’s even possible they traverse the Atlantic for Bresse chicken.
No, assures sous chef Esmeralda Negrete. It’s nothing that elaborate.
“We use a lot of butter,” she explained with a chuckle.
Indeed, the popular dish starts with a couple pounds of butter, in which they reduce a mirepoix of carrots, celery, onion and garlic. This fundamental technique develops into a robust homey character — rooted to the earth, certainly, but capable of a natural sweetness and a simmering bite.
The addition of house made chicken stock contains the mirepoix, giving it a rich and meaty depth — a swagger, if you will, that needs little help from chunks of oven roasted bird. The base of carrot and celery take on an almost herbal fragrance. The onion and garlic shear the hearty, musty note with a keen edge.
A stir of cream and the stew transforms into something almost delicate, even as the flavors swell and envelop your palate. Sparks from a determined shake of pepper nip through the weight of butter and cream. And the crust — a topping only of puff pastry — soars over the heavier ingredients, giving each bite an ethereal aspect.
Yes, there is meat. The chicken arrives in the kitchen fresh, never frozen. Chef Dathan Parks and his crew season the bird and roast it until tender, slightly sweet and somewhat rustic. It favors the deep character of the broth.
Hence the dish’s growing fan base, which came as somewhat of a surprise to restaurant staff.
“We didn’t think it would be that big,” Negrete recalled.
For generations brought up on pot pies waiting in tin on grocery shelves, the Twisted Sisters creation will come as a revelation. If there is a complaint with the elegant take on a down home favorite, it is the wait time. Preparing the dish requires a couple of people and 20 to 30 minutes — even with enough of the base at the ready.
“It’s made from scratch,” Negrete said, explaining the momentary delay.
Of course, one bite erases any discomfort. The world and its troubles, the stress of a workday back quietly into the distance. The plate and its simple glories are all that matter, at least while dinner lasts.
No need for elaboration.
Dave Faries can be reached at 900-2016
