Comments on: Chicken Cobbler

By: Marc Matsumoto

Marc Matsumoto — Thu, 05 Jan 2017 01:58:19 +0000

Hi Kim, I'm not sure what freezing would do to the texture of the sauce. Were you thinking of baking it first and then freezing or freezing prior to baking?

By: Kim

Kim — Mon, 02 Jan 2017 19:53:04 +0000

Can this be frozen? & reheated please

By: Marlo

Marlo — Sat, 21 Jun 2014 22:23:00 +0000

This recipe is delicious, although I changed it up a bit, based on what I had in the pantry. I used tuna, instead of chicken, shiitake mushrooms, and used sour cream+milk with reduced amounts of butter for the biscuits instead of yogurt. Yummy!

By: Marc Matsumoto

Marc Matsumoto — Mon, 09 Jun 2014 00:41:00 +0000

Hi KimNB, it's a good point you raise and the definitions of food words is often a bit murky. According to Harold McGee in On Food and Cooking, the english word "pie" comes from magpie, a bird with variegated coloring who collects odds and ends for it's nest. The original meaning was a dish in a nest that had odds and ends thrown in. Since this dish has no nest, it doesn't really fit with the original meaning. That said, the modern British definition of pie seems to have taken the odds and ends part and forgotten about the nest part since there are dishes like cottage pie and shepherds pie (both topped with mashed potatoes). So if you were British you could almost be excused for calling this a pie, except according to wikipedia, the British definition of cobbler includes savory casserole fillings under a scone (biscuit), so I think this dish would still be called a cobbler in the UK. As for a cobbler being a type of pie, I respectfully disagree. A pie is a type of pastry, and according to McGee, pastries fall into one of 4 categories: Crumbly (such as a pâte brisés or shortbread), Flaky (such as an American pie), Laminated pastry (puff pastry, phyllo, etc), and Laminated bread (croissant). While he doesn't make specific mention of cobblers, biscuits are listed under an entirely different category of "quick bread".

By: KimNB

KimNB — Sun, 08 Jun 2014 20:08:00 +0000

Well if Wiki is right, cobblers are just a subset of pies where there is only a top crust. The crust can be pastry, biscuit, potatoes, etc. So if you want to go with cobbler go for it, recognizing that the use of cobbler for a savory dish is pretty rare in North America. Technically the biscuit folks are also correct with their pot pie recipe. Regardless of what you call it your recipe looks great.

By: Marc Matsumoto

Marc Matsumoto — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 00:35:00 +0000

Hahaha, glad to hear I'm not the only one that thought this was odd:-) As for the filling I don't think there's any right or wrong way to make it, just like there's no wrong way to make apple pie filling (as long as it has apples). Broccoli and mushrooms sound delicious! Thanks for the heads up on PA Dutch country chicken "pot pie". It's fascinating to hear how foods evolve as they trek around the world.

By: kiki

kiki — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 18:47:00 +0000

Interesting name cobbler. I prepare a quite similar dish using puff-pastry dough (ok, there exists a huge variety of ingredients I use, to give the old lady bechamel a little kick, such as champagne, cognac, different kinds of vegetables and mushrooms..). It never came to my mind to make a biscuits crust - did not know such thing exists. Have to try it. Thank you for sharing.

By: Rachel(Short[dis]Order Cook)

Rachel(Short[dis]Order Cook) — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 11:15:00 +0000

I had to laugh at your post because this is something that has been on my mind lately. I make a "chicken pot pie" that is a chicken and vegetables covered in a layer of biscuit crust. I have been thinking that it really is a misnomer to call it "Pot Pie" when it truly is a cobbler. In fact, I had been planning to call it that going forward. I thought the idea was so original too! I guess we can only say great minds think alike. :-) If it bugs you that chicken covered in biscuit crust is called a pot pie, I suggest you never order chicken pot pie in PA Dutch country. I went to college in that area. The cafeteria served "chicken pot pie" that was really just a chicken soup with very large noodles. When I commented to a friend who was from the area that it seemed like a silly name for a soup, she told me that it was the legitimate PA Dutch way to make chicken pot pie. I still might be insulting chicken pot pie with my cobbler though. I don't like the traditional peas and carrots, so I make mine with broccoli and mushrooms. Very far afield of the classic.