Food and Recipes Recipes Nikkia Rhodes' Chicken Pot Pie Be the first to rate & review! Nikkia Rhodes is one of our 2021 Cooks of the Year. By Nikkia Rhodes Nikkia Rhodes Raised in Louisville's Smoketown neighborhood, Rhodes always understood the value of giving back. Her mother and grandmother managed the Volunteers of America family shelter kitchen, and as she spent time there, she saw the power of serving others and sharing a meal. In high school, she met Damaris Phillips, who encouraged her to enroll in advanced-level cooking classes at Jefferson Community & Technical College. Soon after that, she was accepted into the LEE Initiative's Women Culinary & Spirits Program. Rhodes wanted to be a teacher, and in 2018, she started a culinary program at Iroquois High School and later helped establish the McAtee Community Kitchen. She was a Southern Living 2021 Cook of the Year. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Published on August 9, 2021 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Emily Dorio Active Time: 40 mins Total Time: 2 hrs Servings: 8 Jump to recipe This recipe for Chicken Pot Pie comes from 24-year-old Kentucky native Nikkia Rhodes, who has made it her mission to train a new generation of cooks. Working again with the LEE Initiative, Rhodes helped establish the McAtee Community Kitchen and took on the responsibility of running it, with help from her culinary students. "I am an example of how people can have a positive impact on your life," she says. "If I can show my students how to find their talents and then use them to serve others and better their communities, that is the best part of my job." With a homemade crust and a well-spiced filling, Rhodes' Chicken Pot Pie is an elegant take on the Southern classic. This recipe helps you focus your energy in all the right places: A homemade crust really elevates this pot pie, and using rotisserie chicken is an unfussy shortcut to a supple, flavorful filling. A chill in the refrigerator allows the dough to hydrate, reducing the risk of overworking and resulting in flaky, tender pastry. The creamy filling, loaded with onion, carrots, potatoes, mushrooms, and rotisserie chicken, is just thick enough to hold when sliced. This chicken pot pie with rotisserie chicken can be made ahead and baked off at a later time—just store it wrapped in the refrigerator for up to 2 days after assembling. Ingredients Crust 3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt ¾ teaspoon garlic powder ¾ teaspoon onion powder 1 ½ cups cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes 8 - 10 tablespoons cold water Filling 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 medium-size yellow onion, chopped (about 2 cups) 4 medium carrots, peeled and chopped (about 1 cup) 1 ½ cups Yukon Gold potatoes, chopped (from 3 medium potatoes) ½ cup roughly chopped shiitake mushrooms ½ cup roughly chopped baby portobello mushrooms 4 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste 1 ½ teaspoons black pepper, plus more to taste ½ teaspoon dried thyme ½ teaspoon dried sage ½ teaspoon garlic powder 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour 3 cups chicken stock 2 cups whole milk 3 tablespoons cream cheese 4 cups shredded rotisserie chicken (skin removed) 2 cups packed fresh spinach, chopped Additional Ingredients 1 large egg, lightly beaten 1 teaspoon flaky sea salt Directions Prepare the Crust: Pulse flour, salt, garlic powder, and onion powder in a food processor until well combined, about 5 pulses. Add cold butter; continue pulsing until butter is pea size, about 10 pulses. Add 4 tablespoons cold water; pulse until incorporated, about 5 pulses. Slowly add up to 6 tablespoons cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing until dough just comes together. (You may have to take dough out of food processor and bring it together with your hands. Do not knead the dough.) Shape into a 1-inch-thick disk; wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Chill at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours. Prepare the Filling: Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high. Add onion, carrots, potatoes, and shiitake and portobello mushrooms. Cook, stirring often, until vegetables are tender and beginning to caramelize, 5 to 8 minutes. Add salt, pepper, dried thyme, dried sage, and garlic powder. Continue cooking, stirring constantly, until vegetables are evenly coated, about 1 minute. Add butter, and cook, stirring often, until completely melted. Stir in flour. Continue cooking, stirring constantly, until flour mixture is golden brown and nutty, about 2 minutes. Add stock, milk, and cream cheese; bring to a boil over medium-high, stirring often. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer, stirring often, until thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove Dutch oven from heat, and stir in shredded chicken and spinach; season to taste with salt and pepper. Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a 13- x 9-inch baking dish with butter; set aside. Remove and discard plastic wrap from dough. Cut dough disk in half; roll 1 half into a ⅛-inch-thick, 17- x 13-inch rectangle on a work surface lightly dusted with flour. Place dough in prepared baking dish; gently push into bottom and up sides of dish, allowing about 1 inch to extend over sides. (It is okay if it gets a hole in it; just press dough back together.) Add Filling mixture to baking dish. Roll remaining dough half into a ⅛-inch-thick, 10- x 14-inch rectangle. Cut 9 (13- x 1-inch) strips from dough; arrange in a lattice pattern on top of Filling mixture, pressing ends to bottom Crust layer to seal. Trim excess dough from strips; discard. Fold down dough overhang on sides; pinch to seal to lattice strips. Brush dough lattice and border with egg, and sprinkle evenly with flaky sea salt. Bake until Crust is golden and Filling is bubbling, 40 to 45 minutes. Let rest at room temperature 5 minutes before serving. Rate it Print