Chicken Pot Chicken Pot Chicken Pot Pie

It's not really that I need another reason to head to Hollister Brewing Company as Eric Rose's ever-diverse and totally-tasty brews would get me in the door all by themselves. (And how wonderful it is he tweaks recipes, too, so, for instance, the current batch of White Star XPA is the creamiest ever.) But having Dylan Fultineeer in the kitchen certainly doesn't hurt HBC any. And while Dylan's mastery tends to show best at the magnificent beer dinners and on the daily specials, the latest re-vamp the regular menu helps show how comfortable he is with comfort food.Veggie lasagna. Pot roast. Cioppino. Pork belly sandwich (bacon's beefier cousin, if that's not an oxymoron).

But this entry is about the beauty photographed above, the new chicken pot pie. (And if you don't know the allusion in the title, please don't get Cross with me if you follow this link.) Get it while the weather's still a bit iffy, for it will warm you deeply, and not just because it comes piping hot from the oven and that crusty cap holds the heat. Nope, it's body-pleasing good--the kind of food we all dreamed our mothers made (instead of serving up the Swanson's frozen models). That puff pastry is flaky and layered but then doughy inside, too, cooked to perfection. And the contents, not just any chicken but the oh-so-au-courant Jidori. A luscious sauce with not trace of flour to thicken it up. Carrots and snow peas that haven't gone to mush in the saucy baking process.