After you make some (unsweetened) patty shells, here's one of the MOST traditional things to put inside them. This is such a "ladies lunch" classic that every basic cookbook carried it, and every proper Lady was expected to serve it at some time or another, as she was expected to produce Waldorf Salad, tomato aspic, and "ambrosia" or she was NO Lady. ;D Of course, decades ago, when I was invited to a "luncheon" at the Roanoke, VA country club, as the Daughters of the American Revolution (blue-haired all) wanted to fete me and bestow a "Good Citizenship Award" upon me, a graduating Senior, THIS was on the menu, along with iced tea, and chocolate meringue pie:
Chicken A La King
Ingredients:
* 2 Tbsp butter
* Sliced mushrooms (in the olden days, these would come from a can, as would the red pepper, aka "pimento.")
* 1/2 red pepper cubed
* 1 cup frozen peas
* 2 Tbsp flour
* 1 cup chicken broth
* 1 cup milk
* a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce
* a few dashes of herbs: oregano, thyme, basil etc.
* 2 cups of cooked chicken
* 1 package of patty shells (or make your own; better!)
Melt butter in a pan. Add mushrooms and red pepper and heat for a couple of minutes until softish. Remove the pan from the heat. Slowly add in flour and whisk until absorbed. Stir in chicken broth, milk, Worcestershire sauce, meat and herbs. Simmer until the sauce reaches your desired consistency. Stir in peas in the last couple of minutes.
Preheat oven to 400F and bake the patty shells for 20 minutes until puffy. Fill patty shells with the chicken mixture.