Last night I chowed down on chicken pie—the “famous” Centerville Pie Company one recommended by Oprah during one of her “Favorite Things” shows. I ordered the pie online from Harry and David’s:
The chicken pie is shipped frozen within two days.
The pie is made by two passionate pie ladies in Massachusetts: Kristin, a former banker and Laurie, a former sheriff, who decided to ditch their jobs and follow their dreams of baking pies for a living.
For that reason alone I salute them. And the fact that their Chicken Pie is YUMMY makes it an even better story.
I rate the pie four out of five stars, which is the consensus of the reviewers on the Harry &D website. The reason I didn’t give it five stars was because there are no veggies in it (which is why it is NOT called a “pot” pie) AND very little seasoning (if any?). I threw together a green salad and added a pinch of Himalayan sea salt—along with a dash of Mrs. Dash’s seasoning blend and pepper. Perfect!
The four stars are for the large quantity of chicken, its moistness and freshness; the melt-in-your-mouth flaky crust (probably loaded with butter so this pie is not low-calorie); lots of juicy gravy; and an overall ‘made-from-scratch’ taste.
Plus, cooking was a breeze (took about one hour forty minutes); made the whole house smell like a bakery; the top browned nicely. The pie was big enough for four large servings (like at my house)—or six normal portions. It comes with an extra packet of gravy. Since I didn’t have to assemble the pie myself, it was well worth the $20 (+ $10 shipping).
I read most of the reviews on Harry & David’s. Many people gushed about the tastiness and quality. They stated they would recommend the pie to family and friends and give it as a gift.
The reason some people rated the pie one or two stars was the high sodium content, high saturated fat content, not enough gravy, bland taste, took too long to cook, and “ground up” poor quality chicken.
Maybe there is a quality-consistency problem at the Centerville Pie Company—OR—you can please some of the people some of the time but not all of the people all of the time. As long as I’m not cooking, I’m happy!
I would certainly buy the Centerville Chicken Pie again—and one of its berry pies to go along with it. In addition to fruit, cream, and custard pies, they also make Shepherd’s Pie, beef pie, clam pie, and a “French Meat” pie (with ground beef and pork—think I’ll pass).
To Kristin and Laurie: Keep up the yummy work and DREAM ON!
P.S. You can reheat the pie in a microwave the next day for another delicious dinner.
One-fourth of the chicken pie. Add vegetables for a complete meal.
