Return of BOB-- a chicken shepherd's pie

Once again, I turned to Rachael Ray's Big Orange Book for dinner inspiration, settling on "Chicken and Garlic Herb Potato Shepherd's Pie."  We chose this recipe because it had a lot of ingredients that we already had, and tweaked it to reflect those rather than buying a whole bunch of things for just one recipe.  Here's my version:

Chicken and Garlic Potato Shepherd's Pie
3-4 potatoes
2 chicken breasts
1 carrot
1/2 C frozen peas
1 scallion
1-2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1/4 C white wine
1 C chicken stock
1 Tbsp mustard
2 oz. cream cheese
2 cloves garlic confit
1 Tbsp fresh snipped chives
2 egg yolks
1 Tbsp parsley

Begin by dicing the chicken into smaller-than-bite-size pieces.  Also dice the carrot, and chop the scallion.  Preheat the oven to 400˚F.

Peel and roughly chop the potatoes.  Place them in a pot, cover with water, and salt.  Bring to a boil and simmer until tender, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat some oil over medium heat in a sauté pan, then add the chicken.  Season with salt and pepper and cook to golden brown.  Transfer the chicken to a casserole dish, add a tad more oil to the pan, and sauté the carrots for a couple minutes.  Add the frozen peas and scallion, season with salt and pepper, and sauté two more minutes.  Set the veggies aside, but keep using the same pan-- melt a tablespoon or so of butter and add flour to make a roux.  Whisk in the wine, then the chicken stock (keep about 2 Tbsp back to add to the potatoes later), and cook until slightly thickened.  Return the veggies, and season with mustard, salt, and pepper.  Pour over the chicken in the casserole dish, and stir to combine.

Drain the potatoes, and mash them with cream cheese, garlic, chives, and the withheld chicken stock.  If they're still not smooth and creamy, add a bit of milk to get them to the proper texture.  Stir in the egg yolks and parsley, then spread the mixture over the chicken and veggies in the casserole.  Bake until the top is set and slightly toasted, about 15 minutes.

I really liked this!  The wine-and-mustard sauce was fantastic; I may also use it for pot pies.  The potatoes also turned out nicely on their own.  (But, if I do say so myself, I know mashed potatoes!)  The original recipe called for fresh tarragon, but I didn't feel like anything was missing.  Such a flavorful sauce.  And I love some shepherd's pie.  Tender, flavorful meat and veggies on the bottom, potatoes with just a hint of crisp to them…  This recipe and adaptation did not disappoint!