Vickie with her family at the National Championship game in 2018 – (left-right) Hal and Alice Pruitt, Kelley Pruitt Blanton, Barbara Hartman and Vickie Pruitt Farmer.
Name: Vickie Farmer
Hometown: Athens, Ga.
What Years at UGA: 1969-1973
School/Degree: College of Arts and Sciences, Sociology and Psychology
Down Home Cooking
Five ingredients always in your pantry:
- Stuffed green olives and black olives
- Low sodium chicken broth
- Frito Scoops
- Jars of homemade pickles
- Red wine, preferably Jordan cabernet
Five ingredients always in your fridge:
- Whole milk
- Half and half
- Pimento cheese
- Celery
- White wine, preferably Santa Margherita pinot grigio
Favorite seasonal produce right now?
My homegrown Rutgers Heirloom tomatoes (I planted 96 tomato plants this year). Also, my other homegrown produce which includes cucumbers, eggplants, jalapeno and banana peppers and collard greens. The reason these are my favorites is because they are extremely fresh and available right out back.
Describe your garden as it changes each season:
The above mentioned produce is planted in the late spring and it blooms and ripens in the summer with the exception of collard greens. I plant them in the fall and pick, cook, and freeze them after the first frost of late fall/winter.
Describe your Bulldog game day routine:
I always wake up early on Gameday. I begin my day cooking all kinds of food to get ready for the game. Pregame I always listen to the CDs Bulldog Boogie and Boz Scaggs Greatest Hits while cooking. Boz Scaggs sings Georgia, one of my favorite songs to play on Gameday! I watch the game from kick off to the very end on my kitchen TV and most of that time I stay busy on my feet cooking.
If you had to choose one last meal, what would it be?
Veal Piccata, Vermicelli pasta with homemade Pomodoro sauce, made with my fresh tomatoes. Also, a fabulous Caesar salad. This has just ALWAYS been one of my favorite meals.
If you could only have one cookbook, what would it be?
I do not use cookbooks. All of my recipes are in my head.
How did you get into cooking? Is there a person or a dish that influenced you?
Very early in my childhood, I began cooking with my grandparents. They were a big influence on the reason I have such a large garden. They taught me how to cook homemade food with homegrown produce. For many years of my adult life, I have been cooking with Forrest Adcock who has taught me a lot in the kitchen. Coincidentally, he grew up next door to my grandparents.
What is your “signature dish?”
Homemade chicken pot pie which I have been cooking a long time. My recipe hasn’t changed a bit since 1988.
INGREDIENTS:
- 4 chicken breasts
- 3 carrots
- 1 large potato
- 1 ½ cups frozen green peas
- Onion
- Celery
- Chicken broth
- Egg yolks
- Pie crusts (I use Pillsbury Ready Crusts)
- Butter
- Bouquet Garni (whole black peppercorns, bay leaves, smushed whole garlic cloves wrapped in cheese cloth and tied with string)
- Flour
- Egg whites
Preparation: Boil the 4 chicken breasts in ½ Campbells chicken broth and ½ water. Add and boil together with the chicken the bouquet garni, 1 stalk celery, 1 carrot cut in large chunks, and ½ onion cut in large chunks. (All will be discarded except the chicken and the broth).
While the chicken is cooking: peel and dice 3 carrots, 1 large potato, 1 stalk of celery cut into very small pieces, ¼ onion cut in very small pieces. Add the frozen green peas and boil all ingredients together in ½ Campbell’s chicken broth and ½ water. Boil only for about 10-15 minutes. Drain vegetable mixture and set aside.
Spray deep casserole dish with Pam. Line bottom and sides with your crust. Sprinkle pie curst lightly with salt and pepper.
Remove chicken and let cool. Discard all vegetables and bouquet Garni from stock pot. Set broth aside to be used later. Remove chicken from bone and cut into bite sized pieces. Mix chicken with the previously prepared vegetables. Add the chicken and vegetables into the deep dish on top of the pie crusts.
Make sauce as follows: 2 tablespoons of butter, 2 tablespoons flour, salt and pepper. Sauté for 1 minute. Add in 2 cups – 2 ½ cups of chicken broth. Sauce will begin to thicken. Add in 3 beaten egg yolks to further enrich the sauce. Pour sauce over chicken and vegetables in casserole.
Dress top of casserole with remaining pie crust. Brush top with egg white and ice water mixture. Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour and additional 15 minutes at 375 degrees to brown top.
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