Chicken "vol aux vents"

I love "Vol aux vents", but I don't make them that often because I'm too lazy to make the shells, but what better occasion than the holidays for an extra effort in the kitchen. These golden crispy shells can be filled with either chicken or fish and topped with or within a bechamel of sorts.
Here's what you'll need:



2 packages of puff dough thawed (makes 12 shells)
1 whole kosher chicken
1 package gizzards (optional) boiled for 45 minutes then sliced very thinly
2 large onions diced
1/2 cup frozen green peas (optional)
2 pints mushrooms sliced
6 cups of water
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp oil
1 pinch of nutmeg
1 pinch of saffron
salt & pepper

For the sauce:
Start by filling a large pot with the water, then add the chicken and bring to a boil, skim the surface of any scum, and lower the heat to a simmer, then add the saffron fronds, salt and pepper to taste, cover and let it cook for an hour. If using the gizzards, add them to another pot, bring to a boil, skim the surface of scum, lower the heat to a simmer, cover and let it cook for 45 minutes, when done, let them cool till you can handle them, and cut into thin slices. When the chicken is done, remove from the broth, (which you will be using later) and let it cool, then remove the skin, and start pulling off the chicken from the bone, till you have only the carcass left. Make sure that there are no bones in the chicken, then cut everything into bite size pieces and set aside. In a large pot, add the oil, then saute the diced onions till they brown slightly, then add the mushrooms and saute them till the water comes out of them and they start to brown. To that add the flour and stir everything together with a wooden spoon, will everything is nicely and evenly coated, then start ladling in the chicken broth, while stir stirring so that no lumps get formed and keep adding the broth till you have a nice, creamy type sauce, once that is done, add in the chicken pieces and gizzards, the peas if you'll be using them, the nutmeg, salt and pepper, let it all simmer for another 15 minutes.

For the shells:
Cut each package of dough into 12 pieces (therefor 24 pieces total) and roll them out to about half an inch thick, then with a glass or cutter; cut rounds, then in 12 of the rounds, use a smaller glass or cutter and cut another round within a round. So you should have 12 full discs and 12 double circle discs, remove the smaller ring and set aside. On the full disc, add a little water with your finger to the outer edge, then carefully place then second (double ring) disc on top, making sure to aline them, then place them on a baking sheet, covered with parchment paper, place another parchment paper on top or the shells then bake at 350F for about 45 minutes or till golden brown. With some luck, the inner disc can be removed then used a little hat to top the filled shell, if it cannot be easily removed, just crack it with the end of a spoon and fill. You can freeze them raw, but freeze them on a baking sheet first, then when frozen, keep them in a Tupperware till you need to use them, or skip this whole step and buy them ready!

Before serving, warm up the shells, then fill with a ladle of sauce (it will spill over, but that's ok) and enjoy!