Chicken Tetrazzini

I absolutely love this recipe! I first made it several years ago for Bunco. Its a little more labor intensive than most of my other recipes, but it is totally worth it. I actually made this one Sunday afternoon. I doubled the recipe and divided it between 3 aluminum casserole dishes and put them in the freezer. Just top them with the breadcrumb/cheese mixture before baking. I'm cooking from the pantry this week, or the freezer in tonight's case, and it feels good to be able to do that. I hope that you enjoy this recipe. Its really one of my favorites!



9 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2-1/4 teaspoons salt
1-1/4 teaspoons pepper
1 lb. white mushrooms, sliced
1 large onion, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups whole milk, room temperature (2 % would suffice)
1 cup heavy whipping cream, room temperature
1 cup chicken broth
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
12 ounces linguine
3/4 cup frozen peas
1 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup dried breadcrumbs

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Spread 1 tablespoon butter over a 13 X 9 baking dish. Melt 1 tablespoon each of butter and oil in a deep large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the chicken breasts with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the hot pan and cook until pale golden and just cooked through, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate to cool slightly. Coarsely shred the chicken into bite-sized pices and put in a large bowl. **You could totally skip this step and grill the chicken breasts or use 1 rotisserie chicken**

Meanwhile, add 1 tablespoon each of butter and oil to the same pan. Add the mushrooms and saute over medium-high heat until the liquid from the mushrooms evaporates and the mushrooms become pale golden, about 12 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and saute until the onion is translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the chicken broth and simmer until it evaporates, about 2 minutes. Transfer the mushroom mixture into the bowl with the chicken.

Melt 3 more tablespoons butter in the same pan over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk for 2 minutes. Whisk in the milk, cream, broth, nutmeg, remaining 1-3/4 teaspoons salt and remaining 3/4 teaspoon pepper. Increase the heat to high. Cover and bring to a boil (watch this though and don't let it boil over!) Simmer, uncovered, until the sauce thickens slightly, whisking often, about 10 minutes.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the linguine and cook until it is al dente (tender but still firm to the bite), about 9 minutes. Drain. Add the linguine, sauce and peas (I totally forgot to add these!) to the chicken mixture. Toss until the sauce coats the pasta and the mixture is well blended.

Transfer the pasta mixture to the prepared baking dish. Stir the cheese and breadcrumbs in a small bowl to blend. Sprinkle the cheese mixture over the pasta. Dot with the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter. Bake, uncovered, until golden brown on top and the sauce bubbles, about 25 minutes.

**I doubled this recipe and divided among 3 aluminum baking dishes and froze them. I figured if I was going through all the trouble to make this I might as well get the most bang for my buck! Thaw the casserole in the fridge the night before you want to bake it (mine was still pretty much frozen tonight). I baked it covered in a 375 degree oven for about 45 minutes. I uncovered it and topped it with the breadcrumb/cheese mixture. Turned the oven up to 450 degrees and baked uncovered another 35-40 minutes. Delish!




Enjoy!



(adapted from Giada De Laurentiis)