Chicken Divan Tonight Chicken Tetrazzini Next Week Food

CHICKEN DIVAN TONIGHT, CHICKEN TETRAZZINI NEXT WEEK

Steps:

• Bring 1 quart chicken stock to a boil in a wide, deep skillet with lid.
• Add chicken breasts. Return broth to a boil.
• Reduce heat to medium low, cover, and poach the chicken 8 minutes.
• Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside.
• Reserve the broth for the sauce.
• In a skillet, saute shallots in oil and butter for 2 minutes.
• Sprinkle in 3 tablespoons flour and cook 1 minute.
• Whisk in 1 cup wine and reduce by half, 1 minute.
• Ladle in chicken broth, whisking sauce as you do.
• Stir in 1/2 cup heavy cream. Season sauce with nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Bring to a bubble and reduce heat to low.
• Slice the chicken into 1/2-inch strips and add to the pan. Coat chicken in sauce.
• At this stage, in order to have enough for 2 meals, remove half of the chicken in sauce and transfer to a container with a tight fitting lid.
• Cool the chicken, cover, and freeze for the tetrazzini, recipe follows.
• To assemble Divine Divan:.
• simmer broccoli spears in 1-inch water, covered, for 5 minutes. Drain and transfer to a 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Top with half the grated Gruyere and half of the base chicken recipe. Top chicken with remaining Gruyere and brown until bubbling and golden under preheated broiler, about 2 minutes. Serve with dressed salad greens and bread.
• To assemble tetrazzini: reheat defrosted base chicken recipe in microwave oven. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a small pan. Saute mushrooms 5 minutes, until tender. Toss drained hot egg noodles with chicken and mushrooms. Transfer mixture to a baking dish and top with bread crumbs, cheese, and almonds. Brown under preheated broiler until topping is even golden brown. Place pan 6 inches from heat source. Topping will brown in 2 to 3 minutes.
• Serve with salad and bread. Place greens in a bowl. Using a vegetable peeler, peel strips of zucchini or cucumber into the salad bowl. Repeat with carrot. The vegetables will look like party streamers. Finely chop pepper, scallions, and fresh herbs to make colorful confetti. Sprinkle chopped vegetables into bowl. Toss salad at the table with oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper, to your taste. Serve with bread and butter.

DIVINE CHICKEN DIVAN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and butter a shallow 3-quart casserole dish. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the broccoli and cook until bright green and almost tender (you still want it to have a little bite; it will cook more in the oven). Drain; cool under cold running water and pat very dry. Set aside.
• Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. When the butter is melted, add the sage and let sizzle a minute, then add the flour. Cook the roux (or else it will taste like raw flour), whisking, for 2 to 3 minutes, without letting it brown. Pour in the sherry (or broth) and cook to reduce it away, about 1 minute.
• Whisk in 1 cup broth, the milk, heavy cream and nutmeg and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook, whisking occasionally to get out any lumps, until thickened, 6 to 7 minutes. Stir in the scallions and gruyere until the cheese is melted, then remove the sauce from the heat.
• In a large bowl, mix together the sauce, broccoli, chicken and almonds until thoroughly coated. Pour into the prepared casserole dish. In a small bowl, melt the remaining 1 tablespoon butter in the microwave, then toss with the parmesan and breadcrumbs. Sprinkle the mixture over the top of the casserole. Bake until browned and bubbling, about 35 minutes.

MAKE-AHEAD CHICKEN TETRAZZINI

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the ziti and cook until al dente (if a range is given on the box, choose the shortest time, otherwise, cook it 1 minute less than the suggested time). Drain the pasta and return it to the pot.
• Meanwhile, melt the butter with the canola oil in a large high-sided skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper, then add to the hot skillet and cook, turning once, until golden brown and just cooked through, about 7 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.
• Reduce the heat to medium and add the cauliflower, onion and mushrooms to the skillet along with 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions have softened and the mushrooms are tender, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Sprinkle the flour over top and cook, stirring, until all of the flour has moistened, about 1 minute. Add the wine and simmer, stirring, until reduced by about half. Add the chicken broth and 1/4 cup water, increase the heat to medium high and cook, stirring constantly, until simmering and slightly thickened. Add the heavy cream, cream cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan; stir to combine. Pour all of the sauce and vegetables into the pot with the pasta. Add the peas, thyme and green chiles. Chop the chicken into bite-sized pieces and add to the pot. Season with salt and pepper.
• Transfer the mixture to a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and sprinkle the top with the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan. If not serving right away, let cool. Cover and refrigerate up to overnight.
• When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Bake until hot and bubbling, about 45 minutes.

CHICKEN DIVAN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Using a little olive oil or cooking spray, coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish for easy release after baking.
• Heat the 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet (at least 12 inches in diameter, with a lid) over medium-high heat. Season both sides of each breast with salt and pepper. Once the oil shimmers, place the chicken breasts into the hot skillet all tucked in next to each other (like socks in a drawer!). Brown the first side for about 6 minutes. Flip each chicken breast to the other side for additional browning, another 6 minutes. Add the 1 tablespoon butter to the skillet, pop on the lid and turn the heat down to medium low. Leave it alone for 3 minutes. Make sure the internal temperature of each chicken breast is 165 degrees F, then remove to a plate and let them rest for a minimum of 5 minutes. Set aside.
• Heat the remaining 1/2 teaspoon olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Cook the mushrooms, stirring continuously, until they are a light brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove to a plate and set aside.
• Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces and transfer to a large bowl (at least 6 quarts in size). Add the mushrooms, broccoli, both cans of soup, mayonnaise, sherry, lemon juice and curry powder. Mix together thoroughly, then transfer to your prepared baking dish. Evenly sprinkle the cheese on top and set aside.
• Combine the graham crackers with the parsley and melted butter in a small bowl. Sprinkle the crumbs evenly over the cheese.
• Place the casserole on a sheet pan and bake in the oven until the top is browned and the casserole is bubbly, 35 to 40 minutes. Serve over your favorite cooked rice.