Posts Tagged ‘chicken’

Chicken spaghetti comes in several versions.  In our family, it’s actually more like Tetrazzini.  It’s basically yummy sauteed chicken tenders and whole wheat spaghetti baked with a happy sherry cream sauce topped with parmesan cheese.  You wont find this recipe linked to the Superfoods website, let’s just tell it like it is.  But I’ve tried to clean it up a little.  What this recipe lacks in Superfood credibility, it more than makes up for in flavor and a gratifying effort.  Kids eat this.  All kinds, all ages.  I’ve never had any child turn their nose up to this.  Never.  It makes everyone happy, and my daughter requests it ALL the time.  I serve this with an Isabel salad and Sister Shubert rolls.  Like I said, it’s not necessarily good for you, but it sure is good!

Ingredients for Classic Chicken Spaghetti in a Creamy Wine Sauce

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
• boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins - I use between 10 and 15 tenderloins then freeze the rest
• 8 oz. package of sliced mushrooms
• 2 cups heavy cream
• splash of sherry
• splash of white wine (or another splash of sherry if you don’t want to open a bottle of wine)
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 tsp. hot paprika
• 1 generous Tbsp. flour
• 1 generous Tbsp. softened butter
• 6 oz. whole wheat spaghetti
• 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Cooking Instructions

1. First get the spaghetti water going.  Fill a stockpot with water and plenty of course salt or kosher salt and put it over high heat.

It’s pretty difficult to oversalt cooking water that will be drained.  Go ahead and get some salt in there.

2. Melt the 1/4 cup butter and add the olive oil over medium heat in a very large saute pan.

I use the large All-Clad buffet pan.

3. Saute the chicken tenderloins and the mushrooms together.  As you saute the chicken, cut each one into bite size pieces with your saute spoon or spatula.  Stir it around a bit until the chicken is just cooked through (no longer pink).

 Season with salt and pepper as you’re cooking.

4. Add the heavy cream and stir in.
5. Add the lemon juice, sherry and wine and stir in.
6. Add the hot paprika and stir in.
7. In a small bowl or ramekin, use a fork to make a paste with the flour and butter (1 generous Tbsp. each). Once you have your buerre manie paste add it to the sauce and stir or whisk it in well.

To thicken sauces, sometimes a buerre manie is used.  A buerre manie is a french term and I have no idea what it means.  I do know that it works, however.  A buerre manie is equal parts flour and softened butter. 

8. Allow the sauce to come to a slow bubble.

  It will thicken up a bit.

9. In the meantime, cook the spaghetti (according to instructions) in the boiling water you started earlier.
10. Once the spaghetti is ready, drain it and add it to the cream sauce.  Incorporate all together.
11. Dump all into a casserole dish and top it with some parmesan cheese.
12. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes, until bubbly

Serve and smile!

In both French and Italian cooking you will run across various recipes for “Housewife Chicken”.  It is normally a yummy chicken and potato dish.  This is my version.  To make this chicken its very best, try brining it for several hours if you have time. If you don’t have time to brine the chicken, don’t worry about it.  It’s still fabulous!

For this dish, I recommend using a braiser. I use the All-Clad large braiser. If you don’t have a braiser, you can get away with using a large pan with a lid, but you ought to pick one up if at all possible.  You will use it again and again when cooking for your family.  The curved lid of a braiser aids the cooking process, and there is nothing better than a good braise when you’re cooking up comfort.

Ingredients for HFT Hearty Housewife Chicken

• Chicken pieces with skin on and bones in
• 2 slices bacon - diced
• 1 small yellow onion - chopped
• 8 oz. mushrooms - sliced
• 1-2 russet potatoes - peeled and diced
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/2 cup chicken broth

Cooking Instructions

1. In a large braiser over medium to medium-high heat, add some olive oil (about 2 Tbsp) and then brown your chicken.  Season with salt and pepper.

Do this in batches so as not to crowd the pan.  The goal here is to brown the chicken only, not to cook it through.

2. Once browned, remove the chicken to a separate plate and set aside until all chicken is browned.
3. In that same braiser, cook bacon just until it begins to brown.

Add a bit more olive oil if necessary.

4. Add onion and mushrooms to the bacon and saute.  Add a bit more olive oil if necessary and season with salt and pepper.
5. Once all is sautéed, add the potatoes and stir all together.

Allow the potatoes to absorb some of the yummy flavors.

6. Stir all together well.
7. Combine the wine and chicken broth in a measuring cup and pour into the braiser.
8. Using a wood spatula, scrape up the yummy bits from the bottom of the pan.
9. Bring this to a bubble and allow the alcohol from the wine to cook off then turn down to a simmer.
10. Nestle the chicken back into the pan atop the potato mixture and cover with the lid.
11. Cook covered over low heat for 40 minutes.

To serve, spoon the potato mixture on a plate with a slotted spoon and rest a piece of chicken against it.  My daughter’s favorite steamed broccoli completes this meal.