Category: Poultry

Jerri’s Turkey Tetrazzini

We always have roast turkey for our Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, and that means we always have leftover turkey. After the last guest is gone and the house is quiet, I cut the meat from the turkey carcass while Jerri packages it.

The bones and skin go into a Dutch oven where they will be simmered the next morning to make turkey broth while the packages of meat go into the freezer. Later those packages will end up furnishing the meat for a half dozen different recipes. Here is one that Jerri is proud to serve guests who enjoy it as much as we do.

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. cooked turkey (2 or 3 cups shredded meat)
1/2 lb. spaghetti
3/4 lb. mushrooms
5 T butter, divided
2 T flour
2 cups chicken broth
3 T white wine (sauvignon blanc or chardonnay are good choices)
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup blanched, slivered almonds
Salt and pepper to taste
3 – 4 T Parmesan cheese

PROCEDURE:

First, clean, slice and cook the mushrooms. Melt two tablespoons of butter in a frying pan and sauté the mushrooms until they begin to turn golden brown. Leave them in the pan but remove them from the heat. If necessary, cut or shred the turkey into bite-sized pieces.

Preheat the oven to 375º and grease a glass baking dish. Cook the spaghetti al dente according to the instructions on the package.

While the pasta water is heating and the spaghetti is cooking, make the sauce. Melt three tablespoons of butter in a saucepan, add two tablespoons of flour and cook over medium heat for two or three minutes once the flour begins to bubble. Do not brown the flour. Add the chicken broth and wine, stirring constantly to make a smooth sauce, then stir in the whipping cream. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Drain the spaghetti and put it into a large mixing bowl. Mix the sauce, meat, mushrooms and almonds with the spaghetti. Place the mixture in the baking dish and sprinkle grated parmesan cheese over the top.

Bake at 375º about twenty minutes until heated through and lightly browned.

NOTES: You can substitute chicken for turkey and canned mushrooms for fresh. Use eight ounces of canned mushrooms. Drain and add them to the spaghetti with the other ingredients.

Jerri prefers to use white meat for tetrazzini because she thinks it looks nicer, but I think that it is just as tasty with dark meat.

Chicken Primavera

Primavera means “spring” in Italian, that time of year when tender young vegetables are just waiting to be tossed in a delicate sauce and then piled high on our plates. There was a time not long ago when people waited impatiently for spring to arrive so they could enjoy fresh vegetables again. At the Rang place north of Hayward, we checked the asparagus bed daily once the snow was gone and announced excitedly the appearance of the first blossoms on the peas, beans and tomatoes.

Today we can buy fresh vegetables throughout the year. Though the very best-tasting vegetables are those we buy locally when they are in season, we can still make a wonderful Chicken Primavera when snow covers the ground.

Adding sautéed chicken strips to fresh vegetables in a light sauce flavored with Parmesan cheese and basil makes a tasty Italian-style meal. Despite the fact that you will have an extra pan to wash, don’t try to do all the vegetables in the same pan with the chicken and tomatoes. The vegetables should be lightly cooked, the way Jerri likes them. The Italian word for this stage of tenderness is “al dente,” which roughly means that the vegetables crunch a little when you bite them.

This recipe makes six servings.

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 lbs. skinless chicken breast
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 cup sliced zucchini
4 Roma tomatoes
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 1/2 cups broccoli
1 cup snow peas
1 cup fresh asparagus cut in one inch pieces
4 large cloves garlic
3 T olive oil
3 T butter
1 cup whipping cream, warmed
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tsp. fresh basil
Chopped parsley for garnish
Salt and pepper
1 lb. fettuccine

PROCEDURE:

First prepare the meat and vegetables for cooking. Slice the chicken breast into strips about 1/2” by 2” and pat dry. Wash all vegetables. Cut the zucchini into quarter inch slices, salt and put in a colander. If slices are more than an inch and a half in diameter, cut them in half or quarters. After 15 or 20 minutes, rinse the slices and allow them to drain. This is a good time to grate the Parmesan and start the water for the fettuccine.

Dice the Roma tomatoes. Clean and slice the mushrooms into 1/4” slices. Cut the broccoli flowerets and asparagus into bite-sizes pieces. Cut the stems and flower ends off the snow peas, peel and mince the garlic and wash and chop the basil.

Put about a quarter cup of flour, a half teaspoon of salt and a quarter teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper into a paper bag. Shake to mix, then add the chicken strips and shake the bag to flour the strips very lightly. Heat about half the olive oil and butter in a frying pan and sauté the chicken until lightly browned. Turn down the heat, add the diced Roma tomatoes, and half of the minced garlic. Stir and simmer for 2 or 3 minutes until the tomatoes have softened and released their juice. Turn off the heat.

By this time the water should be boiling. Put the fettuccine in the pot and follow the instructions on the box to cook the pasta to the stage of tenderness you want.

In a second frying pan, add the remaining olive oil and butter. Sauté the mushrooms for three or four minutes over medium heat, then add the remaining minced garlic and the other vegetables. Stir fry until the vegetables are heated through another three or four minutes. Do not overcook them. Warm the cream while cooking the vegetables.

Drain the pasta and toss it with the warm cream. Add the basil, Parmesan cheese, chicken and vegetables. Toss, check seasoning, and add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with parsley.

Serve with a green salad and fresh, crusty Italian bread for a memorable meal.

NOTES: You can substitute a teaspoon of dried crushed basil leaves for the fresh basil. I prefer Roma tomatoes for this recipe, but you can use other varieties. If the tomatoes are extremely juicy, you might want to remove the seeds and pulp.