Giada's Yummy Chicken Tetrazzini!

Originally posted to my Squidoo lens on 2/9/08
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Chicken Tetrazzini
courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis Every Day Italian



Ingredients:
9 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 pound white mushrooms, sliced
1 large onion, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups whole milk, room temperature
1 cup heavy whipping cream, room temperature
1 cup chicken broth
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
12 ounces linguine
3/4 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
1 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup dried Italian-style breadcrumbs

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Spread 1 tablespoon of butter over a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish. Melt 1 tablespoon each of butter and oil in a deep large nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the hot pan and cook until pale golden and just cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate to cool slightly. Coarsely shred the chicken into bite-size pieces and into a large bowl.

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, garlic, and thyme, and saute until the onion is translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until it evaporates, about 2 minutes. Transfer the mushroom mixture to 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. 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 tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 9 minutes. Drain. Add the linguine, sauce, peas, and parsley 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.

Difficulty: Intermediate
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Homemade Chicken Pesto Pizza

originally posted to my lens on 2/8/08
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Chicken Pesto Pizza Deluxe
My own recipe based on a favorite from our local pizza place!



Ingredients:
Cornmeal for dusting
3 unpeeled garlic cloves
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 uncooked pizza dough ball (available in refrigerated section of your local market or you can even purchase them from your local pizzeria!)
3 tablespoons purchased pesto sauce
1 cup shredded mixed Italian Cheeses
3/4 cup cooked, cubed chicken breast
1 4 ounce jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained, sliced
1 Plum Tomato, seeded and chopped

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place garlic in small dish. Drizzle 1 tablespoon oil over. Bake until garlic is very tender and golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove garlic from oven and cool. Peel garlic cloves; chop. Set garlic aside. Increase oven temperature to 475°F.
Dust a large preheated pizza stone with cornmeal. toss and stretch pizza dough ball to a 9 to 10 inch circle. Place the stretched dough onto prepared pizza stone. Brush edges of crust with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Combine chopped garlic with pesto sauce and spread evenly around the crust, leaving 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle chicken, artichoke hearts and cheese around the pizza.

Bake until cheese melts and bottom of crust is golden, about 15 minutes. Remove pizza from oven. Sprinkle chopped tomato over and serve. Yum-0!

Serves 2-3 hungry adults!

Useful Cooking Terms

Chiffonade: When translated literally from the French, "chiffonade" means "made of rags." In culinary terms it means finely cut strips or ribbons of leafy vegetables or herbs.


To chiffonade a cabbage for coleslaw, cut a cleaned, washed head into quarters, remove the hard core, then thinly slice the quarters across the grain.


Greens with large, loose leaves, such as chard, can be rolled up and sliced thinly.


Smaller leaves, such as basil, can be stacked, then rolled and sliced across the vein.


For leaves with a central woody stem, such as kaffir lime leaves, roll from tip to stem, slice parallel to the vein and discard the woody stem.

Easy Chicken Cacciatore

Originally posted to my Squidoo lens on 2/7/08
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Easy Chicken Cacciatore
courtesy of About.com:Southern Food



Ingredients:
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
3 medium cloves garlic minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) stewed tomatoes
2 teaspoons leaf oregano, crumbled
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper, or to taste
1 bay leaf
1 chicken, about 3 pounds, cut up
3/4 cup dry red wine

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Brown chicken on all sides in hot oil, about 10 minutes. Remove chicken and drain off excess grease, leaving a tablespoon or two. Add chopped onion, green pepper, and minced garlic to hot skillet; sauté until onion is tender.

Stir in tomatoes, wine, oregano, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Add chicken back to sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 45 minutes, or until chicken is tender. Discard bay leaf and serve with hot cooked spaghetti or other pasta.

Cook Time: 55 minutes
Serves: 6

Mui Caliente! Mexican Chicken Soup!

Originally posted to my Squidoo lens on 2/5/08
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Mexican Chicken Soup
(recipe from Food Network Kitchens)



Ingredients:
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium rib celery, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
6 cups chicken broth, low-sodium canned
1/4 cup canned green chiles
1 (15 1/2-ounce) can posole, drained or frozen corn kernels
4 canned whole peeled tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 cup cooked skinless shredded chicken breast (about 4 ounces)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Juice of 1 lime
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, garlic, chili powder, and cumin, and cook until the onion softens, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth, bring to a boil, reduce the heat slightly, and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Add the green chiles, posole, tomatoes, and oregano and cook for another 5 minutes.
Pull the saucepan from the heat and stir in the chicken, cilantro leaves, and lime juice. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

The Lady & Sons Chicken Pot Pie, Mmmmmmm!

Originally posted to my Squidoo lens on 2/4/08
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2/4/08 CHICKEN POT PIE
(courtesy of The Lady and Sons, Paula Deen's restaurant)



Ingredients:
4 sheets frozen puff pastry
1 egg, beaten
4 chicken breast halves, or 2 cups leftover cooked chicken
Seasoned salt and pepper
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1/3 cup butter
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 quart heavy cream
1/4 cup chicken base
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 small yellow onion, minced
1 cup frozen green peas, cooked
1 cup chopped cooked carrots
Pinch fresh grated nutmeg, optional

Crust:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cut each sheet of frozen puff pastry into 1-inch strips, 8 inches long. On a large cookie sheet, weave strips into a lattice large enough to cover each pot pie. Brush beaten egg onto each lattice square. Bake for 5 minutes, or until dough has risen and turned light golden brown. Set aside until ready to assemble pies. Leave oven on at 350 degrees F.

Filling:
Season chicken with seasoned salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and saute until cooked through. Remove from heat and cut into chunks. Alternatively, you may use precooked chicken.

In a large saucepan, melt butter and then slowly add flour, stirring until consistency of peanut butter, but not brown like a roux. Slowly add cream and keep stirring. Add chicken base, garlic, and onion and stir until thickened. Add peas, carrots, nutmeg, if using, and cut up chicken. Remove from heat. Fill 4 individual oven-proof bowls with chicken mixture and then top each with a pre-cooked lattice square. Bake for 5 minutes or until bubbly. Any remaining pie filling may be frozen.

Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

Welcome to my chicken for dinner blog!

This blog is intended to catch the overflow from my Squidoo lens, "What? Chicken again? Some great ideas for what to do with the BORING white meat.


I post different chicken recipes each night and don't want the lens getting too big, so I as new ones get posted, I'll pull older ones and send them here instead.


Hope you get some good ideas from it!