Chicken Tetrazzini

This recipe was adapted from Giada De Laurentiis, one of my absolute favorite cooks on Food Network. I remember watching one of her episodes with her making Chicken Tetrazzini. I'd never heard of anything like it, so I was intrigued. After watching and seeing the entree, I defiantly kept the recipe in my memories from when I'm craving some serious pasta. Today happened to be one of those days.

I hadn't had pasta in awhile. The heavy duty pasta is what I mean. The heavy kind of pasta, thats so bad, but so good. And I was really wanted something like that today. At first, I was just going to make some Fettuccine Alfredo. But, then I decided since I was going to heavy, why not try Chicken Tetrazzini?

I certainly made a huge mess while making this. Though, I'm a messing baker/cook to begin with. And while this bakes in the oven, the smell is so devine. The parmesan is just heavenly. That was probably my favorite part out of this; The top. Where all the parm was. But the whole thing was delicious. A great comfort food. Can't wait to have it again!

Added to Presto Pesto Night Roundup.

Recipe

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


1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

2. Spread 1 tbsp of butter over a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish. Melt 1 tbsp each of butter and oil in a deep large nonstick frying pan over medium-high. 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.

3. Meanwhile, add 1 tbsp each of butter and oil to the same pan. Add the mushrooms and saute over medium-high 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.

4. Melt 3 more tbsp butter in the same pan over medium-low. Add the flour and whisk for 2 minutes. Whisk in the milk, cream, broth, nutmeg, remaining 1 3/4 tsp salt, and remaining 3/4 tsp pepper. Increase the heat to high. Cover and bring to a boil. Simmer, uncovered, until the sauce thickens slightly, whisking often, about 10 minutes.

5. 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. 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.

6. 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.