Chicken Tetrazinni Redux: Rethinking Comfort Food

It's a Friday afternoon--work done for the day.  It's cold.  Snow fell sideways all night long, leaving a clouded feeling of fogginess in my mind.  Yesterday, I had made chicken stock, which I love to have available.   To do this, I simmered a whole chicken in water with salt, pepper, parsley, thyme, bay leaves, onions, garlic, celery and carrots until the chicken was just done.  Then I removed the chicken from the bones and returned the skin and bones to the pot, reserving the chicken.  I simmered this overnight leaving me with a luscious stock.  With that, and all the other fixings in my overly stocked pantry and freezer, I decided to go ahead and make Bridget's family this dish of comfort.

In my childhood, my mother would make turkey tetrazinni. A cream based sauce, enveloping linguine, with leftover turkey and pimentos.  Topped lovingly with Parmesan cheese and almonds.  I remember loving it.
For Bridget, I like to mix things up a bit, and always try to make the dishes I make for her family as healthy as possible.  I've used a recipe by Emeril Lagasse for a tuna tetrazinni before, and her family has loved it.  So decided to use that recipe as a base for today's feast.

This makes a large portion, enough for 10-12.  It is a nice use for leftover chicken, but goes well with an equivalent amount of albacore tuna packed in oil as well.  I hope you enjoy it.

Chicken Tetrazinni

1 ½ c. onions, ¼ inch dice

1 red bell pepper, ¼ inch dice

6 T. Butter (or combination butter and chicken fat from stock)

1 T. garlic, minced

10 oz. mushrooms, sliced

1 ½ t. creole seasoning (such as Tony Carchere’s)

1 ½ t. thyme leaves

¼ c. flour

½ c. brandy (or dry white wine)

2 c. chicken broth

1 c. cream

14 oz. linguine (I used whole grain)

2 ½ c. cooked chicken, shredded

10 oz. frozen spinach, thawed and pressed dry

1 T. fresh parsley leaves

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

1/3 c. parmesan (don’t necessarily need the good stuff here)

1 ½ c. fresh breadcrumbs

¼ c. parmesan

3 T. olive oil

½ c. slivered almonds

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to the boil while you proceed with making the sauce.
Saute the onions and red pepper in the butter (or use some of the chicken fat from the skimmed stock plus butter to equal 6 T.) until they are starting to soften.  Add the garlic and cook for one minute.  Add the mushrooms and saute until the mushrooms are softened.  Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for two minutes.  Add the brandy and the stock a little at a time, stirring continuously to make a smooth sauce.  Add the whipping cream and simmer for approximately 20 minutes until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.  

While the sauce is thickening, cook the pasta to al dente (do not cook all the way), drain it, and cool down with cold water.  Set aside.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  When the sauce is thickened, add the thyme, parsley, and Parmesan.  Season with salt and pepper.  Off heat, add the chicken and spinach.  Stir well.

Add the oil to a skillet.  Slowly toast the almonds in the olive oil until lightly golden brown.  Add the oil and almonds to breadcrumbs.  Stir in the remaining Parmesan cheese.

Add the pasta to the sauce and stir well to combine.  Pour pasta into a large baking dish that has been lightly oiled.  Top with breadcrumb mixture.  Bake, uncovered until browned and bubbly, about 25 minutes.

Enjoy!