What’s that, you say?
There’s a blizzard outside?
How about we just stay put right here, where it’s nice and warm?
The best thing about Turkey Tetrazzini is that it’s so improvisational; as long as you have a few basic ingredients (milk, cheese, pasta), you’re good to go. Pretty much everything else (onion, mushrooms, peas, etc) is gravy…lovely to have, but no biggie if you don’t; it’s hard to screw up meat, pasta, and creamy stuff.
Bonus: it’s a perfect way to use up poultry leftovers (chicken works well too), which means hello, day after Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year’s. I mean, I love turkey, but I sort of cash out on the tryptophan buzz after awhile and require some carb-style additives if I’m going to keep making my way through an entire Tupperware’s worth.
Last night marked the inaugural usage of my brand-new Kevlar gloves (seriously). They were a gift from my in-laws (likely inspired by this incident…or this one…or this one), and they are remarkable. I grated two whole blocks of cheese with no bloodletting whatsoever.
TURKEY TETRAZZINI
What you need:
1 package egg noodles (or pasta of your choice)
Lotsa butter (a little less than a stick, total)
1 package sliced mushrooms
1 thinly sliced onion
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup flour
1/3 cup white wine
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk
Pinch of nutmeg
1 package frozen peas
3-4 cups cooked, chopped turkey (or chicken…although that would make it Chicken Tetrazzini)
3/4 cup grated Parmigiana
3/4 cup grated Swiss
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
Salt & pepper
What you do:
1. Preheat the oven to 350F, and butter a casserole dish.
2. Set a large, salted pot of water to boil, and cook the egg noodles according to package directions.
3. In a large skillet, melt 3-4 tbsp of butter until foaming. Add your chopped mushrooms and onion (as well as a bit of salt and pepper), and cook, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes (or until mushrooms are tender and onions are almost translucent). A couple of minutes before the mushrooms and onions are done, add the garlic.
4. Whisk in the flour and white wine, and let the wine cook down for a minute or so.
5. Whisk in the chicken stock, milk, heavy cream, and nutmeg. Add the frozen peas.
6. Turn down the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened a bit. Keep seasoning with salt, garlic salt, pepper…whatever you need to make it lovely and flavorful.
7. When the noodles are done, drain them and return them to the pot. Throw in the mushroom sauce, the chopped turkey, and most of the cheese (reserve about 1/4 cup of each type of cheese), and stir it all together. Adjust seasoning if needed, and pour everything into your buttered casserole dish.
8. In a separate bowl, combine the Panko bread crumbs and the rest of the cheese (along with a little more salt and pepper, if you’re a salt fiend like me). Sprinkle the bread crumb/cheese mixture on top of the pasta/mushroom/turkey stuff in the casserole dish.
9. Cut 1-2 tbsp of butter into small pieces and dot over the top of the breadcrumbs.
10. Bake for a half hour or so (or until bubbling and golden brown).
Yum, no? Perfect for a cozy night in.
