Down home: chicken casserole with cream cheese sauce

Pardon her absence, ragazzi, but Annalena has been engaged in several projects as of late, and hopes to tell you all about them as they develop.  She has continued to cook, though, and promises you a veritable flood (ok, a trickle), of new treats as the days go by.

Speaking of, the warm days are going by, aren't they?  As Annalena writes this, it is 60 some odd degrees in her apartment, she and the Guyman are wearing long sleeves and jeans for the first time in ages, and Annalena wonders if her bread is going to rise in the window place that it always takes.  The year goes by, does it not?  You all have your new school shoes,  your uniforms, your new books and so forth.  And we turn to warmer, heartier fare.

This recipe comes courtesy of the Penzey's spice catalog.  Penzey's is an outfit to which Annalena commends all of you who crave basic, uncomplicated, "homey" food.  Nothing fancy about this stuff, but good doesn't need fancy.

Annalena was intrigued by this recipe because of the inclusion of cream cheese. Indeed, it seems that this is the summer when Annalena rediscovered cream cheese: in her ice creams, her pie crusts, and now, a casserole.  As she learned, using cream cheese in a casserole is nothing new to Midwest cooking.  Here, however, in NYC, where we have gotten blase' about things like creme fraiche, argue about who's cream is less pasteurized, and so forth, cream cheese seems to have been relegated to a bagel.  Well, let's see about changing that, shall we?   This recipe may help you change your mind.  It is not complicated, it is hearty, and most of all, it is good.

Let us start with two pounds of skinless, boneless chicken breasts. Yes, ragazzi, you read correctly.  Annalena used them here, and they work.    Salt and pepper them, and put them to the side while you prepare these, additional ingredients.

You will need a pound of mushrooms of some kind. Annalena got fancy here because she  had chanterelles, but the original recipe called for plain old button mushrooms (which are pretty dang good).  Slice them, and then slice yourself a cup or so of scallions.  (Again, Annalena changed the original, which called for four.  You MUST be kidding).   You will also need two tablespoons of butter,  a cup of milk, 8 ounces of cream cheese,  and salt and pepper.  Also, have a "red" spice, like hot paprika, chili pepper, or something like that handy.

Let's discuss the milk and cream cheese first.  Surely you know that you can get both of these products in various degrees of fat content.  Annalena feels you should go big or go home, but you could use a low fat version of ONE of these - not both please.

You will need to cook your chicken separately.  Annalena grilled hers, for five minutes on a side, on her stove grill. You could bake it if you like.  Just get it almost completely cooked.

If  you are blessed with a stove big enough to cook the chicken and the vegetables, you will save  yourself some time.  Add the butter, the scallions and the mushrooms to a big frying pan, all at once.  At medium heat, saute' these until you see the mushrooms getting truly dark.  (The original recipe called for fifteen minutes. Had Annalena done so, she would have had cinders.    Seven minutes was fine).  

Stop the cooking if you have to, and cut the chicken breasts into strips.  No surgery here, please, diversity is fine.  Also, cut the cream cheese into cubes.   NOW put the veggies back on the flame, add the chicken, the milk, and the cream cheese, and start stirring it.  The cream cheese will melt into a very thick sauce, as if you had used sour cream, or creme fraiche , or even that wonderful heavy cream.  Taste, and adjust your seasonings.  You will probably need salt, and then add your red spice, to add the degree of heat you like.  You do need to do this, because otherwise, this is a very bland dish.  Pleasant and good, but it needs ZING.

From start to finish, this will take you a bit more than half an hour:  somewhere between half hour and 45 minutes.  You can cook a pot of brown rice while it's working, or make some noodles (because this is very close to a "chicken stroganoff.").  If you are so inclined a cup of frozen peas are not amiss here.  So, too, some green beans.

And there you have it.  Nice way to get reacquained, isn't it, ragazzi?

Annalena has a pie and a veggie bake coming up, and possibly, one of the wildest cookies you will ever have.  

Alla prossima