Chicken a la King/Chicken Pot Pie Guts

Last Spring, I went to Buffalo, New York to visit one of my closest friends, Julie.  Her Pop is one of my most favorite people in the whole, entire world.  Seriously.  I consider him to be my Italian dad.

When I landed in Buffalo, he had a pot of homemade meatballs and sausage in sauce waiting for me.  Never mind that I landed after midnight.  I love that he tells me that I'm a good Italian daughter.  I heart him.

I ate a ton of good food that he cooked for me while I was there. One night, he made Chicken a la King.  I didn't know what it was, but my friend Julie explained that it was like chicken pot pie but without the crust and served over rice.  I'm sorry....Could you repeat that?  And could you repeat it sloooooowly?  Bowchickabowbow.

It was divine.  I almost can't get enough of this stuff.  I can't tell you how many Marie Callendar's Chicken Pot Pies I've consumed in my entire life.  So this is right up my alley.

This recipe can be used over rice or you can add a top crust and make pot pies.  You can also add dumplings and turn it into Chicken and Dumplings.

So without further ado,  Chicken a la King/Pot Pie Guts

Grab yo self these items:
long grain rice (don't need rice if you're making this into pot pie)
1 large onion
4-5 stalks of celery
2 chicken breasts or thighs
12 oz bag of frozen mixed veggies
garlic
butter
flour
milk and/or cream
2 small potatoes (optional)
pie crust (only if you're making pot pie)

This is probably one of the few times I use long grain rice.  But short grained rice doesn't do well in these types of dishes.  It soaks up the liquid and gets really bloated and lumpy.  I also use long grain rice for my Jambalaya.

Follow the directions on the package.  Side note, I used my rice cooker.  But instead of doing 2 cups of rice to 4 cups of water, I did 2 cups of rice to 3 cups water and it was fine.  I watched this show on rice and did you know that if you "wash" enriched rice, you're washing away the niacin, iron, thiamin and folic acid that they add in there?  This is a total mind buster for me because I grew up always rinsing calrose rice that we ate in my house. But anyway.  Now you know.

In this version, I used raw, frozen chicken.  I've used leftover shredded rotisserie chicken (Costco has the best rotisserie chicken) and that version is delicious too.  But if I use rotisserie chicken, then I have to either already have chicken broth that I made on hand or used canned.  When I use raw, frozen chicken I kill two birds with one stone....no pun intended.  I boil the chicken to use in my recipe and at the same time, I end up making chicken stock that I also use in this recipe.  I should mention that you can use fresh, unfrozen chicken and I have before, but I have an unreasonable fear of working with raw chicken.  I avoid it if I can.  I hate feeling like I have to disinfect everything that the raw chicken came into contact with.

To start, I used a 3 quart pot and filled a little over half way with water.  I added two large frozen chicken thighs (skinless and boneless, of course).  I usually use breasts, but I thought I'd mix it up today.

I added some kosher salt,

and this much crushed garlic.

I brought to a boil and let it simmer on medium for about 40 minutes.

While my chicken was cooking,  I melted 3/4 stick of real butter in a heavy duty pot on medium heat. (Okay.  I used the entire stick....But sometimes, I like to pretend that I'm holding back....)

I chopped up my large onion and 4 stalks of celery.

Add your chopped onion and celery into the pot with the melted butter.  

Season with seasoning salt and pepper.  To me, it smells like Thanksgiving right about now.

By now, your chicken and stock should be cooked so I take out my boiled chicken and put in a bowl.

I'm left with a nice garlic chicken stock.

Using scissors, I cut up my chicken into bite sized pieces.  Or you can use two forks and shred your chicken.  I like both ways.  You decide.   Set your chicken and broth aside.

When your veggies are soft, add 2-3 heaping spoonfuls of flour (add more if you like it thicker).

Essentially, we are making a roux to help thicken your sauce later. 

 Saute for a minute to get rid of the raw flour taste.

Add in 2-3 cups of your garlic chicken broth.  It depends on how thick you want it.  You can always add more as you go.  Or if your chicken a la king is kind of watery, you can add corn starch.  (It's always fixable!)

Add in your frozen veggies now too.  

If you want to add potatoes for pot pie, dice them up and add them now.  Keep in mind to keep them small so they cook fast and are bite sized.  Simmer until your veggies are soft (or your potatoes are cooked).

You've got more options right here.  Milk or heavy whipping cream.  OR milk AND heavy whipping cream. 

You can use just milk to make your recipe creamier or you can just use whipping cream.  I used a little bit of both.  How much?  About 3 tablespoons of whipping cream and half a cup of 2% milk.  Play with it and decide what your preferred combo is.  

Simmer just a bit and get ready to eat!!!

I served this over rice for the win!  You could also spoon over biscuits.  If you're doing pot pies, pour into oven proof pie pan or individual ramekins and cover with pie crust.  Bake until pie crust is golden brown.  

I ended up with more chicken broth than I needed, so I poured it into a container and froze for later use.

Here I am with the inspiration for this post.  Good night, sweet Pop.  I love ya.

*note the brown bag I'm holding.   He packed me a sandwich for my flight home.  😍❤

Spanish Omelette-Catalan Style

A dear friend of mine, Anna, once invited the Indian and I to dinner.  She offered to cook for us.
Instantly I felt sorry for her.  What a momentous and impossible task to take on.  You see, she and her husband Andrew are vegetarians...While I am open to vegetarian and vegan cuisine, the Indian, sadly is not.  He is a die hard carnivore. And to make things worse, when she invited us to dinner (this was probably about 15 years ago, right Anna?) the Indian hadn't yet learned to enjoy ethnic food.  His idea of ethnic at that time was pizza.

I tried to dissuade her but she insisted that she wanted to cook us a meal.  So I told her the Indian's many, many, many restrictions...He doesn't eat shrimp, he doesn't eat vegetables, he doesn't like Asian food, he doesn't like anything green. he doesn't like raw onions, he doesn't eat salad, he doesn't like fish,  he doesn't like salads, he doesn't like....I think you get the point.  (Boy, has he come a loooooooong way since then!)  So with my heart full of dread and pity for her, we went to their house for dinner.

And Anna pulled off a miracle.

She made something vegetarian and something the Indian not only ate, but enjoyed! So simple yet incredibly delicious.

"What did she make?" you must be wondering by now.

She made for us a Spanish Omelette-Catalan style.

This was a whole new word for me.  Fifteen years ago, I had never had Catalan food or Spanish food, and never even heard the word tapas yet.  I adore trying new foods and learning about new cultures.  I learned from Anna about Catalonia.  Anna explained to me that first and foremost she was Catalan and then Spanish.

So without further ado, receta de tortilla a la catalana:

All you need (is love):

5-6 eggs

2-3 small potatoes

1 med or large onion

olive oil

salt and pepper

That's it!  That's all you need!

First, start by either scrubbing or peeling your potatoes.  I opted to leave the skin on.  I think it's good for you.  Why not?  Then I cut them into small, even pieces.  Why?  Keeping them the same size ensures even cooking time.  I cut them small because I remember what Mrs. Reeves taught me in high school science and created more surface area...If you're confused check out this beef stew recipe to read about the science behind surface area.   In the end, faster cooking time means I can eat this faster so win-win!

First I cut my potato into thin even slices like this:

Then I stack the slices back together and cut into strips:

Then I cut the other direction taking care to make even cuts:

Cut your onion into similar sized pieces.

In a medium to large sized NON-stick frying pan, add about 5 tablespoons of olive oil and heat over medium low heat.

Add your diced potatoes and onion.

Season with salt and pepper:

You will want to cook these potatoes and onion on medium low until potatoes are soft and your onion is translucent.  You don't want to crisp your potatoes or onion.  The point isn't to brown them.  If they get a little bit browned, that's okay.  But cook on medium low and keep stirring for even cooking.  If you want, you can march in place and get in some cardio while your standing there.  Just kidding.  (Maybe not.  My friends got me an UP band by jawbone for my birthday last year and I find myself doing crazy things to get more steps in.  You didn't hear it from me.)  It took about 20 minutes or so to cook the potatoes and onions.  

I used 5 eggs but probably should have used 6.

Add to a bowl or measuring cup.  I added a teeeeeny bit of cream because I had some and needed to use it up.  But your certainly don't need to.  I think the true Catalan style doesn't use milk or cream.  You want your egg to firm up and using more than a teeeeeny bit of cream or milk would make your omelette too soft and mushy.  But if you haven't caught on by now, I'll add fat any chance I can get! Adding a little bit will make your omelette fluffy.  Fluffy is good.

And because it works for me and I'm way faster with chopsticks, I used chopsticks to whip up my eggs.  You could use a fork and a whisk.

When your potato and onion saute is cooked, I use a spoon or spatula to even out the mixture in the frying pan.  You'll be pouring your egg mixture directly into the pan and over the potato and onion so try to make sure they are evenly spread around.  Add a little more oil if you think you might need to.

Pour eggs mixture and continue cooking on medium low.

I like to tip the pan around to help the eggs run to the edges and cook.

When the eggs are semi-set,  I use a spatula to help me transfer onto a plate.  Slide the omelette onto a plate making sure the cooked side is touching the plate.

This next step is kind of scary and takes commitment and quick work.  Take a deep breath, and flip your omelette back into the pan with the uncooked side down .  Or you can hold the plate in your hand, cover with the overturned frying pan and just turn the plate and pan over.  Return to heat.  Pry the plate off the top using a fork. Or spoon.  But not chopsticks.  HAHAHA.  Just kidding.  

If you mess it up, don't stress.  You can just mold it together and the egg will set nicely again  And if not, whateva!  Just eat it anyway. Another 5 minutes or so and your omelette should be done.  Slide on to a plate and cut into pieces like a pie.  You can eat warm or room temperature. 

When Anna made this for us, we ate it with toasted slices of baguette rubbed with ripe tomatoes and raw garlic, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt.  I learned later that this too is a very Catalan dish called pa amb tomàquet or in Spanish pan con tomate.  We also had a ton of fun making Caiparinha, which is the national cocktail of Brazil.  What a night!  Good food, good friends and good memories. 

Besos, Anna!  Muchas gracias for teaching me how to make these dishes and teaching me about your culture.  I love learning new things!

Speaking of learning new things, did you know there are two ways to spell omelette/omelet?  

According to Grammerist:

For the breakfast dish consisting of eggs that have been beaten, cooked until set, and folded over, American publications prefer omelet, and this is the spelling recommended by most American English reference sources. In all other main varieties of English, the French spelling, omelette, is preferred.

Click here to learn more.

I decided to spell it the French way....because this isn't a recipe for a breakfast omelet.  Although you could certainly eat it for breakfast.

Some things I learned over the years while making this dish: 

   -Don't rush and turn the heat up.  Your egg will get really brown and tough. 

   -The larger your skillet, the thinner your omelet will be.  You don't want it too thin.

   -Think plate size as the optimal size for your omelette.  Any larger and you'll have trouble flipping it.

   -Make more than one because it goes fast.

   -Sometimes simple makes the best food.

Oh,  you can also cut into bite sized squares and serve as appetizers.  Just skewer them with toothpicks and pass them around!

Annnnddddd,  in case you're wondering, the Indian's palate is much more developed now.  He'll eat seafood and even likes (some) Asian food.  And on occasion, he'll even eat a tofu scramble (I just tell him it's eggs).

Shrimp and Sausage Over Creamy Polenta

I love Shrimp and Grits.  A lot.  Except I didn't have any grits...I only had yellow corn meal.  So polenta it is!  What's the difference you ask?  Well, for starters, grits are made using white corn meal and polenta is made from yellow.  In Italy it's known as polenta.  In the south, it's known as grits.  I think it has to do with the type of corn mean and how fine it's milled.  But anyway, I only had yellow corn meal so I made polenta.

Polenta:

4 cups milk (you can use water if you want)

1 cup corn meal

shredded cheese (optional)

In a sauce pan, I start to heat 2 cup of milk on medium.

I add the 1 cup corn meal into the other 2 cups of milk.  Why?  Well then you can add your milk corn meal mixture into the warming milk without too many lumps forming.  If you like your polenta thicker, add some more corn meal,

Add your milk corn meal mixture into the sauce pan with your heated milk.

Stir constantly for 4-5 minutes on medium low.

I like it to be this consistency:

Add about 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese.

Cheesy and creamy polenta!  But the cheese is optional.  The shrimp and sausage is so tasty, you don't realllly need it...But it is tasty!

Cover and set aside.

Now onto the sausage and shrimp you'll be using to top your polenta or grits (if you made grits).

You'll need:

kielbasa sausage

raw shrimp (about 16)

Cajun seasoning

butter

crushed garlic

Worcester sauce

beef or chicken stock

Okay.  This is gonna go super fast so get ready.

In a skillet over medium, add your sliced kielbasa sausage.  I used about this much:

It's about the length of my thumb.

I sliced diagonally like this:

Saute but don't brown your sausages:

Then add 1 tablespoon of butter.  Real butter, of course.

When the butter is melted, add about half a tablespoon of crushed garlic.

Season with pepper.

And this stuff.  It will add a nice kick.  I added about a teaspoon.

Add in about 2 tablespoons of Worcester sauce.

Then throw in your raw shrimp.

Saute up for a few minutes until your shrimp is cooked.  I'd say 4-5 minutes.  Don't overcook your shrimp.  They will just become tough.

Lastly, add in about half a cup of broth (beef or chicken). I used beef.  It makes the most beautiful sauce....

I'm actually not sure why I used a spoon for this pic, but you get the point use 1/2 cup of broth.

Fill a bowl with a portion of your polenta and top with shrimp and sausage.  Don't forget to drizzle your delicious, velvety sauce on top.  

From start to finish, both the polenta and the shrimp and sausage took 10 minutes.  Boom!  

This recipe will make about 4 servings with each serving having 2 pieces of sausage and about 4 pieces of shrimp.  If you want more shrimp, just cook more.  Mmmmmm.