Design Potluck!

a friend of mine decided to get as many design students together with a potluck. mmmmm....designer potluck. i've noticed after going to many a potluck in college, that most people don't want to actually cook when going to a potluck and usually try to get the drinks or dessert end of the meal and just pick something up at the store. i'm sure many people are just simply busy with school/work and whatnot. so for this lovely design student potluck i decided to make a chicken tetrazzini. just a warning if you're trying to stick to your new year resolutions, this recipe is very creamy and fatty. =) also, i added a good amount more salt than the recipe asked for when making the sauce for the tetrazzini, probably about three tablespoons. but after tasting the finished product it could have used a tad more salt...so be sure to taste as you go. here's the recipe from Giada De Laurentiis:

Chicken Tetrazzini
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis
Show: Everyday Italian
Episode: Foods that Refuel
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Yield: 6 to 8 servings

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

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

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

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

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

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, stirring occasionally, about 9 minutes. 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.

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.

Remember to add more salt when making the cream sauce. The tetrazzini turned out ok, just gotta remember to add more salt next time. It's a very heavy meal...I feel like I have to go do some extra exercising after eating some.

I noticed that I haven't posted much design related stuff, so here's some upcoming events for me regarding design! This Thursday, at CSU Chico, Garson Yu will be speaking! For those of you who don't know who Garson Yu is, he is the genius behind many motion graphic sequences(movie title sequences, commercials, etc.) such as "The Terminal," "The Italian Job," "Memoirs of a Geisha," and "Brokeback Mountain." You know all those cool movie intros....yeah, he's pretty freaking awesome and thanks to our super cool design teachers (glenda drew!) we get to go hear him talk! super exciting! i'll try and post pix from the lecture.

ok i guess i should be getting back to working on my project...but i feel lazy, it's sunday afternoon!