Like you, Fellow FoodBeest, I have my list of go-to recipes that I make over and over because they’re good, fast, familiar and easy. There are other foods that I make only once-a-year. Not because they’re especially hard to make, but because they’re seasonal and indulgent and they become special that way.

Rhubarb crunch in the spring. My grandmother’s recipe for sweet and sour cabbage-wrapped meat balls (with the secret ingredient) in the winter.

And turkey tetrazzini out of Thanksgiving leftovers. Adapted from my former-mother-in-law’s recipe in her Keys to Your Kitchen cookbook, the whole family asks for this dish every year. Even the ones who take home their own leftovers from Thanksgiving.

Just so that you know, I have tried this recipe using canned cream of mushroom soup instead of making my own bechemel sauce. It’s easier. It’s more convenient. It’s not bad. But it’s also not quite as good. You make your own choice.

Now you can make turkey-tet a new holiday tradition at your house

What You Need to Make Turkey Tetrazzini
4 C leftover turkey meat cut into bite-sized pieces
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
[I use white or crimini mushrooms, but you could make a good case for using wild seasonal mushrooms as well]
4 oz quartered artichoke hearts, frozen or canned in water and dried on a towel
6 T butter
6 T flour
4 C chicken broth
1 C heated cream (or half & half)
2 C grated extra sharp cheddar cheese
salt and pepper
¼ C sherry
12 oz fine egg noodles
½ C grated Parmesan cheese
2 oz slivered almonds (optional)
Paprika

How to Make Turkey Tetrazzini
Melt the butter in a deep pan or Dutch oven. Sauté the mushrooms and artichoke hearts. You don’t have to cook the artichoke hearts, but caramelizing them adds a dimension.

Sprinkle with flour and carefully whisk it into the butter. Cook just a bit until the flour is not raw and the sauce is smooth.  Add the chicken broth, whisk again, allowing it to thicken. Add the heated cream and whisk again until it has thickened.

Add the sherry and the shredded cheddar cheese and mix into the sauce. Mix in the turkey pieces.

Cook the egg noodles until they are just barely done, drain them and mix them into the sauce.

Butter a casserole dish (I like using those rectangular glass Pyrex pans) or spray it with cooking spray. Pour the mixture into the pan.

About a half-hour before you are ready to serve it, top with slivered almonds if you want the extra crunch, Parmesan cheese and paprika. Bake it at 375-degrees for 30 minutes until it is bubbly and brown.

Serves 12 generously. Add a green salad and you’re set.

• «Previous Post
• Next Post »

---