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06/09/2022 12:01 AMWhen it comes to my daughter, I used to be the one taking care of her.
Now, more often than not, she’s the one taking care of me.
I think that’s pretty nifty.
When she wants me to do something with her, she offers to make all of the arrangements. There are even times when I mention I want to do something and even if we are not doing it together, she helps me with the arrangements.
Take the time my late brother’s granddaughter got married. It required a plane flight and, for me, traveling via plane is hellish. I hate having to get to the airport early. I hate having to find a place to park. Even worse is when it is an early flight, say 6 a.m., and I have to stay overnight at a cheap hotel so I can get up at 3 a.m.
That’s the worst.
Then, once you are underway, there often is the hassle of changing planes.
Then, a few days later, you get to do it all over again.
But for that wedding, she really wanted me to go and so she arranged for non-stop flights to and from Dallas, and she called to confirm my flight.
She even got me priority boarding. Maybe because I’m old. I’m not sure why, but I liked it.
There is one thing I do not care to tolerate and that is airplane food. So, a week before the flight, I plotted out some alternatives.
On Wednesday I bought a big fat rotisserie chicken. I made two dinner salads with it to eat at home the week before, then I made a chicken salad on rye, with grapes for grazing, for the plane flights.
That still left me with lots of chicken.
What to do?
How about turkey (or, in my case, chicken) tetrazzini? This I made and will save in the freezer for four different dinners.
Lee White of Old Lyme has been a food editor and restaurant reviewer for more than 25 years. You can email her at leeawhite@aol.com.
Left-over Chicken Tetrazzini
From Saveur Cooks Authentic American by the editors of Saveur Magazine (Chronicle Books, San Francisco, 1998)
Yield: Serves 6
Ingredients:
½ pound wide egg noodles
8 tablespoons butter, divided (1 stick)
½ pound white mushrooms, sliced
5 tablespoons flour
salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 cups turkey or chicken stock (low-sodium, if using canned)
1 ½ cups heavy cream (I use less than that)
1/3 cup dry sherry
3 cups coarsely chopped cooked chicken
¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
¼ cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
Fresh parsley (optional)
Directions
1. Bring large pot of salted water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add noodles and cook until tender, about 8 minutes. Drain, then transfer to a medium baking dish and toss with 1 tablespoons butter.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and cook until lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Scatter mushrooms over noodles.
3. Reduce heat to medium-low and melt remaining 5 tablespoons butter in same skillet. Sprinkle in flour, season to taste with salt and pepper and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Increase heat to medium, gradually whisk in stock, and simmer until sauce thickens, about 7 minutes. Add cream, sherry, and chicken, then adjust seasoning with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
4. Spoon chicken and sauce over noodles, then sprinkle with Parmigiano Reggiano. Bake until sauce is bubbling, about 20 minutes. Heat broiler and brown for 3 to 5 minutes. Garnish with parsley, if you like.