Got Leftovers? Turkey Tetrazzini

In the good old days when my mom used to cook, she was a master at casseroles. What we now see as retro cooking is actually genius comfort food with a purpose. Casseroles can be made in advance, frozen, given as gifts to someone in need of a home cooked meal, and utilize ingredients that may have been another meal the evening before. Transforming things is a pleasant way of not wasting perfectly good food and bringing new joy to a meal. There is a reason Thanksgiving is only once a year and honestly who wants to eat the same thing several days in a row?

Turkey Tetrazzini is a myth to me. I have only heard about how my mom and other people always made it and I had never tasted it. People don't call Tetrazzini a casserole because of the connotations of what a casserole is in their memory banks. I however, would like to demystify making it and debunk the untruths that casseroles are passé. They remain lovely and comforting and can be given new life. If you show up at a friends with a homemade casserole and all they have to do is bake it, believe me, you will be remembered by that friend many years down the road. I don't know why our culture has gotten away from home cooking and sharing but I would much rather eat a small portion of home cooking than a pizza that tastes like cardboard any day!

I made a baked version of Eggplant Parmesan recently and it was one of the greatest meals ever. I would happily show up to my best friends house with it and enjoy a glass of wine with her family while it baked. Knowing what goes in your food is important. I read an article recently that said our country as a whole is 20 lbs heavier than it was 20 years ago. This is exactly the time when coffee joints started popping up offering drinks that are loaded with calories, people got away from cooking at home, and fast food meant sacrificing flavor and actually isn't any quicker when you think about drive time or waiting for the delivery guy who may have let your pizza fall to the floor while he was texting his buddy about what he is doing later.

Get in the kitchen! Grow what you can at home! Don't make excuses for how busy you are or how you don't have the space for a garden. I grew an enormous amount of tomatoes and an herb garden on a condo balcony. The whole project cost me less than $20 and the product return was incredible. I probably would have spent four times that at the store for the heirloom tomatoes and fresh herbs that I was able to cultivate and I knew what was in the soil.

Turkey Tetrazzini

3-4 cups Pasta, any kind of noodle you like. I used Rotini
2-3 cups mushrooms, sliced
1 1/2 cups broccoli, fresh
3/4 cup frozen sweet peas
3 cups turkey, chopped into 1 inch pieces
8 T butter divided
1/4 cup AP flour
1 1/2 cups whole milk, organic
1/4 cup cream
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup cooking sherry
1/3 cup shredded Swiss or other white cheese
2/3 cup shredded Parmesan or other Italian cheese, divided in half
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
Juice and zest of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 sprigs fresh thyme
Good salt and pepper TT

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Cook the pasta is boiling salted water for half the time you normally would. Drain and set aside. You want it very al dente since it will continue cooking after you drain it and when you bake it.
Sauté the mushrooms in 2 T butter until nicely browned and then add a splash of sherry and the thyme. Set aside.
Make a roux with 4 T butter and the flour over medium heat whisking constantly 3-5 minutes or until golden brown and the flour is cooked. Slowly add in the milk and cream whisking to avoid lumps. Add in the broth and sherry. Cook for 8-10 minutes stirring constantly. Add in the Swiss and half the Parmesan, lemon juice, zest, nutmeg and then check for seasoning S&P.
In a large bowl, mix the pasta, turkey, mushrooms, raw broccoli and frozen peas. Pour the sauce over it and combine. Pour into a large casserole dish.
Melt the last 2 T butter.
Mix the breadcrumbs, the other half of the Parmesan, and paprika and sprinkle over the casserole. Drizzle with melted butter and take it to a friends house now or bake for 30 minutes or until the top is golden and the sauce is bubbling.