Author: HungryDad

Sometimes, I don’t read too carefully when I pick recipes for the week. We may miss an ingredient while shopping, or, more often, I don’t pay attention to the cooking times and we end up with a bunch of meals that need  long time to cook. That happened with this recipe for Chicken Crepes with Asparagus and Mushrooms. I completely ignored the cooking time, and when we started it, my wife looked and freaked out: 2 hours! It’s been a long time since we’ve cooked something with a 2 hours prep time…kids just don’t lend themselves well to that. But I also had a general idea of what I thought this recipe should involve, and it didn’t seem like 2 hours, so we pressed on. I had to do some quick re-figuring of the recipe, but the end result was delicious and finished in 47 minutes. So here’s the rapid version of the recipe–I think it was really good, so I’m not sure what the extra hour adds…

Chicken Crepes with Asparagus and Mushrooms

Cooking time: 45-60 minutes

For the filling:

• 6 Tbs unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup Flour
• 1 1/4 cups whole milk*
• 1 1/4 cups chicken broth
• 1/4 cup chopped shallot–we skipped this
• 1/2 cup chopped mushrooms–we used 8oz, probably closer to 1 1/2  cups
• 2 cups chicken breast cut into bite sized pieces
• 3 tablespoons medium-dry Sherry*
• 1 lb thin asparagus, trimmed and cut in ~2in long pieces

For the crêpes:

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 1/4 cups whole milk
• 1 whole large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 Tbs unsalted butter

Making the filling:

This part we kept from the original: Heat 5 tablespoons butter in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat until foam subsides. Whisk in flour and cook roux, whisking, until pale golden, about 2 minutes. Gradually add milk and broth, whisking, and bring to a boil, whisking. Reduce heat and simmer gently, whisking frequently, until velouté sauce is silky and thick, about 25 minutes.

Meanwhile cook the chicken over medium high heat in a pan with a little olive oil. I’d add the shallot here, but we didn’t have one…When almost done add the mushrooms. Cook until most of the juices have been released and cooked off. Add the sherry and asparagus and cook a few minutes longer until the asparagus is tender.

In one of the pans if they are big enough, or another bowl, mix the sauce (reserving ~1 cup) and the chicken, mushrooms and asparagus.

For the crepes:

Mix the flour, salt and nutmeg in bowl. In another bowl (or a 2c measuring cup) add the milk, egg, and egg yoke and lightly beat. Add the milk and egg mixture to the flour and whisk well.

Heat an 8in pan over medium heat. Melt a little butter and spread around. Add ~1/4 cup batter and spread. Cook crepe until golden brown on the bottom (~40-50 seconds). If you want, you can flip and cook the other side for ~10 seconds. Pile the crepes on a plate.

Assembling the crepes:

Put a crepe on a plate, add some filling, fold over and drizzle some of the reserved sauce on top. Enjoy!

*We accidentally used cream instead of milk…while I am sure that added to the deliciousness of the dish, I’d stick with the milk in future. We also forgot to add the sherry.

 

 

 

Papaya was on sale, and I wanted to try to include it in a main dish, so I Googled around and found this recipe for Papaya Chicken Casserole. It was close to what I wanted, but not quite, so I stole the sauce, grilled up some chicken and served it over rice. The kids loved the sweetness of the sauce (OK, I thought it was pretty good too!).

Papaya Chicken and Rice

For the Sauce:

• Juice of 1 orange, plus water to make 1 cup
• 2 Tbs Lemon juice
• 1/4 brown sugar
• 1 Tbs Corn starch
• 1 Tbs Soya sauce
• 2 cups Diced papaya

For the Chicken:

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts pounded to even out thickness, and grilled–add some salt and pepper or other spices if you want

Rice: 1 cup rice cooked as directed.

Bring all the sauce ingredients, except the papaya to a boil. Add the papaya and simmer for a few minutes while it thickens. Place a serving of rice on each plate, add a chicken breast and top with sauce.