Post-Thanksgiving Sick House Feast

I arrived in Prior Lake at my parents' house for Thanksgiving, only to find them both practically on their deathbeds, due to the dreaded H1N1 flu.  In spite of that, they hosted 30+ people for the big meal, without letting on that they were feeling horribly (and after cooking with facemasks, and disinfecting EVERYTHING...twice).  As usual, the meal was amazing, and went off without a hitch.  The next day left them both completely drained, so I offered to cook dinner with some of the leftovers that night.  On the menu: Bacon Cups with Sweet Potato Hash (double bacon? yes please!), Turkey Tetrazzini ("I don't know what she do with that chicken tetrazzini but Paul sure love it!" - see link below), a beautiful salad, and carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.

Bacon Cups with Sweet Potato Hash (from "What Would Brian Boitano Make?" on the Food Network)

Bacon Cups:

24 1/16 inch thick slices pancetta (we had some imported proscuitto courtesy of our Italian exchange student, and my sister volunteer to slice it up for these, and it worked really well!)

Hash:

4 strips of bacon

1 large sweet potato, small diced

4 stalks celery, diced

1 small yellow onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (more if you like it spicy!)

salt & freshly ground pepper

24 tsp sour cream (for garnish)

24 italian parsley leaves (for garnish)

Make the bacon cups: Preheat oven to 400.  Place and press slices of pancetta into the cups of a sprayed, non stick mini muffin tin. Carefully place a second mini muffin tin on top of the first, so that the slices of pancetta are sandwiched between the two.  Flip the muffin tins over and place on a baking sheet, and bake for 12 minutes.  Remove from oven, and let the cups cool slightly before removing them from the tins onto paper towels.

Meanwhile, make the hash: In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the bacon.  Remove the bacon from the skillet and place on a plate lined with paper towels. In the skillet with the bacon fat, add the potatoes, celery, onion, garlic, paprika, and red pepper flakes, and season with salt and pepper.  Saute over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 12 minutes. Crumble in cooked bacon, and combine. 

Assembly: Fill each bacon cup with a tablespoon of the hash, and garnish with a dollop of sour cream and a parsley leaf.

Turkey Tetrazzini (Recipe is Giada DeLaurentis' for Chicken Tetrazzini, but this turned out amazingly with leftover Thanksgiving turkey)

The inspiration for this dish came after I saw an episode of the soup that featured this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RZxbKvD1YQ

Naturally, I became intruiged with what "chicken tetrazzini" actually is, since apparently it was used to seduce Alycia's man.  Most people use pasta, a can of cream of mushroom soup, chicken, and frozen peas- not so appetizing, but when I found a Giada recipe for it, I knew it had to be good.  I've made it several times, and it only gets rave reviews!

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.

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.