Turkey Tetrazzini

not the best pic, I forgot until the next day to take the
photo...the sauce is now all absorbed so doesn't look
as creamy and luscious as it should! but it's still delicious!

Made this for Sunday Supper last week and it was a big hit. In the past I've made it the super easy way using condensed soup (similar to how I usually make tuna noodle casserole) but this time I thought I'd make the sauce from scratch and it turned out great. The recipe makes so much sauce I thought it'd be soupy but nope - the sauce gets absorbed into the pasta and makes for a very rich, creamy, filling, satisfying meal. I based the dish using the recipe found here, it says the yield is 6-8 servings and I wanted more than that so after making the sauce per the original recipe I made another small amount and ended up adding a small can of cream of mushroom soup to make sure it wouldn't be dry. Read the original recipe if you only want to make 6-8 servings and follow her sauce amounts.

Here's my version:

Ingredients

• 9 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided (that means you'll use butter in different sections of the recipe - not all at once)
• 1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 cup diced shallots 
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme
• 1/2 cup flour
• 3 cups whole milk
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 3 Tablespoons sherry
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 1/4 cups grated Parmigiano, divided
• 1 cup frozen peas (don't thaw first)
• 3-4 cups shredded cooked turkey breast (or chicken)
• 1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
• 1/2 cup seasoned panko breadcrumbs
• 1.5 pounds cavatappi pasta (I used one and a half boxes), cooked until just al dente - do not overcook as it will continue cooking in the oven. Note: traditional tetrazzini uses linguini but we like the curly cavatappi. You can change up the shape of pasta to whatever you like.
• coarse salt and black pepper 
• 1 small can condensed cream of mushroom soup, optional  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400'. Butter a 13x9 casserole dish.
2. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and cook until liquids are released and mostly evaporated, about 8 minutes.
3. Add shallots and cook for about 3-4 more minutes, until mushrooms are beginning to brown. Stir in garlic and thyme and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant. Remove mixture from pan and set aside.
4. Melt 6 more tablespoons butter in the empty pan. Stir in flour and cook for 2-3 minutes. Whisk in milk, stock, cream, sherry, nutmeg, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Continue cooking, whisking, until the sauce is smooth and glossy, about 5 minutes. NOTE: I incorporate the liquid into the flour/butter mixture very slowly, like when I make gravy. After the flour has cooked for a couple minutes remove the pan from the heat, whisk in about 1/4 cup liquid and stir until completely absorbed. Continue adding very small amounts of liquid and whisking until absorbed until the mixture is starting to resemble sauce. Then put the pan back on the heat and add the rest of the liquid. I never have lumps when I do it this way - go slow when adding the liquid!
5. Whisk in 1 cup parmesan until smooth. Remove from heat and fold in sautéed mushrooms, frozen peas, shredded turkey, and parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
6. Stir in cooked pasta and pour into the prepared casserole dish. NOTE: all of the pasta might not fit in your dish, if that's the case put in a second smaller dish. Depends on how big and deep your casserole pan is - and if you use a different shaped pasta.
7. Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter, stir in panko breadcrumbs, the remaining 1/4 cup of parmesan, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Set aside for now.
8. Place dish on a baking sheet, cover with foil, bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, top with the breadcrumb mixture and continue baking until the pasta is heated thru and the crumbs are browned. 

If you want to freeze this for dinner at a later time, wrap it up before baking and don't put the breadcrumbs on it until you are ready to bake it. Defrost before baking, then bake according to above instructions. 

Happy moment ~ found a perfect stick on the sidewalk, Dave so used to me bringing found       items home he didn't even blink at my carrying the stick for our entire walk...