So after a nice long vacation and some surgery I am back in the kitchen. I am off work recovering but since since my left hand is not involved I can still cut, chop, and cook, just not as fast as I usually can.
So I had taken out some chicken and was tired of all the same old things I usually do with chicken and figured that since I had some extra time to cook I would make this chicken casserole recipe that we both like but it takes a while and is not practical on weeknights.
I first found this recipe on the food network. We were out of town for a party and to fill some time I turned on the food network and this woman was making this really yummy looking chicken and wild rice casserole. When I got home I found the recipe on their web site and made it. We then had to really change it for our tastes. The way it is written it is way too salty for us and a bit too rich. I will put our changes at the end of the recipe.
Creamy Baked Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole (Sunny Anderson, Food Network)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for casserole dish
5 cups water
1 sprig fresh thyme (or about 1tsp dried)
1 Bay Leaf
2 Tablespoons Salt
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 1/3 cups wild rice
6 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 cup cranberries, fresh or frozen
2 Tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 cup GF bread crumbs
salt
5 ounces mushrooms, quartered (about 2 cups)
1 small onion, chopped
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 cups shredded Gruyere Cheese
Freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 375, butter a 9x13 casserole dish.
In a large saucepan, combine the water, thyme, bay leaf and salt and bring to a boil over medium heat. Add the chicken and simmer until cooked through, about 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chicken. Remove the cooked chicken to a cutting board and let cool. When cool enough to handle cut chicken into 1/2 inch cubes and reserve.
Return the water the chicken was cooked in to a boil and add the rice. Cover, and cook over medium hat until the the rice grains split, about 40-45 minutes. All the water might not have been absorbed when the rice is cooked and that is fine. Drain any excess water, put in a bowl and set aside.
In a small pot over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of the butter. When the butter is melted add the brown sugar, cranberries, rosemary, bread crumbs, and a pinch of salt. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is uniform. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
In a large straight sided saute pan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Add mushrooms, onions and a pinch of salt. Saute until the mushrooms are browned, about 5 minutes. Add the heavy cream and the cinnamon, bring to a boil, then simmer about 2 minutes to thicken slightly. Add the cheese and mix to incorporate. Add the rice and chicken to the pot and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then transfer to the prepared casserole dish. Spread the cranberry mixture evenly over the top and bake until golden and bubbling, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and serve hot.
My changes:
First I do not turn on the oven to pre-heat until the rice is almost done. I don't think it needs to be on for over an hour before I use it. It just has to be at the right temperature before I put the casserole in.
For the cooking liquid for the chicken and the rice I use either 5 cups water, no salt, and 1 tablespoon of chicken stock base or half water, half chicken stock. This flavors the chicken and the rice and the residual salt in the broth is plenty for us.
I leave out the pinch of salt in the cranberry mixture. It just did not taste good to me there. I also will leave out the rosemary if I don't have fresh, since the dried just doesn't taste right and it tastes fine with out it.
I will either use the butter or 2 tablespoons olive oil to saute the mushrooms and onions, that depends on my mood and how rich I want the final product to be.
For the casserole sauce I use 1 cup heavy cream and 1 1/2 cups whole milk. I usually don't have the time to search out grated Gruyere cheese and it is expensive so I just use grated Swiss. Today I used 1 cups grated Swiss cheese and 1 cup of that Italian 5 cheese blend (the one with Mozzerella, Parmesan, etc.). I will usually buy pre-grated cheese since I really dislike grating cheese but the whole blocks do have better flavor. I have found pre-grated Gruyere cheese at Trader Joe's market, but it is expensive and not really worth the trip. Plus I then get distracted by all the other yummy things there and a trip to buy cheese turns into $50-60 dollars.
Today I also added some frozen peas since I wanted some color in the casserole. I would have sauteed some fresh spinach with the mushrooms and onions if I had any, but maybe next time. I did not have GF bread crumbs but I did have GF oats so I used those instead. I have also just cut the butter and sugar with some GF flour and sprinkled that on top with the cranberries. If this is too sweet for you you could just use the bread crumbs as a topping. Or you can get all Minnesotan on it and put some crumbled potato chips on top and make it a hot dish.
I was going to take a picture but the camera battery is dead. I will post one soon. I would recommend making the recipe as written first and then seeing what if anything you want to change.
Here is the link to the original recipe, there is not a picture there but you can read the reviews and what other people did with the recipe.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sunny-anderson/creamy-baked-chicken-and-wild-rice-casserole-recipe/index.html
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