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Chicken à la Ted

I've chosen to name this recipe Chicken à la Ted, because my father, also named Ted, loved it in another of its guises. And the "Chicken" is arbiitrary, because it works just as well substituting prawns or lobster.

It's basically a mornay casserole, and my dad loved it when my mom made a version she called lobster mornay. It's not that we were rich or anything. In fact we were downright poor, but because my uncle was a professional crayfisherman, we were always suppled with plenty of "cackers" or undersized salt-water crayfish which he could not legally sell at the markets. This was just one way she used up all that free crayfish.

This version uses up the rest of that BBQ chicken you had for supper yesterday.

Ingredients:
(Serves 2)

  • 1 tablespoon butter or margarine
  • 1 small - medium onion, finely chopped
  • 1½ cups cubed cooked chicken
  • ½ teaspoon curry powder
  • 1 tablespoon plain flour
  • 1 - 1½ cups coffee cream or half&half
  • Salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste
  • ¼ cup diced green pepper
  • ¼ cup carrot sliced into very thin rounds
  • ¼ cup frozen peas
  • ¼ cup corn kernels (optional)
  • 1 cup grated aged white cheddar (or other tangy light-colored cheese)

Directions:
(Preparation: 10 Minutes. Cooking: 25 minutes)
  1. Melt the butter over medium heat.
  2. Sauté onion and curry powder for 1-2 minutes until onion is softening. (Note that the curry here is only for a little flavor. It is not a curry dish, so don't overdo it.)
  3. Stir in the flour and cook for about a minute, stirring constantly to make a paste.
  4. Add the coffee cream, stirring continuously, and cook untill the sauce is coming to a boil and thickening. (If it is getting too thick, add more cream.) Season to taste.
  5. Add the vegetables and stir in.
  6. Add the chicken and stir until well-coated.
  7. Pour mixture into a well-greased casserole dish of suitable size.
  8. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the top of the casserole and bake in a 350°F oven for 20-25 minutes until the cheese has melted.
  9. Serve over rice or on toast.

As I said, this is a left-over meal, but you can increase the ingredients and gussy it up with side vegetables such as asparagus or more carrots.

Contributed by Ted