This disappeared almost before it could get its photo taken.
Update: New photo taken, February 2007!
This week, another recipe from the blogger cookbook And They Cook Too—and it was surprisingly good, once I'd tinkered with some of the non-veg ingredients.
PSOTD claims this is his family's favorite recipe. He wrote a lovely tribute to the recipe writer, a woman he'd never met named Verna McCallum. The original recipe calls for ingredients I don't use, but I had a few ideas for substitutions.
I've never made Chicken Tetrazzini, not even in my omnivore days long ago. I had no idea what I was missing. My family scarfed this down—but I can't claim any credit. That goes to Verna McCallum, and my husband, who wanted out of chauffeur duties. One of us needed to pick up the daughter, whose bus was stuck in traffic, and he insisted he could follow the recipe.
"But I don't even follow recipes," I told him. "How will you know what to substitute?" Remember, I was talking to an engineer, who would never dream of substituting x for y, much less soya cream for dairy.
But by then he had firm control of the wooden spoon, and had already estimated the temperature the stock would need to be in order to avoid a dangerous curdling effect, so I got out all the ingredients I planned to use and left it to him.
It smelled delicious when I opened the door later, and by the time I found my camera, half of it was already dished up, and a short time later the last mushroom was gone. (This makes just enough for 3 hungry people.)
The original recipe can be found in And They Cook Too. I added some chopped red pepper, for color, and substituted chicken-style Quorn for the chicken (a time saver as well), soya cream for the heavy cream, and used some fake chicken-flavoured broth (available in American HFSs). I also used fettucine instead of spaghetti, and used some soy Edam-style cheese (Redwood brand, available here).
I don't know who that Verna McCallum was either, but she's found her way into our hearts. And tummies.
UPDATE: I made this again, with tagliatelle and a handful of frozen peas (added to the sauce just before pouring it over the noodles). Even better the next time around!
Not-Chicken Tetrazzini, courtesy PSOTD and Verna McCallum
1/4 cup margarine (non-hydrogenated), in all (alternatively, use olive oil)
1/4 cup grated onion
1/4 cup red pepper, diced
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups fake chicken broth, or vegetable broth
freshly ground black pepper
dash of white pepper
1 cup soya cream
2 tablespoons sherry
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup grated non-dairy cheese (white Swiss or Edam style)
1/2 pound cooked fettuccine or spaghetti, cooked and drained
2 cups Quorn chicken-style pieces, or chicken-flavored seitan
Melt all but 2 tablespoons of the the margarine in a skillet and saute the onion and bell pepper until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour until fully incorporated. Gradually add the broth, stirring constantly. Add black and white pepper, soya cream and sherry.
Meanwhile, cook the mushrooms in the remaining margarine (or use olive oil) over high heat until golden brown and dry.
Add the mushrooms to the sauce mixture. Combine the cooked pasta with the sauce, add the chicken-style pieces. Add the grated cheese and transfer to a baking dish. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Serve warm.
