Crepes Chicken ala King and The Last Girl

Do you know that I have never had Chicken ala King?  Mom Klik used to talk fondly of Chicken ala King but she never served it to us in the 23 years I have been in the family and now I will never have her version.  When I saw this recipe for Chicken ala King crepes in a Cuisine at Home I knew immediately that I wanted to make it in her honor.  I am always looking for recipes using chicken so I don't know why this dish went so long under my radar.

Before I share the recipe with you I want to share a book that I finished last night.  This was a special offer through Amazon to be read on Kindle and is the first book in a trilogy.  I enjoyed it very much and have already ordered up the second book that is due out in September of this year.

This is a science fiction thriller about life in the not to distant future.  Birth rate for females has, for some unknown reason dropped to only 1%.  The government leaders are no smarter, compassionate or caring in the future than they are now.  Their solution to this problem is to steal any females in the world and use them for scientific experimentation to try to figure out why all fetuses are turning male after the first month of pregnancy.  Our protagonist, Zoey, is closely reaching her 21st birthday at which time she is told that she will step into the elevator and be reunited with her parents.  The brainwashing didn't work quite as well on Zoey as some of the other girls and she decides to escape and help the others escape or die trying.

This is not my usual genre of book but it held my attention.  It would be a great book club read and could raise a lot of discussion regarding governmental controls and differences in political opinions. It was especially poignant for me as we are in the middle of the primary election and the available candidates are such polar opposites.

Now onto this recipe that is slightly adapted from the one I found in Cuisine at Home.  Cuisine at Home is my go to each week as I make my Weekly Menu.  I have been getting this bi monthly cooking magazine since 2003.  I store them by months and this helps me to find recipes for which I can cook seasonally and buy locally when possible.

The Chicken ala King in this recipe will be used for filling the crepes.

You could serve it over toast, rice, noodles or mashed potatoes as well.

Divide the filling between your crepes.

Cover with reserved sauce and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Bake until brown and bubbly.

The perfect recipe, Easy Peasy and Delicious!

I made a few minor changes to this recipe.  I halved it so it serves 2 instead of 4, used chili pepper paste instead of cayenne. all purpose flour instead of Wondra, and light cream instead of milk.

Crepes Chicken ala King
adapted from Cuisine at Home, Issue #110

4 crepes (my recipe can be found here)
3 T. butter
4 oz. mushrooms, sliced
2 scallions, whites and light greens, sliced
1/8 t. chili paste
salt and pepper to taste
3 T. flour
3/4 c. half and half
1/2 c. chicken broth
1/2 c. dry sherry
1 t. lemon juice
1 c. Manchego cheese, shredded and divided
1 c. cooked chicken breast, diced
1/2 c. frozen peas
1/4 c. jarred roasted red pepper, diced

Melt butter in skillet over med high heat.  Add mushrooms and cook until browned.  Add scallions, chili paste, salt and pepper. Cook for a minute longer. Sprinkle flour over mushrooms, cook and stir until brown and nutty smelling.  Whisk in the cream, broth, sherry, lemon juice and half of the cheese.  Cook and stir until smooth and thickened. Remove and reserve 1/2 c. of sauce. Stir in the chicken, peas and red pepper to the sauce remaining in the pan.  Cook until heated through.  Divide filling between the 4 crepes and place into an 8x8" baking dish that has been treated with cooking spray.  Cover with the reserved sauce and remaining cheese.  Bake in a preheated 350* oven for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and crepes are lightly browned.  Print Recipe