Category Archives: Italian

Lazy Lasagna

May 12, 2015 alaskaknitnat 4 Comments

**2025 UPDATE***

In an effort to spiff up some of my past recipes, I made this winner dinner tonight and have decided it shouldn’t be called “Lazy Lasagna” but rather, “Skillet Lasagna.” It is much easier to break up the lasagna noodles and not deal with slippery, boiling hot noodles and layering and all that, but it still takes some time to make this recipe and it’s still totally worth it!

***

My family requested lasagna for dinner yesterday, but I didn’t get home till 5 p.m. so it would have been a mad dash to get lasagna on the table by 6:30.

Here’s what I made instead. Although it’s about the same ingredients as lasagna I didn’t have to take the time to layer everything out. I just threw it all together, topped it with cheese and stuck it in the oven. Easy peasy.

Skillet Lasagna

From start to finish: 1 hour 30 minutes
Serves 6

Ingredients:

12 ounces lasagna noodles
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 ounces button or crimini mushrooms, roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound loose Italian sausage
6 ounces baby spinach, roughly chopped
3 cups marinara sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, divided, plus more for serving

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. When the water boils break up the lasagna noodles into irregular pieces and add to the pot. Cook according to box instructions, about 12 minutes. Drain and set aside.

While the water boils and the noodles cook, heat the olive oil in a large cast iron skillet. Add the mushrooms and salt and sauté until some of the liquid has evaporated, about 7 minutes. Add the spinach and cook until spinach is wilted, another couple of minutes. Transfer mushrooms and spinach to a bowl and set aside.

Without cleaning the pan, add the sausage and break it up with a wooden spoon. Cook until sausage bits start to brown. Add the sauce, mushrooms and spinach. Combine well.

Add the noodles, 1/2 cup mozzarella and 1/2 cup parmesan and stir till the noodles are well coated. Top with the remaining cheeses, cover and bake for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes. Slice up like a pie and serve with additional grated parmesan cheese.

Cooking, Italian, recipes

Mini meatloaves with mushroom marsala sauce

April 16, 2015 alaskaknitnat 1 Comment

Growing up I rarely had the chance to eat classic dinner foods such as tuna noodle casserole and meatloaf. I absolutely love these dishes. My mom started making meatloaf after I had moved out of the house and it quickly became a favorite. I don’t know what magic she puts into her recipe, but I’ll never know because, like me, my mom just throws stuff together and doesn’t keep track. Well, tonight’s meatloaf was worth remembering.

I doubled the recipe so there’s plenty of leftovers for meatloaf sandwiches, which are almost better than fresh-out-of-the-oven.

Mini meatloaf with mushroom marsala sauce

Serves 8

Ingredients:

1 oz. dried porcini mushrooms
1 pound ground pork
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup chopped pistachios or cashews (optional)
2 egg yolks
2 slices of good white bread
2 Tbs. milk
2 Tbs. tomato paste
1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbs. soy sauce
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped pimiento olives (optional)
2 Tbs. dried parsley
1 Tbs. dried basil
2 tsp. dried oregano
salt and pepper
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
2 Tbs. butter
1 Tbs. olive oil

For the sauce:

2 Tbs. tomato paste
1/4 cup Marsala wine
splash of beef broth
up to 1 cup of reserved mushroom liquid (read recipe for details)
2 Tbs. chopped parsley

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Place dried mushrooms in a small bowl with hot water. Cover and let sit for 20 minutes. In another small bowl, tear up the bread and add the milk. Let sit for a minute and mash up with a fork.

In a Kitchen Aid bowl add the meat, nuts, yolks, soaked bread, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, onion, garlic, cheese, olives, dried herbs, salt and pepper. Finely chop the mushrooms and add them to the mixture, reserving the mushroom liquid for the sauce. Use the paddle attachment on a low setting until well combined.

Pour the bread crumbs on a tray or pie plate. Heat butter and oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Form four small loaves and dredge them in the bread crumbs. Brown the loaves in the pan two at a time.

Place the loaves in a casserole dish. Top each loaf with decorative olives if you’d like them to resemble a 1950s Betty Crocker cookbook.

Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes or until the center of the loaf reads 140 degrees on a meat thermometer. Remove from oven, transfer loaves to a cutting board and let sit, covered, while you make the sauce.

The sauce: Reheat the pan that you used to brown the loaves. Pour any drippings from the casserole dish into the pan. When the pan is hot add the marsala and tomato paste and whisk until everything is well combined. Bring to a simmer and turn down the heat. Add about 1/2 cup of the mushroom liquid and a splash of beef broth. Add more mushroom liquid if it’s too thick. Add parsley just before serving.

Slice loaves into thick slabs. Serve with egg noodles and green beans. Slather with delicious meat sauce.

mini meatloaves with mushroom marsala sauce — Yay, leftovers!

alaska, Cooking, Italian, recipes

Wild Mushroom Marinara

October 13, 2014 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

Last week as I was scrolling through a local online events calendar I saw that Habitat Housewares was having a recipe contest. I’ve not entered a recipe contest save for last week when my husband’s work hosted a chili cook-off. I disqualified my recipe after discovering my husband failed to start up the Crock Pot properly and the beans were still crunchy.

That being said, I was determined to redeem myself purely for my own satisfaction. This contest also had some sweet prizes, namely a $500 gift card to a fantastic kitchen supply store and a Le Creuset dutch oven, retailing at $230.

The contest was for an original pasta sauce recipe. One of the judges was head chef at Villa Nova, one of the only originally Italian-owned restaurants in Anchorage (most Italian places are owned by Greek families here). The other judge was a local food writer who is all about local foods. The third was a local celebrity with whom I once performed “The Rocky Horror Show” at a local gay bar. I knew I had a chance.

Turns out I won second place and scored a pretty awesome dutch oven. First place was a stunning creamy Alaska seafood sauce that was a perfect blend of flavors.

I hope you enjoy my second-place pasta sauce.

Wild Mushroom Marinara Sauce

Ingredients:

3 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil

1.5 oz. dried porcini mushrooms

6 oz. baby Portobello or crimini mushrooms, sliced

½ cup chopped onion

8 cloves garlic, crushed

2 Tbs. red wine

1/3 cup reserved mushroom water

42 oz. crushed Italian tomatoes (1 ½ 28-oz. cans)

2 dried red chilies

2 tsp. sugar

1 cup fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped

1 Tbs. fresh oregano, chopped

2 Tbs. butter

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Boil 2 cups of water. Place the dried porcini in a bowl and cover with the boiling water. Cover and set aside for 30 minutes. Strain the mushrooms through a sieve and reserve the water. Roughly chop the porcini.

In a large sauté pan, heat the oil over medium-high flame. Add the garlic, turn heat to medium and cook till garlic is lightly browned. Add the porcini, Portobello and onions. Sprinkle with a little kosher salt. Sauté till onions are soft and mushrooms have lost much of their liquid, about 10 minutes.

Deglaze the pan with the wine and a couple of tablespoons of mushroom water. Transfer to a saucepan and set over medium-high flame. Add the tomatoes, remaining mushroom water, chilies, sugar, basil, oregano and butter. Salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for an hour.

Pour over pasta of your choice, cooked al dente. Top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Serve alongside Italian sausage and steamed green beans.

Cooking, Italian, Pasta, recipes

Pasta with Chard & Sausage in Pumpkin Cream Sauce

October 8, 2014 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

Time to jump on the pumpkin bandwagon. I’ve had a medium baking pumpkin sitting around the house for a couple of weeks and I’ve been putting off cooking with it because I have so little pumpkin-cooking experience.

I was inspired by a recipe from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks, but I also had items in the fridge I needed to use up, so I winged it a little. What I came up with was a flavorful casserole that was creamy, cheesy and somewhat healthy too.

You can use canned pumpkin, but I recommend baking your own using this method, as it was super easy and fresh.

Pasta with Chard & Sausage in Pumpkin Cream Sauce

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

4-5 hot Italian sausages, casings removed

14.5 oz.-box farfalle noodles

10 cremini mushrooms, sliced

1/2 onion, chopped

2 cups chopped Swiss chard

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup chicken stock

1/2 cup evaporated milk

1.5 cups pumpkin puree

3 Tbs. chopped Italian parsley

salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Boil noodles till just al dente, drain and set aside. Meanwhile, brown the sausage in a large saute pan, breaking it up as it cooks. Set sausage aside and in the same pan, add the mushrooms, onions, chard, salt and pepper and toss till coated with the sausage grease. Add a small amount of olive oil if needed. Cover and let steam for five minutes. Uncover, stir in the garlic and saute another minute.

Stir in the pumpkin, chicken stock and oregano. Bring to a simmer for a few minutes. Add the evaporated milk, sausage and parsley and bring back to a simmer. If it’s too thick, add more chicken stock.

Place pasta in a large casserole dish and pour sauce over noodles. Sprinkle in half the cheese and mix thoroughly. Top with remaining cheese (and more cheese if you’d like) and bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is bubbling.

Remove from oven and let sit 10 minutes before serving.

This is a wholesome dish the whole family will love!

Cooking, Italian, Pasta, recipes

Ravioli Nudi and the End of Summer Camp

October 6, 2014 alaskaknitnat 2 Comments

This weekend I had the opportunity to attend End of Summer Camp, which proved to be a unique bonding experience for Anchorage grown-ups. I met bloggers, event planners, printmakers, food critics, photographers, storytellers and other local professionals all while enjoying nostalgic campy activities. The campers were fed by Fork Catering, and I took every available moment to enjoy their meals and chat with chefs Rob and Dave.

Chef Rob Kinneen taught a cooking workshop, which I eagerly signed up for. Turns out he was going to demonstrate homemade pasta-making. I’m familiar with making my own pasta, such as comb pastas, basil fettuccine and Russian pelmeni, but I was interested in learning techniques from a professional chef.

He led a hands-on lesson on tortelloni and ravioli nudi. The tortelloni, which were essentially large tortellini, were familiar to me, but the ravioli nudi were entirely new. The nudi are like ravioli without the noodle, literally naked ravioli. Instead you incorporate cheeses, flour, herbs and egg into a sticky, soft dough and create small dumplings, which are then boiled. They are sort of like gnocchi, but with cheese instead of potato.

Chef Rob Kinneen (left) instructs campers on how to roll out ravioli nudi dough. — Chef Rob Kinneen instructs campers on how to roll out ravioli nudi dough.

My only attempt at making gnocchi in the past was a complete slimy failure and Rob’s technique for making nudi could be easily translated to gnocchi. I had to try the recipe myself when I got home.

And I did.

Ravioli Nudi with Spinach, Ricotta, and Parsley

Serves 3

Ingredients:

2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 tsp. red chili flakes
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
8 oz. part-skim ricotta cheese
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
2 Tbs. chopped Italian parsley
2 Tbs. chopped frozen spinach, thawed and well drained
1/4 cup all-purpose flour plus about 1/2 cup for coating dough

Useful utensil: spider strainer

Directions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Fill a large bowl with ice and cold water and set beside the pot. Meanwhile beat together the eggs, yolks, garlic, chili flakes, nutmeg, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Incorporate the ricotta till smooth. Add the parmesan, parsley and spinach. Slowly add the 1/4 cup flour till a super sticky dough forms. It should be the consistency of thick, lumpy pancake batter. Heavily flour a large cutting board. Gently turn the dough onto the board and work in enough extra flour for it to be very soft and sticky inside, but coated on all sides in flour. Form the dough into a 1.5-inch tall rectangle.

Cut the dough into 1.5-inch strips and gently roll each strip around, dusting with flour, till coated evenly on all sides. Cut each strip on a diagonal into 1-inch pieces so you have small, oblong dumplings. Gently roll each dumpling around in your floured hand till they are each coated and no sticky dough is exposed.

When the water is at a rolling boil, gently add the ravioli in batches so the water doesn’t cool down too much. Boil for just a few minutes, until the ravioli float to the surface. With a slotted spoon, strain out the ravioli and add to the ice water bath. Repeat with remaining ravioli.

Now that you have made your ravioli nudi, there are lots of ways to serve them. Use them in any ravioli recipe, or fry them up with butter till lightly browned and crusty.

Thanks again, Chef Rob, for your excellent instruction. I’m happy to add this technique to my repertoire.

Cooking, Italian, Pasta, recipes

Leftover Spaghetti Pie

September 3, 2014 alaskaknitnat 3 Comments

Growing up we had a lot of spaghetti dinners. It was common knowledge that my dad made a wicked marinara sauce, so much so that he was head chef at several of my school’s spaghetti dinner fundraisers.

We inevitably ended up eating a lot of leftover spaghetti, and I have to be honest, it wasn’t ever as good as the fresh stuff.

But sometimes my dad would whip together spaghetti pie. He would take the leftover pasta, stick it in a skillet with some eggs and cheese and bake it till it was crusty and delicious.

I don’t know his recipe, but I decided to try it out myself and it was an instant success — well, a 30-minute success.

This is comfort food at its best and is perfect for a quick weeknight meal. Plus, it’s easy cleanup since you only use one skillet.

Leftover Spaghetti Pie

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1/2 pound leftover pasta

3 italian sausages, cooked

One jar of marinara sauce

1 cup shredded Italian blend cheese

1/4 cup cream

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Slice the cooked sausages into bite-sized pieces. Heat an oven-proof skillet over medium-high and brown the sausages on both sides. Meanwhile, roughly chop the leftover spaghetti into 2-inch pieces. Toss the pasta into the skillet with the marinara sauce. Turn heat to medium-low and heat thoroughly, stirring occasionally, about 7 minutes. Stir in 1/3 cup of the cheese and the cream. Top with a hefty layer of cheese and bake for 30 minutes, or until cheese is browned and bubbly. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

alaska, Cooking, Italian, Pasta, recipes, salad

Wild Porcini Orzo with Grilled Portobello Caps

June 23, 2014 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

Last year we picked hundreds of pounds of boletes — wild porcini mushrooms. We dried them and have since not consumed many of them; so before we hit mushroom season this summer we decided we better start using these earthy, flavorful morsels.

Wild mushrooms pair well with risotto. I had a half box of Barilla Orzo pasta, which look like grains of rice. I thought the orzo would taste super with portobello and porcini with a hint of lemon and garlic.

Costco sells a four pack of portobello caps for just a few dollars. I lightly marinated them in oil and vinegar then grilled them over high heat and topped them with roasted bell peppers and chèvre. The fresh arugula salad was the perfect accompaniment to the meal with a simple lemon vinaigrette.

This is a quick meal that’s hearty and vegetarian too.

Wild Porcini Orzo with Grilled Portobello Caps and Baby Arugula Salad

Serves 3

Ingredients:

4 portobello caps

1 oz. dried porcini mushrooms

4 Tbs. butter

Olive oil

2 Tbs. apple cider vinegar

1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar

1 cup dry orzo pasta

2 cloves garlic

zest and juice of one lemon

1/4 cup Pecorino Romano cheese

1/4 cup crumbled chèvre

3 mini bell peppers

salt and pepper

Directions:

Bring a cup of water to boil. Pour over the dried mushrooms and cover. Set aside for 15 minutes. Remove the stems from portobello caps and set aside. Remove the gills with a spoon. Lightly score the tops of three of the caps with a paring knife. Reserve one cap for the orzo. Combine 1/3 cup olive oil, the vinegars, one minced clove of garlic salt and pepper to a one-gallon ziploc bag. Carefully add the caps, seal and gently toss to coat the caps. Let sit 30 minutes to an hour.

Chop the stems and one portobello cap. Remove the porcini mushrooms and reserve the liquid. Chop the porcini. Set aside.

Bring a pot of water to boil and cook the orzo for 7 minutes. Drain and set aside. Lightly toss with olive oil so they don’t stick together. Meanwhile, heat the butter and one tablespoon olive oil in a large sauté pan. Add the chopped mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes until some of the liquid has evaporated from them. Add the lemon zest and one minced clove of garlic. Cook for another couple of minutes, till garlic is fragrant. Add the orzo, 1/4 cup of reserved mushroom liquid and the juice of 1/2 lemon. Toss thoroughly and season with salt and pepper.

Set all burners on your gas grill to high and heat for 15 minutes. Chop the tops off the bell peppers and remove the seeds. Skewer them on a metal skewer. Turn grill burners to med-high and set the peppers and the mushroom caps, top side down, on the grill. Cover and grill for about 4 minutes. Flip and grill another 4 minutes. Remove everything from grill and slice the peppers. Serve the caps with sliced peppers and crumbled chèvre alongside the orzo, sprinkled with grated Pecorino Romano cheese.

For the salad: Top baby arugula with sliced cherry tomatoes, blueberries and crumbed chèvre. Squeeze fresh lemon on top and drizzle on extra virgin olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Cooking, Italian, Pasta, recipes

How to Make Marinara in Bulk

March 17, 2014 alaskaknitnat 6 Comments

I never thought I’d be a label reader. But then I had a child and started feeding him. I quickly realized there’s a lot of extra stuff in store-bought food. I could be making a lot of that food myself and it would probably be cheaper.

Then again I am pretty lazy. I’ll make homemade marinara every once in a while, but when I’m in a pinch, I just go buy the jarred stuff. If I want the good jarred stuff it usually costs about $4.

Here is where I take a lesson from good ol’ dad. My entire life he has cooked sauce in bulk and freezes jars of it for later. I’ve been saving quite a few pickle and sauce jars so why not give it a try?

It was easy and in the end cost less than half as much as store bought; and it’s probably twice as good.

Here’s what you’ll need:

2 GIANT 106-oz. cans of crushed tomatoes – $2.99 apiece at Costco

25 cloves of garlic, smashed

about 1/3 cup good olive oil

1/4 cup dried basil

2 Tbs. dried oregano

2 Tbs. sugar

8 dried red chilis

salt and pepper to taste

6-7 large 40-oz. jars with lids

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in an extra large stock pot over medium-high. When oil is heated, toss in the garlic and turn heat to medium. Stir frequently and sauté till garlic is golden, about five minutes. Add all the other ingredients and turn heat to high. Cover and bring to a simmer. Turn heat to med-low and simmer for about two hours, stirring every once in a while so sauce doesn’t burn.

Let cool and spoon into jars. Do not fill right to the top because the sauce will expand in the freezer and then you’d have a sauce bomb to clean up later. If sauce is still hot enough, the jars might self seal as once they cool on the counter. Freeze up to six months.

To thaw: Defrost in microwave according to your microwave settings or leave out on the counter during the day. Once it’s slightly thawed and can be loosened into a sauce pot, thaw the rest of the way over medium-low flame.

Cooking, Italian, recipes

Mushroom Risotto with Parsnip Purée

November 9, 2013 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

Yesterday on my way to work I was listening to a story on NPR’s Morning Edition about Mediterranean cooking and a chef was talking about a mushroom risotto with parsnip purée. They didn’t provide a recipe, so I patched my own together from several different recipes I found online.

As usual, the photo falls flat (it’s dark when I eat dinner!) but trust me, if you like mushrooms, this is a great meal and can easily be made vegetarian if you sub veggie stock for chicken stock.

I technically didn’t use Arborio rice for last night’s meal. I used farro, which is an ancient grain that’s supposedly really healthy and can be found at health food stores. Use whatever grain you desire, you’ll still have a flavorful dish.

I’ve not really cooked parsnips before, and purée sounds fancy, but is really just cooked parsnips put in the blender. Simple, creamy, flavorful and a great topping to the risotto.

I served this with chicken piccata — cutlets in a white wine lemon sauce with capers.

Ingredients for risotto:
1/2 onion, finely chopped
olive oil
3/4 lb. crimini or button mushrooms, sliced
1 oz. dried porcini mushrooms (optional)
3/4 cup dried Arborio rice, farro or brown rice
1/4 cup dry white wine or sherry
2-3 cans chicken or vegetable stock
1/4 cup water
2 Tbs. butter
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

For the parsnips:
1/2 lb. parsnips, peeled and largely diced
1 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 Tbs. butter
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
In a small microwave safe bowl, place the porcini mushrooms with 1/4 cup stock and 1/4 cup water. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and heat for two minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes. Reserve the liquid and finely chop the porcini mushrooms.

Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a large saucepan or skillet. Sauté the crimini and porcini mushrooms for about five minutes, stirring occasionally. Set mushrooms and any liquid aside. Add another small swig of olive oil and sauté the onions until translucent, about five minutes. Add the dry rice and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the white wine and simmer until liquid is absorbed. Add half the mushroom water and cook till absorbed, stirring occasionally. Add the remaining mushroom water. Continue adding stock 1/2 cup at a time letting rice absorb the liquid before adding more, stirring occasionally for about 20-30 minutes when rice becomes tender.

Meanwhile, add the milk and parsnips to a small saucepan and simmer till parsnips are tender, about 20 minutes. Be sure to keep an eye on the milk as it can easily boil over if heat is too high. While parsnips are cooking, heat the butter in a small frying pan. Add the 1/2 cup onion and sauté till soft, about five minutes.

Add milk, parsnips and onions to a blender and blend till completely puréed. Transfer to a small serving bowl, season with salt and pepper, cover and set aside.

When the rice is tender and ready to eat, turn off the heat. Stir in the mushrooms, butter and cheese till well combined. Serve risotto with dollops of parsnip purée.

Cooking, Italian, recipes, South Beach

Chicken with Artichokes in a Smoky Cream Sauce

August 31, 2013 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

I’m on day seven of the South Beach Diet (or, as I like to call it, the South Beach Challenge) and I’m finding more ways to make delicious food without missing pasta.

Last night was chicken with roasted red peppers, capers and artichoke hearts in a smoky cream sauce. Ok, ok, I broke a few guidelines on this one. I used chicken thighs when the diet recommends white meat and I used half and half. The official cookbooks recommend fat-free half and half (which sounds like an oxymoron to me) but when I looked at the ingredients at the grocery store, the second ingredient was corn syrup. What the? That’s why I stuck to the regular kind.

Here’s how to make it.

Serves 2

Ingredients:
olive oil
2 skinless chicken breasts (or 4 thighs), cut into large chunks
1 roasted bell pepper, sliced
1/2 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 Tbs. capers
6 canned artichoke hearts, cut in half
1/4 cup chicken stock (eyeball it)
1/4 cup half and half or milk (eyeball it)
1/4 cup fresh or canned chopped tomatoes (eyeball it)
1 Tbs. smoked paprika
salt and pepper
handful of chopped fresh basil

Directions:
Coat a skillet with olive oil and heat over medium high. Salt and pepper the chicken. When the olive oil is just starting to smoke add the chicken. Brown both sides (about 5 minutes each side). Refrain from moving the chicken around to ensure a nice golden brown. Set chicken aside.

Add the peppers, onion, garlic, capers and artichokes and sauté till onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken back to the pan and pour in the tomatoes, stock, cream and paprika. Bring to a simmer for about 5 minutes to thicken it up a little. Turn down the heat and cover. Let simmer 10 minutes or until chicken is done all the way through. Toss in the basil and cook uncovered another minute or so, combining everything.