Roasted Chicken Leftovers

One of the main weapons in my arsenal is rotisserie chicken. How awesome is rotisserie chicken? Relatively healthy, easy and comforting. If, one day, you are lucky enough to have at least a half a chicken left, you can try this. The following recipe was originally inspired by my ambitious, glossy and mouthwatering Williams Sonoma slow cooker recipe book. However, it took on a life of it's own as I realized I did not have 3 hours for simmering. I had maybe 30 minutes before someone took me out if dinner wasn't ready. So, as my two year old threw herself repeatedly against my leg screaming, "I want MILK!", I managed to concoct this little dish. I couldn't believe it- but it was scarfed down by my husband and kids. I ate it daintily.

Ingredient list:
Leftover roasted chicken- at least a half chicken is best
1 Tblsp olive oil
1 carrot
1  stalk of celery
1 small yellow onion
1 cup of white wine for the recipe, 2 cups for drinking
1 cup chicken broth
1 tsp of dried tarragon
1 bay leaf
1 lb dried pappardelle
3/4 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese
lemon zest (optional)


Here's what you do:
Heat up a big sauce pan with about 1 tblsp of olive oil.
Chop up 1 carrot, 1 stalk of celery, and one small yellow onion as fast as you can without cutting any children or fingers.
Throw into pan and let aromas invade the room as you saute for 5 minutes or so, and stir.
Add 1 cup of white wine and 1 cup of chicken broth. Stir and let come to a boil, then reduce the heat.
Chop up remaining chicken into little pieces. Throw into pan.
Add about 1 tsp or more to taste of tarragon, to taste. Add one bay leaf. Simmer, uncovered, hopefully for about 30 minutes. This allow the mixture to reduce and soak into the chicken.
In the meantime, bring a large pot to boil, salt it, and cook 1 lb of pappardelle, which is a thick, ribbon like pasta that I love (although linguine works too).
Now, add 3/4 cup of heavy cream to the sauce and let it simmer for about 5 minutes to thicken it.  Add salt and pepper.  If you are ambitious, add the zest of one lemon. If you are tired, skip it. Drain the pasta, incorporate the sauce, and add Parmesan cheese to taste. YUM!
P.S. I know this has the dreaded heavy cream in it. My firm belief is that whatever else they would eat in a restaurant would be way worse. Seriously.