Chicken a la King a la Lambroca

Last Sunday (10/21/07) we got together with Bill and Russell for another Gaming Afternoon that we enjoy very much. We played a card game called 45's (an Irish game, that made it to the Merrimack River Valley in Massachusetts by way of Canada, through the French Canadians).We also played Settlers of Catan (twice)
In order to allow us time to play and not be a slave to the kitchen, we came up with a dish that can cook itself once you have done all of the prep work in advance.
That dish was Chicken a la King, a la Lambroca. We all thought it was very good. Please let us know what you think.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 large shallots, minced
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup dry sherry
2 1/2 cups chicken broth, homemade
6 sprigs plus 1 tablespoon minced flat-leaf parsley
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more, to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more, to taste
Pinch cayenne pepper
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 cups poached chicken, (See recipe below for the poaching of the chicken)
1 tablespoon snipped fresh chives
Serving suggestions: Buttered noodles or saffron rice
Serves 4

In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt 1/4 cup of the butter, and saute the shallots until softened, about 4 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour, and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes. Whisk in the sherry and broth and bring to a boil while stirring. Add the parsley and thyme sprigs, lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer for 5 minutes. Transfer to a Slow Cooker set on high.
Cook the sauce,for 30 minutes stirring frequently.
Season with salt, pepper, cayenne, and nutmeg. Whisk in the heavy cream.
Add the minced parsley, chicken, and chives to the sauce, and bring to a simmer. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Cook for a few hours until you get the desired consistency or you are hungry.
Serve immediately over noodles, or saffron yellow rice.

POACHED CHICKEN
10 sprigs parsley
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 small onion, halved
1 small carrot, halved
1 stalk celery, halved
5 pounds of chicken, with bone in
5 to 6 cups chicken broth, canned

Put the parsley, thyme, onion, carrot, celery, and chicken breasts in a medium saucepan. Cover with the broth, and bring just to a boil. Lower the heat to very low and cover. Poach the chicken for 20 minutes or until firm to the touch. Remove the pan from the heat, uncover, and cool the chicken in the liquid for 30 minutes.
Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and reserve the liquid. Bone and skin the chicken and cut the meat into cubes if you wish if not just bite size pieces. Discard the bones and skin.
Strain the broth and store, covered, in the refrigerator for 3 days or freeze for later use. Remove any fat from the surface of the broth before using if you desire.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings, depending how much you eat.