A Childhood Favorite

When I was a child/teenager, one of my favorite dinners from my mom's repertoire was chicken tetrazzini. I always thought it was an Italian dish, but according to Wikipedia, it is actually American and only named after an Italian opera star with the last name Tetrazinni. Whatever its origins, it is still delicious.

My mother's recipe for tetrazzini is quite complicated. You must first boil a whole chicken to cook it and make chicken broth. Then, you have to wait for the chicken to cool until you can take it apart, debone it and chop it into small pieces. Only then can you make the sauce and pasta, etc. Understandably, this is a casserole that we ate mostly on special-ish occasions.

As I mentioned in my previous post, we had chicken instead of turkey at Thanksgiving this year. Our friends who brought the two chickens did not want to keep the remaining parts, so instead I saved the meat and made tetrazzini. (I know I should have saved the bones and made broth/soup as well, but we have limited space and can only eat so much).

Although we have a family recipe, I have never actually made tetrazzini on my own before. I have only helped my mother as she was cooking. So, I found a Giada De Laurentiis recipe from Food Network to reference.

Basically, you saute onions and mushrooms, then add some white wine. Then you make a roux and a white sauce. Mix it with the chicken, and pour it over pasta in a baking dish. Top with parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs and bake.

It is fair to say that I am usually pleased overall with the results of my cooking. I don't tend to produce meals that are inedible or terrible. However, I really think this tetrazzini is the best thing I've made in quite a while. It was excellent! I have no complaints with it, and it is a very close match to the casserole of my childhood. Yum!