I remember the first time I tasted my friend Roni’s Chicken Tetrazzini Casserole. I was in her kitchen the morning she was making it for a retreat. She was heading up a women’s Cursillo weekend and the casserole was going with her. If you’ve ever been on a retreat of any kind, you know the importance of food – especially comfort foods. By comfort foods, I mean anything from a bag of Doritos to homemade casseroles, breads, and desserts. Nothing can bring together and calm the jitters and anxieties of a room full of women, like food. Ok – and the Holy Spirit!!!
What is Tetrazzini?
Tetrazzini is an American dish that’s made with poultry or seafood and is usually mixed with mushrooms, butter, cream, parmesan cheese and sometimes sherry or wine. This combination can be served over your choice of pasta or placed in a casserole dish and baked. Because there is no standard for tetrazzini, you will find many variations which are usually titled with the meat or seafood used. ex: Chicken Tetrazzini Casserole
The Tetrazzini Story
This American dish was named after an Italian opera star, Luisa Tetrazzini. It was invented by Chef Ernest Arbogast, the chef at the Palace Hotel in San Fransico California, where Tetrazzini was a long-time resident. The year is thought to be sometime between 1908-1910. Isn’t it great to know a little background to a recipe? I love it!
I pictured the ingredients to help show the simplicity of the recipe. Flour, salt, and pepper are added to the melted butter and heated until smooth and bubbly. The broth and cream are added and brought to a boil to cook for 1 minute. Then all you need to do is stir in the spaghetti, chicken, and mushrooms. At this point, I added a handful of cheese and mixed that in before transferring it to the casserole dish.
For this post, I changed up a couple of ingredients. For the meat, I used a roasted chicken from Sam’s Club. The seasonings added to the overall flavor of the casserole and it was easy. You may have noticed large slices of mushrooms. I used a 6.5 oz can of sliced mushrooms and then I sautéed about 6 large mushrooms that I had in the frig. I love mushrooms and they are good for us!
Well, Thanks Roni for sharing this recipe. The flavor is so good and what I especially like is that this is a recipe that can be changed up. The meat and cheese can be changed to your favorite or whatever you have in your frig, a gluten-free pasta can be used and a low-fat cream could be substituted. The possibilities are endless so why don’t you give it a try?
Do you consider this recipe a comfort food? Do you have a favorite comfort food or casserole? Please consider leaving a message for the Sock box 10 Community. If you are on Pinterest, please consider pinning the picture below.
Thanks so much for stopping by, Rose
Rose and Roni
- ¼ cup butter
- ¼ cup flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 1 package (7 oz) spaghetti ( cooked and drained)
- 2 cups cubed cooked/boiled chicken. I used a roasted chicken bought at a club store.
- 1 jar sliced mushrooms (drained). I added sauteed fresh mushrooms.
- ½ cup parmesan cheese, freshly shredded or grated. I used shredded parmesan.
- Heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Blend flour, salt, and pepper.
- Melt butter in a large saucepan.
- Stir flour mixture into butter and heat until mixture is smooth and bubbly.
- Add broth and cream and heat to boiling.
- Boil and stir for 1 minute.
- Remove from heat and stir in spaghetti, chicken, and mushrooms
- At this point, you can blend in additional parmesan cheese. This is optional.
- Pour into an ungreased 2-quart casserole dish and sprinkle with cheese.
- Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until bubbly.
- Enjoy!