{{short description|Creamy casserole dish}} {{For|the singer|Luisa Tetrazzini}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2016}} {{Infobox food | name = Tetrazzini | image = Turkey Tetrazzini.jpg | caption = Turkey tetrazzini | alternate_name = | country = United States | region = | creator = | course = | type = | served = | main_ingredient = {{hlist|Poultry|seafood|butter|cream}} | variations = | calories = | other = }}
'''Tetrazzini''' is an Italian-American dish made with diced poultry or seafood in a butter, cream, or milk and cheese sauce flavored with sherry or white wine. Some recipes use a bechamel sauce, mornay sauce or condensed cream soup. It is combined with or served over linguine, spaghetti, egg noodles, or other types of pasta, sometimes topped with breadcrumbs or cheese, and garnished with parsley or basil.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Turkey Tetrazzini {{!}} Cook's Illustrated Recipe |url=http://www.americastestkitchen.com/cooksillustrated/recipes/1038-turkey-tetrazzini?incode=MCSCD00L0&ref=new_search_experience_3 |access-date=2023-02-22 |website=www.americastestkitchen.com |language=en |archive-date=February 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230222045530/https://www.americastestkitchen.com/cooksillustrated/recipes/1038-turkey-tetrazzini?incode=MCSCD00L0&ref=new_search_experience_3 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2019-03-18 |title=Turkey Tetrazzini |url=https://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Turkey-Tetrazzini/ |access-date=2023-02-22 |website=Saveur |language=en |archive-date=December 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207095801/https://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Turkey-Tetrazzini/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
==History==
The dish is named after the Italian opera star Luisa Tetrazzini.<ref name="SF-Chron">{{cite news |first=Amanda |last=Gold |url=http://www.sfgate.com/food/article/Bay-Area-stars-freshening-up-5-classic-dishes-3296739.php |work=The San Francisco Chronicle |title=Bay Area stars freshening up 5 classic dishes |date=May 31, 2009 |accessdate=August 15, 2016 |archive-date=July 10, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160710082328/http://www.sfgate.com/food/article/Bay-Area-stars-freshening-up-5-classic-dishes-3296739.php |url-status=live }}</ref> The origins of tetrazzini are widely disputed. Some accounts ascribe tetrazzini to being a creation of Auguste Escoffier.<ref name=":0" /> Other sources claim tetrazzini was invented in the early 1900s by Ernest Arbogast, the chef at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco where Tetrazzini made her American debut at the Tivoli as Gilda in ''Rigoletto'' on January 11, 1905.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Luisa Tetrazzini: The Florentine Nightingale |last=Gattey |first=Charles Neilson |publisher=Scolar Press |year=1995 |isbn=1859280102 |location=United Kingdom |pages=41–44}}</ref> However, other sources attribute the origin to the Knickerbocker Hotel in Midtown Manhattan, New York.<ref>{{cite web| last = Niosi| first = Andrea| title = Chicken Tetrazzini| work = Foodreference| date = December 2004| url = http://www.foodreference.com/html/fchickentetrazzini.html| accessdate = September 6, 2012| archive-date = June 16, 2021| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210616191902/https://www.foodreference.com/html/fchickentetrazzini.html| url-status = live}}</ref><ref name="Peters">{{cite book |last=Peters |first=Erica J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nQyYAAAAQBAJ&dq=tetrazzini+knickerbocker+hotel&pg=PA177 |title=San Francisco: A Food Biography |location=New York |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2013 |page=177 |isbn=978-0759121539 |quote=The 'restaurant on forty-second' may refer to the Knickerbocker Hotel, then located on 42nd Street and Broadway. |access-date=January 30, 2023 |archive-date=February 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230222045529/https://books.google.com/books?id=nQyYAAAAQBAJ&dq=tetrazzini+knickerbocker+hotel&pg=PA177 |url-status=live }}</ref>
In 1950s through the 1980s, upscale New York City restaurants including Mamma Leone's and Sardi's featured tetrazzini on the menu.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Radio |first=Southern California Public |date=2015-10-01 |title=Vincent Price's very Off-Rampy cookbook, 'A Treasury of Great Recipes,' is back! |url=https://archive.kpcc.org/programs/offramp/2015/10/01/44663/vincent-price-s-very-off-rampy-cookbook-a-treasury/ |access-date=2023-02-22 |website=Southern California Public Radio |archive-date=October 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211028043452/https://archive.kpcc.org/programs/offramp/2015/10/01/44663/vincent-price-s-very-off-rampy-cookbook-a-treasury/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Mama Leone's Chicken Tetrazzini |url=http://labellecuisine.com/archives/mama_leones_chicken_tetrazzini.htm |access-date=2023-02-22 |website=labellecuisine.com |archive-date=May 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220518105215/http://labellecuisine.com/archives/mama_leones_chicken_tetrazzini.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Sardis – Restaurant |url=https://sardis.com/ |access-date=2023-02-22 |language=en-US |archive-date=February 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230213193338/https://sardis.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Sardi's tetrazzini recipe was featured in Vincent Price's cookbook ''A Treasury of Great Recipes'', and mentioned in the Sue Kaufman novel ''Diary of a Mad Housewife''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Recipes |url=https://www.vincentpricelegacy.com/recipes |access-date=2023-02-22 |website=Vincent Price |language=en |archive-date=January 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230121150704/https://www.vincentpricelegacy.com/recipes |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Sue Kaufman |url=https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/kaufman-sue |access-date=2023-02-22 |website=Jewish Women's Archive |language=en |archive-date=November 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221126113054/https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/kaufman-sue |url-status=live }}</ref> Tetrazzini frozen dinners were popular in the 1960s, as noted by Joan Didion in ''The Saturday Evening Post'' article "The Big Rock Candy Figgy Pudding Pitfall".<ref>{{Cite web |last1=McGowan |first1=Bob |last2=says |first2=Jr |date=2018-12-04 |title=The Big Rock Candy Figgy Pudding Pitfall |url=https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2018/12/the-big-rock-candy-figgy-pudding-pitfall/ |access-date=2023-02-22 |website=The Saturday Evening Post |language=en-US |archive-date=October 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221025011516/https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2018/12/the-big-rock-candy-figgy-pudding-pitfall/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Recipes for tetrazzini, both from-scratch and using convenience ingredients, were popular in the 1950s and 1960s, and the dish was featured in an episode of the TV drama ''Mad Men'' which is mostly set in the 1960s.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Webley |first=Kayla |date=2010-07-22 |title=Casserole |language=en-US |magazine=Time |url=https://entertainment.time.com/2010/07/23/top-10-things-we-miss-about-the-mad-men-era/slide/casserole/ |access-date=2023-02-22 |issn=0040-781X |archive-date=May 18, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140518044028/http://entertainment.time.com/2010/07/23/top-10-things-we-miss-about-the-mad-men-era/slide/casserole/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The ''Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook'', a collection of vintage recipes, featured dishes which are cited in the TV series. It included recipes drawn from various popular mid-century restaurants and cookbooks, including a tetrazzini recipe originally published in Betty Crocker's ''Hostess Cookbook''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bonacci |first=Jane |date=2012-01-27 |title=Book Review and 5 Recipes from The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook for Festive Friday! • The Heritage Cook ® |url=https://theheritagecook.com/book-review-and-5-recipes-from-the-unofficial-mad-men-cookbook-for-festive-friday/ |access-date=2023-02-22 |website=The Heritage Cook ® |language=en-US |archive-date=August 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220809075944/https://theheritagecook.com/book-review-and-5-recipes-from-the-unofficial-mad-men-cookbook-for-festive-friday/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Rama |first=Padmananda |date=March 25, 2012 |title=The Mad World Of 'Mad Men' Food |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2012/03/23/149225456/the-mad-world-of-mad-men-food |access-date=February 22, 2023 |website=NPR |archive-date=December 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211206095648/https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2012/03/23/149225456/the-mad-world-of-mad-men-food |url-status=live }}</ref>
In the 1960s, southern restaurants and Junior League cookbooks began featuring versions of tetrazzini (referred to as chicken spaghetti in parts of the American South).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chicken a la Creole Spaghetti |url=https://dricksramblingcafe.blogspot.com/2015/06/chicken-la-creole-spaghetti.html |access-date=2023-02-22 |website=Chicken a la Creole Spaghetti |archive-date=December 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221201191029/https://dricksramblingcafe.blogspot.com/2015/06/chicken-la-creole-spaghetti.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Sifton |first=Sam |date=2016-09-29 |title=Chicken Tetrazzini, the Casserole Even Snobs Love |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/02/magazine/chicken-tetrazzini-the-casserole-even-snobs-love.html |access-date=2023-02-22 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=February 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230217112726/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/02/magazine/chicken-tetrazzini-the-casserole-even-snobs-love.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Llado |first=Melissa |date=May 1, 2023 |title=This Tuna Tetrazzini recipe is a healthier version of a classic dish. Using fresh tuna, cheeses, and cream...the whole family will love this easy dinner recipe. |url=https://serendipityandspice.com/the-best-tuna-tetrazzini-recipe/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221210051429/https://www.southernliving.com/food/dish/casserole/chicken-spaghetti-casserole-family-dinner |archive-date=December 10, 2022 |access-date=2023-02-22 |website=Serendipity and Spice |language=en}}</ref> In the 1960s, the Piccadilly cafeteria in Baton Rouge introduced chicken tetrazzini to the menu, and it remains a customer favorite into the 2020s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Piccadilly Cafeteria {{!}} Oral History |url=https://oralhistory.unt.edu/time-period/piccadilly-cafeteria |access-date=2023-02-22 |website=oralhistory.unt.edu |language=en |archive-date=February 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230222045634/https://oralhistory.unt.edu/time-period/piccadilly-cafeteria |url-status=live }}</ref> Foster's Market in Durham, North Carolina, introduced chicken spaghetti to their in-house dining and catering menus in the 1980s, with their version based upon the chicken spaghetti recipe featured in the Baton Rouge Junior League cookbook ''River Road Recipes''. In the 1990s, tetrazzini and chicken spaghetti emerged as soul food classics.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Necole |first=Shaunda |date=2022-01-12 |title=Black Folks Southern Chicken Spaghetti |url=https://thesoulfoodpot.com/southern-chicken-spaghetti/ |access-date=2023-02-22 |website=The Soul Food Pot |language=en-US |archive-date=September 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220928131517/https://thesoulfoodpot.com/southern-chicken-spaghetti/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=staysnatched |date=2022-10-19 |title=Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti + {VIDEO} |url=https://www.staysnatched.com/chicken-spaghetti/ |access-date=2023-02-22 |website=Stay Snatched |language=en-US}}</ref>
Tetrazzini, specifically chicken tetrazzini, became an Internet meme after a woman on ''Maury'' accused her friend of seducing her boyfriend by preparing his favorite meal, chicken tetrazzini.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/chicken-tetrazzini | title=Chicken Tetrazzini | date=March 15, 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://alleghenycampus.com/1439/uncategorized/video-of-the-week-chicken-tetrazzini/ | title=Video of the week: "Chicken TetraZZINI!" }}</ref> Clips from the episode were featured on the E! channel show ''The Soup'' in 2007. In 2020, ''Vice'' magazine food editor Farideh Sadeghin prepared chicken tetrazzini for their Munchies series, referencing the ''Maury'' episode as her inspiration for the dish.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/chicken-tetrazzini-recipe/ | title=Chicken Tetrazzini Recipe | date=January 15, 2020 }}</ref>
==See also== * List of casserole dishes * List of foods named after people * List of foods of the Southern United States * List of soul foods and dishes
== References == {{reflist}}
Category:Casserole dishes Category:Food and drink in the San Francisco Bay Area Category:Cuisine of New York City Category:Foods featuring butter Category:American pasta dishes Category:Cheese dishes Category:Mushroom dishes Category:American poultry dishes Category:American seafood dishes Category:Soul food Category:Cuisine of the Southern United States Category:Italian-American cuisine Category:Louisiana Creole cuisine Category:Cuisine of California