My mom got this recipe from a coworker, liked it and then made it her own over time. The copy we have was hand written by mom to Esther, who wanted to try her hand at making it years ago. There’s a sticky note attached with further context to the effect of this is the recipe but I don’t precisely measure things so it’s close. Birthday dinners at our house growing up were whatever the birthday boy (or girl) wanted and it’s telling that with many fancier options available, Tetrazzini was chosen for a lot of birthday dinners. I have taken it over and (somewhat) made it my own too – although more from a “technique” perspective than any desire to change how it tastes.

• 5 – 6 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized chunks
• 3 packages of white mushrooms, washed and sliced
• 2 tablespoons granulated garlic / garlic powder
• 2/3 to 3/4 bottle of dry white wine
• Ground pepper to taste

Sauce:

• 1/3 cup margarine
• 3/4 cup All-Purpose flour
• 1 ½ cups chicken broth (I used enough bouillon for 4 cups)
• 1 cup milk
• ¼ teaspoon paprika
• ½ cup grated parmesan

1. Add chicken to a large saute pan with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil. Season with garlic powder and pepper and cook on medium heat (covered), stirring occasionally.
2. When the chicken loses its raw colour, add the mushrooms and wine. Cover and simmer about 15 mins then mix mushrooms and chicken thoroughly and continue to simmer until the alcohol smell/flavour is cooked off (approximately 30 mins).
3. Transfer chicken and mushroom mixture to a large Dutch oven.
4. Turn off burner and add margarine, flour and paprika to the saute pan.
5. Use a whisk to make a roux of sorts. I usually do this without any more than the residual heat from the burner. Gradually add the chicken stock, stirring constantly and then finally the milk. Turn heat on medium-low and continue stirring until you have a smooth, “batter” of sorts. Don’t worry about the thickness since there is still quite a bit of liquid with the chicken and mushrooms to balance things out. The flour will be partially cooked at this stage but will finish cooking when the whole dish is combined.
6. Return the mushrooms and chicken mixture to the saute pan and blend with the sauce. Turn heat to medium low and cook for approximately 15 mins on a very gentle simmer. Stir periodically to ensure the sauce doesn’t burn to the bottom of the pan.
7. Transfer the finished sauce back to the Dutch oven, stir in the parmesan cheese and cover. For best results, I make the sauce ahead of time (day before or even morning of) and refrigerate. If you refrigerate the sauce it will thicken quite a bit but will thin when reheated. I like a bit more “tang” / acidity to my sauce so I add a small splash of wine before putting it in the oven to reheat.
8. Serve over spaghetti, linguine or fettuccine.