Turkey Tetrazzini: I know, it's not rocket science...

Although we enjoy the Thanksgiving meal with gusto, our family is a fan of leftovers: my in-laws ribbed me about getting a 14-lb turkey for our family of three, while they had a 9-pounder for their family of four. At this point, all but one breast that we froze whole against a wintry day is gone, a large part going to our very favorite:

Turkey tetrazzini


A simple process, one that's perfect for leftover meat, as you can reheat it gently in the sauce without cooking it.

Step one: velouté
If you've got leftover turkey schmaltz (which I guard zealously) this is the time to use it. Heat 3 tablespoons of flour in 2 tablespoons of schmaltz or butter, when it smells nutty and fizzes a bit, add 1 cup of leftover turkey stock and whisk well. To this:

add 1/3 cup of heavy cream

and whisk to incorporate

Step two: aromatics
In a skillet or another pot, sauté 1 cup sliced crimini mushrooms in schmaltz or butter until caramelized,

add 1 diced shallot and continue cooking until translucent.
Step three: combine ingredients

Add 2 cups of cooked poultry in bite-size pieces to your hot veloute, stirring until incorporated and warmed through.
Add mushrooms, shallots, and 1/2 cup frozen baby peas to the turkey mixture

Deglaze mushroom pan with 3 tbsp dry sherry and add to the turkey mixture. Stir well, taking care not to overheat at this point (do NOT boil.)
Add 1/3 cup of fresh grated parmesan

and season with salt and pepper to taste. My secret? At this point, I add whatever Thanksgiving gravy I have left...and another tablespoon or so of sherry just before it comes off the heat.

Serve over big fat schloopy noodles with fresh parsley and more parmesan. This recipe barely serves 3 in my house...in your house, I can't say...

Ingredient roundup: 3tbsp flour, 2 tbsp butter or schmaltz, 1 cup stock, 1/3 cup cream, 1 cup sliced crimini mushrooms, 1 diced shallot, 1 tbsp schmaltz or butter, 2 cups cooked poultry, 1/2 cup frozen peas, 3-4 tbsp sherry, 1/3 cup grated parmesan, leftover gravy, cooked noodles, parsley and parmesan for garnish.

Looks awesome, Michelle. Turkey schmaltz - who knew?

Thankfully, Schloopy Noodles are on sale this week at schloopynoodlecompany.com. They probably won't last long...

Yes, well, they have to make room for the post-holiday rush on big fat schloopy dumplings...

Nice post, Mhays.

I'll contribute my mite of knowledge about this dish, which is one of a number of 19th- and early 20th-century recipes named after famous performers, in this case Luisa Tetrazzini (1871-1940), a Florentine coloratura soprano internationally famed in her day. She sang with the San Francisco Opera and most historians attribute the dish to that city, but others trace it to New York.

Other recipes with similar origins include the Modjeska, a Southern confection named for Polish actress Helena Modjeska; pasta alla Caruso, named for the tenor Enrico Caruso; peche Melba and Melba toast, both named by Escoffier to honor Australian soprano Nellie Melba; Pavlova, a dessert created in Australia in honor of Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova; and tournedos Rossini, honoring composer Gioacchino Rossini, who was almost as famed for his gastronomy as his music.

It's kind of a shame that no one does this anymore. It used to be fairly common for delis to name sandwiches after comedians and such, and of course we have Hot Doug and his celebrity sausage. Of course, it's tough to imagine what a dish named after, say, Britney Spears, would be like.


Luisa Tetrazzini

Hi,

While Hot Doug does have his celebrity sandwiches. It is also known that the celebrity name may change, but the sandwich stays the same. At least in the good old days, once a celebrity name was attached a dish it at least stuck.

Regards,

LAZ wrote:It's kind of a shame that no one does this anymore. It used to be fairly common for delis to name sandwiches after comedians and such . . .

It does seem to be dying out but there are still some Chicago places carrying on the tradition.

Petterino's actually names some dishes after Chicago restaurateurs instead of only celebrities (makes good sense to me). So you can get a Fritzel Salad, Chicken Marsala alla Riccardo and Chicken Armando in addition to an Irv Kupcinet Chopped Salad. Sadly, Potato Pancakes Sam Braverman seem to be off the menu now.

Gibson's offers the W.R. Cut, named after William Rice, formerly the Tribune's dining critic.

Jerry's Sandwiches carries the idea to its extreme, with seemingly anybody being able to get a namesake sandwich.

LAZ wrote:. . . and of course we have Hot Doug and his celebrity sausage. Of course, it's tough to imagine what a dish named after, say, Britney Spears, would be like.

No need to imagine. Back in Hot Doug's pre-duck fat days on Roscoe, the Fire Dog was known as the Britney Spears. It has since been renamed.

Rene G wrote:No need to imagine. Back in Hot Doug's pre-duck fat days on Roscoe, the Fire Dog was known as the Britney Spears. It has since been renamed.

Currently the Keira Knightley with Jennifer Garner in-between.

now there's a thought

Hi,

I came very close to making Turkey Tetrazzini yesterday. I then came upon a recipe on Epicurious.com for Turkey Chowder with wild rice, mushrooms and pancetta. I didn't have the heart to toss in the remaining stuffing, though I did add the gravy.

I was won over to make it once I read a review, "Tastes like Thanksgiving in a soup pot." A new recipe for the post turkey leftover binge.

Regards,

LAZ wrote:Nice post, Mhays.Of course, it's tough to imagine what a dish named after, say, Britney Spears, would be like.

Heavy on the Moon pies, Dr. Pepper, and Pixie sticks?

Hi,

It's fun this post popped up today. My swim class friends and I were discussing our plans for post Thanksgiving leftovers. One person announced she tosses all the leftovers, "Everything but the pumpkin pie," including cranberry sauce and candied sweet potatoes into a stockpot for soup. I advised I would forgo my annual Thanksgiving turkey curry for (MHay's inspired) Turkey Tetrazinni. I could tell some leftovers in other households may borrow the same idea, too. It seemed to evoke pure nostalgia, noting most of the ladies are 20 years older than myself.

Regards,

As a kid growing up in the 70's, my mom's turkey tetrazzini was something I looked forward to her making a couple of times per winter. I no longer eat poultry, but nostalgia and our recent cold snap inspired me to try a recipe I saw in Joie Warner's "Take a Tin of Tuna" cookbook for Tuna Tetrazzini. I was really pleased with the result and it definately satisfied the craving (despite the Husband's "mmmm....fancy Tuna Helper" comment. )



FWIW, we've enjoyed several things from her book. In particular, her Tuna Nicoise Sandwich, Pita Pockets Stuffed with Curried Tuna Salad, Lemony Tuna Salad with Tahini Dressing, and Farfalle with Tuna, Lemon and Caper Sauce. All assemble quickly and are great for week-night cooking. The only clunker for us so far was the Hawaiian Tuna Melt.

LynnB wrote:As a kid growing up in the 70's, my mom's turkey tetrazzini was something I looked forward to her making a couple of times per winter. I know longer eat poultry, but nostalgia and our recent cold snap inspired me to try a recipe I saw in Joie Warner's "Take a Tin of Tuna" cookbook for Tuna Tetrazzini. I was really pleased with the result and it definately satisfied the craving (despite the Husband's "mmmm....fancy Tuna Helper" comment. )

Wow, Lynn, that really looks great! I'll have to check out that book.

=R=

Ronnie,

Sometimes I want to get creative and cook out my pantry or from what inspired me at the market, sometimes I want to try a super-involved recipe from the likes of Diana Kennedy's "My Mexico," etc... but sometimes I just want to open a book and make something simple, quickly, that I know will work and satisfies. This tetrazzini was slightly more involved than the bulk of the recipes from the book, but I've come to trust that most of her recipes there will "work." I've purchased far too many cookbooks where I've tried 2-4 recipes and noted "just OK" or "not good" and then I simply stop cooking from them. This one's a "keeper" - hope you do give it a shot. -Lynn

i love turkey tetrazzini and make it regularly. mine differs from mhays' version in that i use linguine and after combining sauce, chicken(or turkey), and pasta, bake it in a lasagna pan topped with bread crumbs for 30 minutes, or so. i think the pasta benefits from immersion in the sauce. i love the tenderness of the linguine. i make a big batch and reheat individual portions in the microwave. surprisingly, it also freezes quite well. for the same reason, i only make mac'n'cheese that has been baked. justjoan

LynnB wrote:Ronnie,

Sometimes I want to get creative and cook out my pantry or from what inspired me at the market, sometimes I want to try a super-involved recipe from the likes of Diana Kennedy's "My Mexico," etc... but sometimes I just want to open a book and make something simple, quickly, that I know will work and satisfies. This tetrazzini was slightly more involved than the bulk of the recipes from the book, but I've come to trust that most of her recipes there will "work." I've purchased far too many cookbooks where I've tried 2-4 recipes and noted "just OK" or "not good" and then I simply stop cooking from them. This one's a "keeper" - hope you do give it a shot. -Lynn

Thanks again, Lynn. It seems like it might be out of print but I just found a used one (like new) at Amazon for $4.95.

I know exactly what you mean about dud cookbooks. I have hundreds of them and while I do enjoy reading them, I find that I cook from very few of them. In fact, I've really cut back on buying them over the past couple of years because so few have recipes that are really worth the effort and/or expense.

=R=

I'm making tetrazzini today with dark-meat chicken pieces, angel hair pasta, mushrooms, diced red and yellow bell peppers, onion, a roux made from flour and the fat and oil in the chicken roasting pan, milk, chicken stock, parmesan, white wine, sherry, thyme, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

Every tetrazzini's different, but most of those are my usual ingredients. I think it's a great dish for those cooks who like to tinker and taste, add a bit of this and that, and use a recipe just as a launching pad that lists ingredient essentials and quantities.

I've seen posts and online recipes with peas and/or with cilantro; I like them both, but haven't yet tried either in tetrazzini. Just, y'know, the tetrazzini corollary to the pizza cognition theory: no peas or cilantro in the tetrazzini I grew up with. I do side with those who bake the tetrazzini as a casserole after all the ingredient cooking and mixing. Make sure you have some liquid to add around the corners if it starts to get too dry, but baking til bubbly doesn't take much time since everything is already cooked and warm.

Circumstances are such this year for Christmas that I had to put this tetrazzini together in someone else's kitchen, a tiny kitchen in which I had to hunt for every ingredient and utensil and missed being in my own kitchen every step of the way. Putting together a pan of tetrazzini seemed more labor-intensive than usual this time. I'm done now, though, except for taking it out of the oven and heating up a bowl at a time for family members as they arrive.

sounds good, katie: i love turkey (or chicken) tetrazzini. i do put in peas, and sometimes mushrooms and i like to use linguine- but it's all personal preference. this is serious comfort food- and i agree, baking it makes it all come together and suddenly the whole is greater than the sum of its parts...a classic winter meal. enjoy!