Chicken Tetrazzini - The Most Seductive of Pasta Dishes

Before he became famous for being a smartass college student on "Community", Joel McHale was sharpening his quick wit on "The Soup", a now-canceled show on the E! television channel that recapped the week's major popular culture and television moments in a sarcastic and satirical way. A segment about cheating couples from an episode of "Maury" appeared on the show featuring an irate woman who claimed that her boyfriend was "cheating on her because his mistress made good chicken tetrazzini".

The clip became so popular that it became a running gag on future "Soup" episodes, where any question that required food for an answer, Alycia would appear with her reply. I knew I had to try chicken tetrazzini if only for how certain this scorned woman was that it was the reason for her woes. Was it the way the chicken was seasoned?  Was it the pasta? Was it a secret ingredient? I assumed the "Maury" producers wouldn't have the exact version of the recipe capable of causing infidelity, so I tore one out of a magazine I had laying around. I haven't been looking to stray from my wife so I haven't made use of this pasta's alleged seductive qualities, but I have made this dish for her, and I'm still happily married, so who knows? As today is Joel McHale's birthday, I felt sharing this recipe would be an appropriate way to honour the man who made me aware of this dish's seductive existence. If you're looking for a new lunch or dinner option, this pasta dish is easy to make, and a great way to use up any leftover chicken in the fridge. Whether it causes problems in your love life is debatable, but just in case, "Maury" knows of a reliable paternity test.

Ingredients:

2 cans condensed low fat cream of chicken soup
310 mL milk
375 g roasted chicken, shredded
225 g fresh spinach, loosely packed
225 g hot cooked penne (or about 1/3 of 900 g package)
170 g mushrooms, sliced thin
50 g parmesan cheese, grated
25 g bread crumbs
25 g mozzarella, grated
5 g garlic powder
5 g onion powder
5 g Italian seasoning

1. Preheat oven to 190°C. Combine all ingredients except bread crumbs and mozzarella in a large bowl and mix well. Transfer to a 3 L casserole dish.
2. In another bowl, mix bread crumbs and mozzarella and sprinkle evenly over the mixture in the casserole dish. Transfer to the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until the casserole is bubbling and the topping is browned.
3. Let the casserole cool for 5 minutes before serving.