Johnny Marzetti

Johnny Marzetti is a baked pasta dish, or casserole, consisting of noodles, tomato sauce, ground beef, and cheese. Other ingredients and seasonings may be added to adjust the taste. The dish originated in Columbus, Ohio at the Marzetti restaurant, and spread to other parts of the United States as variations of the recipe were published in magazines and cookbooks during the mid-20th century. The dish is still served in Ohio, especially at social gatherings and in school lunchrooms.

Johnny Marzetti also gained a great deal of popularity in the Panama Canal Zone, where it was served at social occasions and on holidays since at least the early WWII era. The Canal Zone version of the dish typically includes celery and green olives, and is almost always spelled "Johnny Mazetti" by Zonians. The importance of Johnny Mazetti to the culture of the Canal Zone was such that most Zonians are unaware of the origin of the dish and are surprised to learn that it did not originate there.

References:

* [http://www.post-gazette.com/food/19991104mailbox.asp Kitchen Mailbox: Johnny Marzetti immortalized as casserole]
* [http://culinarytypes.blogspot.com/2006/11/in-search-of-johnny-marzetti-its.html In Search of Johnny Marzetti]
* [http://lostparadise.com/recipes/13.html A typical Canal Zone Johnny Mazetti recipe]
* [http://www.zonianlady.com/czrecipes.html Several more Canal Zone recipes - note that the first calls for both green and black olives]
* [http://www.gozonian.com/recipe/jmazetti.shtml A WWII-era Canal Zone recipe, including a scan of the original]

ee also

* American Chop Suey, a very similar dish