Ricki “Go Ricki! Go Ricki!” Lake had “Weave Wars.” Jenny Jones had geek-to-chic makeovers. Oprah had a wagonfull of lard. But only Maury Povich has had the privilege of seeing his talk show’s high-water-mark turn into a full-fledged cultural meme: After almost a year, the now-famous clip of guest Alycia extolling (?) the seductive virtues (?) of chicken tetrazzini refuses to die. It has spawned a host of YouTube parodies, some of which are actually funny, others of which are slightly disturbing, due to child actors playing the star roles in this tawdry melodrama. Yet for all the fuss, what exactly is chicken tetrazzini, and why is it so conducive to going a-cheatin’?

It turns out that chicken tetrazzini is actually a creamy casserole containing primarily chicken and linguine. Food Network’s appropriately seductive Giada De Laurentiis provides us with a useful ingredient list and recipe for this Siren-food that explains how it lured Alycia’s man: First, the white wine relaxes; then, the nutmeg causes delirium; and finally, the 9 tablespoons of butter finally immobilize, leaving him defenseless to his temptress’s amorous advances. By including skinless chicken breasts, Giada’s recipe stops just shy of bringing on a full-blown bout of cardiac arrest, allowing the relationship to continue (on the DL). So for all you Delilahs out there, there you have it (as if you didn’t look up the recipe as soon as you saw that episode of Maury air!). Get cooking… there’s no need to waste boatloads of money on aphrodisiac oysters any longer. While it might not be a good idea for the rest of us to try this dish, Stouffers sells a frozen turkey tetrazzini in case you want to get a rough idea of what life’s like on the other side of the socio-culinary fence.