Creamy Spinach and Artichoke Chicken

I hugged Rebecca this week. Not a porch hug, not a wave-and-blow-a-kiss hug, but a real hug — arms around each other, holding on, the physical fact of my daughter's body against mine for the first time in fourteen months. She drove out to Oceanside on Saturday, fully vaccinated, and she walked through the front door and I hugged her and we stood in the hallway for a long time without saying anything, because there was nothing to say that the hug wasn't already saying. Rebecca is not a demonstrative person. She is her father's daughter in this way — private with her feelings, economical with physical affection. But she hugged me back with a force that surprised us both, and when we separated she said, "I missed you, Mama," and I said, "I missed you too, baby," and then we went to the kitchen and made tea and talked about Chekhov, because that is what we do, and the return to what we do was the second hug, the hug that lasted the rest of the afternoon.

Marvin was confused by the visit — Rebecca has not been inside the house since early 2020, and the Marvin who greets Rebecca in 2021 is a different Marvin than the one who said goodbye. He looked at her with the polite interest of a man meeting an acquaintance whose name he can't quite place. Rebecca said, "Hi, Pop," and Marvin said, "Hello, dear," and the "dear" was not recognition — it was manners, the default politeness of a man who has been trained since childhood to be courteous to women. Rebecca looked at me over his head and I saw the adjustment happen in real time — the recalibration of expectation, the acceptance that her father is further gone than she knew, because knowing from phone calls is different from knowing in the room, in the flesh, in the gap between "Hi, Pop" and "Hello, dear."

I made Shabbat dinner for three — the first Shabbat dinner with a guest in over a year. Chicken, roasted potatoes, green beans, challah. I lit the candles and said the blessings and Rebecca sat in her old chair and Marvin sat in his chair and the table had three people and the three was more than the two and the more was a door opening, a return, a beginning of the end of the isolation that has defined this year. The chicken was perfect. The challah was braided. The candles were lit. Rebecca was home.

That chicken had to be right — not just edible, not just adequate, but the kind of dish that holds a table together and makes the people sitting at it feel held. I wanted something that said welcome back without making a fuss about it, something rich and warm that filled the kitchen with a smell Rebecca would carry home with her. This creamy spinach and artichoke chicken is the recipe I reached for: it is generous the way a long-overdue hug is generous, and it asks very little of you while giving a great deal back.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 30 minutes | Total Time: 40 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 lbs)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chicken broth
4 oz cream cheese, softened and cut into cubes
1/2 cup sour cream
1 can (14 oz) artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped
3 cups fresh baby spinach
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Instructions

Season the chicken. Pat chicken breasts dry with paper towels. Combine garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper, then rub evenly over both sides of each breast.
Sear the chicken. Heat olive oil in a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts and sear 3–4 minutes per side until golden. Remove chicken from the pan and set aside; it will not be fully cooked through yet.
Build the sauce. Reduce heat to medium. Add minced garlic to the same skillet and cook 30 seconds until fragrant. Pour in chicken broth and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom. Add cream cheese cubes and stir until fully melted and the sauce is smooth, about 2 minutes.
Add the vegetables. Stir in sour cream, chopped artichoke hearts, and spinach. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the spinach wilts and everything is combined, about 2–3 minutes. Stir in Parmesan and red pepper flakes if using.
Finish the chicken. Return the seared chicken breasts to the skillet, nestling them into the sauce. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook 12–15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
Rest and serve. Let the chicken rest in the sauce for 5 minutes before serving. Spoon the creamy spinach and artichoke sauce generously over each breast. Serve alongside roasted potatoes or with warm challah to soak up the sauce.

Nutrition (per serving)

Creamy Spinach and Artichoke Chicken — The Shabbat Table Had Three Seats Again