By Megan's birthday week. She turned twenty-six on Thursday. She is the kind of person who says "don't make a big deal about my birthday" and means it, which makes planning something for her both easier and harder. She doesn't want a party. She doesn't want surprises. She wants good food and good company and no fuss, and I can do all three of those things.
I cooked her birthday dinner. The full spread. Not Polish this time — she's been dropping hints about Italian food for weeks, and I took the hint. Chicken parmesan, homemade pasta, garlic bread, a Caesar salad. The chicken parm was the star — I pounded the breasts thin, breaded them with panko and parmesan, fried them until the crust was golden and crunchy, then topped them with marinara and mozzarella and broiled until the cheese was bubbling. She ate it and closed her eyes and said, "You should do this for a living." I said, "I make beer for a living." She said, "You should do both."
I also made her a cake. A chocolate cake from scratch because Megan's favorite food group is chocolate and I am not above bribery. The cake was good — moist, rich, frosted unevenly because I am not a baker and frosting is basically drywall finishing and I'm bad at that too. She didn't care about the frosting. She cared that I made it. She blew out the candles and wouldn't tell me what she wished for.
At work, the head brewer is talking about expanding the fall lineup. He wants an Oktoberfest lager, which — obviously. We're in Milwaukee. Oktoberfest is basically a city holiday. I started working on the recipe: amber, malty, with a clean lager finish. The kind of beer that tastes like leaves changing and football starting and the whole city settling into the best season. Fall in Milwaukee is when we remember why we live here.
Linda called to ask what I got Megan for her birthday. I told her I cooked dinner. She said, "That's it?" I said, "And a cake." She said, "Jacob." She only calls me Jacob when I'm in trouble. I also got Megan a book — she'd mentioned wanting a specific novel, and I remembered. Linda does not need to know every detail of my romantic life. She will try to know every detail anyway.
The chicken parm got all the glory that night — and it deserved it — but the pasta was what tied the whole dinner together. Megan closed her eyes after the first bite of the rigatoni, and that’s when I knew the Italian hint-dropping had been worth paying attention to. If you want to recreate that kind of celebratory, pull-out-all-the-stops Italian dinner at home, this Garlic Chicken Rigatoni is the recipe I keep coming back to: it’s bold, it’s satisfying, and it tastes like you put in twice the effort you actually did.
Garlic Chicken Rigatoni
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 40 min | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 12 oz rigatoni pasta
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook rigatoni according to package directions until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water before draining.
- Season the chicken. Pat chicken pieces dry and season generously with salt, black pepper, and Italian seasoning.
- Sear the chicken. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken in a single layer and cook for 5–6 minutes, turning once, until golden brown and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
- Build the garlic base. Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and the butter to the same skillet. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring constantly, for about 60 seconds until fragrant — don’t let it burn.
- Make the sauce. Pour in chicken broth and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir in heavy cream and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for 3–4 minutes until the sauce begins to thicken slightly.
- Combine everything. Return the chicken to the skillet. Add the drained rigatoni and toss to coat, adding reserved pasta water a splash at a time if the sauce needs loosening.
- Finish with Parmesan. Remove from heat and stir in grated Parmesan until melted and silky. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Serve. Divide into bowls and top with fresh parsley and additional Parmesan. Serve immediately.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 620 | Protein: 46g | Fat: 24g | Carbs: 54g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 520mg