One Pot Chicken Tetrazzini

Thanksgiving planning in a pandemic. The question of who comes and how many and whether it is safe to gather inside is a question every family is navigating this November, and our family is navigating it with the combination of love and practicality that is the Simms family approach to everything: you want to be together, you figure out how to be together safely, you do it, and you eat well regardless of the obstacles. CJ is coming from Huntsville. Destiny is coming. Destiny is bringing Travis. We will have outdoor seating on the back patio for the meal if the weather holds—the long table from the garage that we use for church events, covered with the good tablecloth, which I will get out of the cedar chest and put through the wash this week.

This will be the third Thanksgiving since Marcus, the first since Bernice. Both of them at the table—Marcus's candle, Bernice's water glass—and the living family gathered as close as they safely can. I have decided that no pandemic protocol is going to prevent me from setting those two places. The empty plates, the burning candle, the water glass—these are not optional. They are part of the table. They are the table.

The menu is fixed. The menu is Bernice's menu and it will not change because the menu is not a preference, it is a covenant. Fried chicken, collard greens, mac and cheese, cornbread dressing, candied yams, sweet potato pie, pound cake. Every dish that was ever made in a Simms household at Thanksgiving, every dish that Bernice made in that Bessemer church kitchen, every dish that lives in my hands and that I will pass to Destiny and that Destiny will pass to her children, who do not exist yet but will, who will carry the menu forward into whatever year they are living in and feel, in the tasting, that they are connected to something very long and very strong and very loved.

The menu in our house is not up for debate — it never has been and it never will be — but when the crowd spills across two seasons of grief and through a patio door and into something that has to stretch far enough to feed everyone who drove in and honor everyone who can’t be there in body, I keep coming back to this one pot chicken tetrazzini as the dish that bridges both worlds: it is warm and creamy and feeds a room, and it carries the same spirit as every dish Bernice ever pulled from a church kitchen, the spirit that says there is enough here, and you are welcome at this table. Make it the night before if you need to. It holds beautifully, just like the people we make it for.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 30 minutes | Total Time: 45 minutes | Servings: 8

Ingredients

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
3 cups cooked chicken, shredded (rotisserie works perfectly)
3 cups chicken broth, low-sodium
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
12 oz spaghetti, broken in half
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1 cup frozen peas
1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped, for serving

Instructions

Saute the aromatics. In a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat, melt butter. Add onion and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms release their liquid and begin to brown, about 5 minutes.
Build the sauce base. Pour in the chicken broth and heavy cream. Add thyme, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine and bring to a gentle simmer.
Cook the pasta in the sauce. Add the broken spaghetti, pressing it down so it is submerged in the liquid. Cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring every 4–5 minutes to prevent sticking, until the pasta is al dente and the sauce has thickened, about 16–18 minutes.
Add chicken and peas. Stir in the shredded chicken and frozen peas. Cook uncovered for 3 minutes until the peas are warmed through and the chicken is heated.
Finish with cheese. Remove from heat. Stir in 1 cup of Parmesan until fully melted into the sauce. Scatter mozzarella and remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan over the top. Cover for 2 minutes to melt, or place briefly under the broiler for a lightly golden top.
Rest and serve. Let the pot sit uncovered for 5 minutes — the sauce will tighten to a perfect creamy consistency. Scatter fresh parsley over the top and bring it straight to the table.

Nutrition (per serving)

One Pot Chicken Tetrazzini — The Dish That Holds the Table Together