Chicken Alfredo Baked Ziti

March third, 2021. The third anniversary. Bernice's Table on Tuesday, as I said it would be. The outdoor tables in the parking lot, the food I've been making since the weekend: mac and cheese, fried chicken, collard greens, cornbread, sweet potato pie. Marcus's menu, served in the parking lot of the church where Marcus was baptized, on the third anniversary of the day he died.

Fifty-eight people came. Fifty-eight people ate Marcus's food on Marcus's day. I stood at the serving station in the March evening—it was cold, genuinely cold, the kind of March cold that surprises you because February lulled you into thinking spring was arriving—and I handed every single plate and I said, quietly, to each person: "Welcome to Bernice's Table. Eat well." Some of them knew the significance of the day. Most of them didn't. They were hungry. The day's significance is not their business. The food is their business. The welcome is their business. The rest is mine, between me and Marcus and the parking lot sky.

CJ called at eight PM from Huntsville. He said, "Mama, I am thinking about him." I said, "Me too." He said, "I told Shanice about him tonight. The whole story. Everything." I said, "What did she say?" He said, "She said she wishes she could have known him." I said, "Baby, she will. She will know him through this family. Through what he left in us. She will know him." And she will. Shanice will know Marcus the same way Bernice's great-grandchildren will know Bernice—through the food, through the stories, through the hands that learned from hands that loved him. He will go forward. He is going forward. He is already in Shanice's smothered chicken gravy and she doesn't even know it yet.

Mac and cheese was Marcus’s food, and it always will be — but in the years since March third, I’ve learned that comfort doesn’t belong to just one dish. When I think about what Bernice’s Table is really about, what CJ was describing when he told Shanice the whole story, I think about the kind of food that holds people together when they walk in from the cold: baked, creamy, filling, generous. This Chicken Alfredo Baked Ziti is that food. It feeds a crowd, it warms from the inside, and it’s the kind of thing you make when you want someone to feel welcomed without having to say a word about why.

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 40 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour | Servings: 8

Ingredients

1 lb ziti pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese, divided
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish

Instructions

Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook ziti according to package directions until just shy of al dente, about 8–9 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Season and cook the chicken. Heat olive oil in a large oven-safe skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season chicken pieces with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until golden and cooked through, about 6–8 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate and set aside.
Build the Alfredo sauce. In the same pan, reduce heat to medium and melt butter. Add minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Whisk in flour and cook for 1 minute more. Gradually whisk in milk and heavy cream, stirring constantly to prevent lumps. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook until slightly thickened, about 4–5 minutes.
Add the cheese. Remove the pan from heat. Stir in 1 cup Parmesan, 1 cup mozzarella, and nutmeg. Stir until smooth and melted. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Combine everything. Preheat oven to 375°F. Add the cooked pasta and chicken to the sauce and stir to coat evenly. Transfer to a greased 9x13-inch baking dish if not already oven-safe.
Top and bake. Scatter the remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan and 1 cup mozzarella evenly over the top. Bake uncovered for 20–25 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and golden at the edges.
Rest and serve. Let the baked ziti rest for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh parsley. Serve hot, directly from the dish.

Nutrition (per serving)

Chicken Alfredo Baked Ziti — The Comfort We Carry Forward for the People We Love