Chicken Alfredo Twice Baked Potatoes

The book is selling. Not flying off shelves — selling steadily, the way a good stew sells itself: by being passed from person to person, by word of mouth, by the particular magic of someone saying "you have to read this" to someone else who reads it and says the same thing to someone else. Local bookstores in Atlanta are stocking it. Church book fairs have it. The food blogger review — the one from Birmingham that called it "the cookbook your grandmother would have written if your grandmother had a master's degree and a broken heart and the vocabulary to explain why her fried chicken tastes like forgiveness" — that review went viral. VIRAL. The Birmingham review. About a book from Athens, Georgia. About a woman from Cascade Heights. About a can of spice on a counter. The review was shared ten thousand times and each share was a kitchen where someone thought: I want to cook that. I want to taste that. I want to know that woman who died and the daughter who didn't stop.

I read the Birmingham review at the kitchen table at 5 AM and I laughed until Derek came downstairs to check on me. He said, "Are you okay?" I said, "Someone in Birmingham said my fried chicken tastes like forgiveness." He said, "Does it?" I said, "It tastes like garlic and cayenne." He said, "Same thing." Same thing. Everyone in this family says "same thing." Everyone is right.

Made Mama's fried chicken for dinner. Not because of the review. Not because of the sales. Because it's Tuesday and the table is set and the recipe is mine and the forgiveness — if that's what the chicken tastes like — the forgiveness is in every bite of every meal I've made since April 16, 2017. The forgiving of death. The forgiving of loss. The forgiving of time. The forgiving of everything that took my mother and left me the kitchen. The fried chicken tastes like forgiveness. She's right. The fried chicken always has.

So the Birmingham reviewer was right, and Derek was right, and everyone who ever sat at Mama’s table was right—forgiveness does have a flavor, and it lives in the kind of food you make because it’s Tuesday and the table is set and the people you love are hungry. These Chicken Alfredo Twice Baked Potatoes carry that same weight—creamy, warm, the kind of dish that holds you when you sit down with it. It’s the sort of recipe Mama would have nodded at: simple ingredients done with love, a plate that says sit down, stay awhile, you’re home.

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

4 large russet potatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
2 cups cooked chicken breast, shredded or diced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

Instructions

Bake the potatoes. Preheat oven to 400°F. Scrub potatoes, prick several times with a fork, rub with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt. Place directly on the oven rack and bake for 50–60 minutes until tender when pierced with a knife. Let cool for 10 minutes.
Make the Alfredo sauce. While potatoes cool, melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Whisk in flour and cook for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk and heavy cream. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring frequently, for 4–5 minutes until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, 1/2 cup mozzarella, salt, pepper, and garlic powder until smooth.
Hollow the potatoes. Slice each potato in half lengthwise. Scoop the flesh into a large bowl, leaving about a 1/4-inch shell. Place shells on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Fill the potatoes. Mash the potato flesh lightly with a fork. Fold in the shredded chicken and Alfredo sauce, stirring until evenly combined. Spoon the mixture generously back into the potato shells, mounding slightly.
Top and bake. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan and 1/2 cup mozzarella over the stuffed potatoes. Bake at 400°F for 12–15 minutes until cheese is melted and golden.
Serve. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve warm.

Nutrition (per serving)

Chicken Alfredo Twice Baked Potatoes — The Comfort That Tastes Like Coming Home