Creamy Tuscan Chicken Thighs — The Night I Became Abuela Carmen

Martin Luther King Day and a day off from the hospital that I used to clean the apartment one more time because Mami is coming in three weeks and the apartment has to be perfect. Eduardo said, Carmen, you cleaned it yesterday. I said, Eduardo, yesterday was yesterday. Today is today. Dust happens between yesterday and today. He went to watch football because Eduardo has learned that arguing with me about cleanliness is like arguing with the ocean about tides — pointless and wet.

I also cooked a test meal in Mami apartment kitchen. I wanted to make sure the stove works properly, that the burners heat evenly, that the oven maintains temperature. I made arroz con pollo — the standard test, the meal I can make with my eyes closed, the meal whose success or failure tells me everything I need to know about a kitchen. The stove is good. The burners are even. The oven holds 350. The arroz con pollo was perfect. The apartment kitchen has passed the Carmen inspection. It is ready for Luz Maria Ortiz.

Miguel Jr. called to tell me Jenny is pregnant. PREGNANT. My firstborn, married three months, is going to have a baby. I am going to be a grandmother. I am going to be ABUELA CARMEN. I sat down on the couch because my legs stopped working when he said the word pregnant. Eduardo came in and said, What happened? I said, I am going to be an abuela. Eduardo smiled. SMILED. The man who shows four emotions per decade SMILED, a full, complete, face-transforming smile, and I saw Eduardo at twenty-eight again, the man I married, the man who looked at me at our wedding like I was the answer to a question he did not know he was asking, and he said, Carmen, that is wonderful.

I called Mami. I said, Mami, you are going to be a bisabuela. A great-grandmother. She was quiet. Then she said, Carmen, I am eighty-one years old and I am going to hold a bisnieto. I said, Yes, Mami. She said, Tell Miguel to name the baby after your father. I said, Mami, they just found out. They have not thought about names. She said, Tell them anyway. Luz Maria Ortiz, eighty-one, under a tarp in Bayamon, making name demands for a baby that does not yet have fingernails. This woman. This unbreakable woman. She is coming to Hartford and she is going to hold this baby and I am going to watch her hold this baby and it is going to be the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Abuela Carmen. The name sounds right. The name sounds like everything.

After the arroz con pollo passed its kitchen inspection and I sat down on the couch because my legs forgot how to work, I knew that night called for something beyond the standard. Eduardo and I needed a real dinner — not a test meal, not leftovers, but something warm and golden and worthy of the word abuela. These Creamy Tuscan Chicken Thighs are what I made: one pan, stovetop, ready in under an hour, and rich enough to feel like the occasion it was. The stove that passed the Carmen inspection cooked this one too, and it did not disappoint.

Creamy Tuscan Chicken Thighs (Stove Top)

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 45 minutes | Servings: 4–6

Ingredients

• 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 3/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and roughly chopped
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 cups fresh baby spinach
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
• Fresh basil leaves, for garnish

Instructions

1. Season the chicken. Pat chicken thighs completely dry with paper towels. Season all over with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika.
2. Sear skin-side down. Heat olive oil in a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Place chicken thighs skin-side down and cook undisturbed for 7–8 minutes, until the skin is deep golden and releases easily from the pan. Flip and cook 5 minutes more. Transfer chicken to a plate — it will finish cooking in the sauce.
3. Build the base. Reduce heat to medium. Pour off all but about 1 tablespoon of fat from the pan. Add garlic and cook 60 seconds, stirring constantly, until fragrant. Add chicken broth and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
4. Make the cream sauce. Pour in the heavy cream and stir in the Parmesan until smooth. Add Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes if using, sun-dried tomatoes, and cherry tomatoes. Stir to combine and bring to a gentle simmer.
5. Return the chicken and finish cooking. Nestle the chicken thighs back into the sauce, skin-side up. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook 15–18 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and registers 165°F at the thickest part.
6. Wilt the spinach. Uncover the pan and stir in the baby spinach. Cook 1–2 minutes until wilted. Taste the sauce and adjust salt as needed.
7. Serve. Spoon generously over rice, egg noodles, or crusty bread. Garnish with fresh basil. Serve immediately, while the sauce is at its richest.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 515 | Protein: 37g | Fat: 37g | Carbs: 8g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 570mg