Four weeknight dishes and baked alfredo pasta
, The New York Times
It's Election Day here in the United States, and I've been asking everyone I see what they'll be doing as the results start to roll in.
Some of the people I've surveyed are heading out (restaurants, shows, other plans), going all in on distraction and avoiding the news altogether. Others are gathering with friends for dinner, making chili, hot pot or other large-format meals that draw people in. Still others (that's me) will be hanging out at home with a somewhat fiddly cooking project and a glass of red wine, or maybe doing some baking. A great thing about cooking: It occupies both the mind and the hands.
I knew right away I wanted something cheesy, most likely a baked pasta — stuffed shells, lasagna. I settled on the baked Alfredo pasta below, with its pops of green and crisp panko coat. I'm also not ruling out putting a pan of shortbread, chewy brown butter cookies or brownies in the oven as the evening progresses.
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It's very likely you have everything on hand to make this easy chicken skillet for dinner tonight. Crispy chicken thighs are sautéed in a sweet and savory balsamic glaze made with chicken stock, mustard and garlic. Sweet cherry tomatoes surround the chicken as it cooks, bursting into the balsamic, soaking up all the flavor as their juices mingle, creating a delicious sauce that would be perfect sopped up by some crusty bread or served over pasta or polenta.
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You can purchase aloo Bukhara, golden sour prunes, from Iranian markets and online. They're also great to snack on.
This originally appeared in The New York Times .
