America's Test Kitchen

Streamlined Chicken Skillet Suppers

Dinners prepared entirely in one skillet are perfect for weeknight cooking. Less cleanup is one obvious benefit. A skillet also gives the cook a bit more control over cooking multiple elements. In the oven, dishes such as chicken and rice—ingredients with disparate cooking times—can cook unevenly, so that when the dish comes out of the oven, you end up with mixed results, such as tender rice and dry chicken—or conversely, crunchy rice and moist chicken. A skillet gives you the freedom to move items in and out of the skillet accordingly so that everything comes out perfectly cooked. We have also discovered that a skillet comes in handy in some pasta dishes. Take the restaurant favorite, chicken, broccoli, and ziti. Typically, the pasta is boiled in one pot and then one or sometimes two more pans are required to cook the chicken, broccoli, and sauce. We condensed all the elements into a skillet—even the pasta—which cooks right in the sauce, soaking up maximum flavor for an exemplary version of this favorite dish. Recipes: Skillet Chicken and Rice with Peas and Scallions Skillet Chicken with Broccoli, Ziti, and Asiago Cheese Tasting Lab: White Wines for Cooking Equipment Center: Inexpensive Knife Sets