Honey Garlic Chicken With Cheesy Polenta Recipes

HONEY GARLIC CHICKEN WITH CHEESY POLENTA

Steps:

• Polenta
• Preheat the oven to 350° F
• In an oven-proof bowl, add one cup of cornmeal and water. (For firm polenta, use 4 cups water; for soft polenta, use 5 cups water)
• Add a strong pinch of kosher salt, a grind or two of black pepper, a tablespoon or two of butter, the Parmesan cheese, and give it a stir
• Cook 30 minutes and stir again
• Cook 15+ minutes, or until nearly all the liquid is absorbed and stir it again
• Roast the Garlic
• Preheat the oven to 425° F
• Wrap the heads of garlic together in aluminum foil and place them on a baking sheet
• Roast for ~ 30-35 minutes
• Honey-Garlic Chicken
• While the garlic roasts prep 5-6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• To maximize crispiness, pat the chicken thighs dry with a paper towel, before seasoning the outsides with kosher salt, a few grinds of freshly cracked black pepper, and coat the skin sides with a little bit of olive oil
• Thinly slice the white ends of the scallions
• Slice the wider green ends and set them aside to be a garnish
• Heat an oven-proof skillet (cast-iron if you have it) over low to medium heat.
• Place the oil-coated skin sides of the chicken thighs down into the pan, and let them cook for ~ 5 minutes until the rendered fat from the chicken begins to cover the bottom of the pan
• Raise the heat to medium-high and readjust the chicken thighs so they're sitting in the fat
• Cook the skin side of the thighs until they're deeply browned and crispy (~ 10 minutes)
• Turn off the heat, flip the thighs onto their uncooked side, and throw in the sliced white ends of the scallions
• Take the roasted bulbs of garlic out of the oven and let them cool 5 or 10 minutes before squeezing the now-soft cloves into a bowl
• Mash the cloves into a paste with a spoon, and squeeze about ½ cup of honey over the top. Mix the two with a spoon.
• Spread the garlic-honey blend on top of the chicken thighs (which are still in the pan). Don't go crazy. A light layer will do, and you'll need to save some for your pan sauce
• Throw the skillet into your oven (which is still at 425°), and cook the thighs until the honey caramelizes and the chicken is cooked through to 165° (~ 15 minutes)
• Move the thighs from the skillet onto a plate and place the skillet back on the stovetop over medium heat
• Garliky Pan Sauce
• Melt 3 -4 Tbsp of butter in the pan
• Add the remaining honey-garlic blend, along with a couple of glugs of white wine vinegar
• Stir to incorporate it all into a sauce and also to remove the crispy chicken bits from the bottom of the pan. (This will only take a couple of minutes, no need to bring this to a simmer)
• Finish and Serve
• Scoop some creamy polenta into a bowl, load up a chicken thigh, give the whole thing a nice spoonful of sauce.
• Top it all with pepper, flaky sea salt, and sliced green scallions

GARLICKY POLENTA

Steps:

• Heat the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat until melted, then add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant and lightly golden, about 1 minute. Add the chicken broth and increase the heat to medium-high. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to low and add the polenta, whisking. Cook, stirring regularly, until thick and creamy, about 10 minutes. Add the Parmesan, heavy cream, chives and pepper and stir to combine. Add salt to taste and serve immediately.

CHEESY POLENTA

Steps:

• In a large pot over medium-high heat, bring milk, water, and salt to a boil. Gradually whisk in polenta. Reduce heat to low, and cover. Cook 20 minutes, until creamy, lifting the lid and stirring every 3 or 4 minutes to prevent sticking. Remove pot from stove, stir in pepper and butter. Gradually stir in cheese. Serve.