Italian Style Chicken Sautee and Polenta

Still experiencing cold and foggy weather in San Francisco so the need for comfort foods continues. Wanted to do something a bit different with boneless chicken thighs since I seem to be continually oven-baking them. So tonight decided to saute boneless thighs in a tomato sauce. As sides, I made polenta and steamed zucchini.

Set up all your ingredients;

• thinly sliced onion (approx 1/3 cup)
• 2 minced cloves of garlic (vary per your preference)
• package of boneless chicken thighs (clean and cut to more manageable sized pieces) [approx 6 or little over a pound]
• can of tomatoes (DO NOT DRAIN and if they are whole cut them up)
• 2 tablespoon red wine
• salt, pepper to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Took out my cast iron pot, and heated approx 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium high heat. When it was slightly smoking, tossed in onion and garlic. Let those cook for about three min, until they just started to brown, then pushed to the side and gradually added pieces of boneless chicken thighs to brown.

You want to do this slowly to keep the heat high enough to brown, so added a few pieces, brown on one side, turn over, move the onions/garlic to cover and add more chicken. Do this until all the chicken has been added and turned over. Now add the red wine, salt, pepper and oregano; scrap the brown bits off the pan a bit and then add the tomatoes. Let this all simmer for approximately 25 min.



Polenta - a cornmeal mush really - becomes a rich, creamy side dish with a bit of butter and cheese added. I set up the zucchini (approximately three) in a steamer and then start on the polenta. In a heavy pan boil 3 1/4 cups of water. As it starts boiling, add 1 tablespoon of salt and turn the burner to medium low heat so that the water is just simmering. Add one cup of coarse-grained cornmeal in a fine stream - so that you can really almost see eat grain hitting the water - stirring with a wooden spoon. Continue stirring while adding all the polenta and then for the next 10 minutes. (Remember in the last five minutes turn on the burner under the zucchini.) The polenta is done when it tears away from the sides of the pot as you stir. Add 2 tablespoons of butter and 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese.



This made four servings so increase as needed.

Turkey Meatballs and Fried Polenta

Sometimes I buy pre-packaged meatballs but really there is no substitute for freshly made ones. There actually isn't much difference between meatloaf and meatballs except shape, so if you mix well and don't overcook your meatballs will be light and fluffy.

Mix the following ingredients together;

• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
• 6 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup chopped spinach
• 3 large, cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 1 teaspoon of black pepper
• 2 pounds of ground turkey

Dig your hands in to mix all the ingredients well as with the meatloaf, if you mix it well and get enough air into it they will be light and fluffy. Form the mixture into 1 1/2 inch diameter meatballs. (You are free to make them larger or smaller as you prefer or time allows.)


Pour enough oil into a heavy skillet to coat the bottom; heat over medium-low heat. Working in batches, add the meatballs and fry until brown and cooked through, turning frequently. Approximate 10-15 minutes per batch. If serving with pasta sauce, undercook ever so slightly and add the meatballs to a pot with marinara sauce (about 2-4 cups depending on your party size - I sometimes freeze half of them for another night) and turn the heat to simmer.

Typically these are ideal served with rice or pasta. However, since I made polenta last night and pressed the leftovers into a bread pan. I am going to slice the polenta and fry the pieces. So as your meatballs are simmering, grab another skillet and add enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Remove the polenta from the bread pan and make about half inch slices. Gently add to the hot oil but have a lid handy as the water in the polenta will cause the oil to spatter. It can be very uncomfortable getting spattered with minute dots of hot oil but also it is very messy.

As a side vegetable, I merely boil some organic peas. Your side really should be whatever you have handy and like.

Polenta to Keep You Warm in the Cold Summer Nights

I have been craving warm and creamy polenta since San Francisco weather has been colder and foggier than is even typical in July and August. So believe it or not, summertime in San Francisco is the time for comfort foods.

I decide to repeat a recipe from just a few weeks ago marinated chicken. I cook this part of dinner first since the meat cooks quickly and marinates after you broil it. The polenta will be quick but will require constant stirring. It will give the chicken plenty of time to marinate nicely.

I decide to round out the meal with steamed zucchini which will cook very quickly once the water boils. For now, I merely cut bit-sized pieces of zucchini and set up in the steamer. I won't turn it on until I have about five minutes left on the polenta.

Polenta is fairly neutral - a cornmeal mush really - but with a bit of butter and cheese added becomes a rich, creamy side dish. In a large, heavy kettle boil 6 1/2 cups of water. As it starts boiling, add 1 tablespoon of salt and turn the burner to medium low heat so that the water is just simmering. Add two cups of coarse-grained cornmeal in a fine stream - so that you can really almost see eat grain hitting the water - stirring with a wooden spoon. Continue stirring while adding all the polenta and then for the next 20 minutes. (Remember in the last five minutes turn on the burner under the zucchini.) The polenta is done when it tears away from the sides of the pot as you stir. Add 2 tablespoons of butter and 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese.

The marinated chicken is a bit sweet; the polenta is creamy and cheesy; and the zucchini is completely neutral. Together they complement each other nicely and satisfy the craving for comfort food - bonus dinner took less than forty minutes. There will be quite a bit of polenta leftover, put it into a bread pan and refrigerate. In this shape you can easily slice and fry the polenta which is what we will cover next.