Smells of fall

This past weekend I found myself housebound a great deal. Partially because I was puppy sitting and partially because the weather was quite dreary. I enjoyed it wholeheartedly! It gave me a great excuse to stay in my pajamas all day and drink wine way before five o'clock and not feel guilty about it. I love days like that! Or to be honest, weekends like that!

One thing you should know about me, I LOVE to chop vegetables. It is one of my favorite things about cooking. Most people find it dreadfully tedious, but it is very meditative for me. You will see a product of my obsession in this next dish. I suppose if I ever lose my job in HR I could always rely on my mad prep cook skills.

On to the food . . . I love when I have the time to roast my meals. It makes the food taste so rich and the smells. Oh the smells! As I chilled out waiting for this dish to cook, I was overwhelmed by all the memories and emotions that came to the surface just from the smells wafting from the oven. For the first time since I moved to Park City in May, I experienced a glimpse of my old self--someone who cooked daily for the people she loved and was constantly surrounded by people and dogs and laughter. In the warmth and light of my tiny apartment I was transported back to those times . . . by those smells. It made me smile and appreciate where I have been and where I am going with my life. I didn't feed an army of hungry friends with this meal, but I can share it with you. My internet friends :-) Food is powerful, people!

Roasted chicken and vegetables with parmesan polenta

2 split chicken breasts (skin removed)

(I used the vegetables I had in my fridge. Feel free to improvise with whatever you have on hand)

1 zucchini, sliced

1 yellow squash, sliced

1 carrot, sliced

1 celery stalk, sliced

1 onion, chopped

1 orange pepper, chopped

1/2 eggplant, diced

2 garlic cloves, sliced

1 can crushed tomatoes

1 cup water

3-4 tbs flour

3 tbs olive oil

1 tsp basil

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp chili flakes (more if you like it spicy)

salt and pepper

Polenta (adapted from Giada's Everyday Italian)

3 cups chicken broth (makes it more flavorful, you can use water, too)

1 cup cornmeal

2 tbs butter

1/2 cup grated parmesan

FYI: You will need three pans and a large bowl for this dish: a saute pan to seer the chicken in, an oven safe-dish to bake the chicken and veggies and a pot to cook your polenta.

Start with prepping your vegetables. You want everything the same size so they cook evenly. Once everything is diced, preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Take the skin of the chicken breast and season fairly liberally on both sides with salt and pepper. Preheat the saute pan over med/high heat with 2 tbs olive oil. While your pan is heating up, dredge the chicken in the flour. Once the chicken is fully coated with flour place both breasts into the hot pan and leave them alone! Let them sizzle and brown in the hot olive oil goodness. Once the are adequately brown on both sides place them into your oven-safe dish.

In a large bowl, toss all of your veggies with 1 tbs olive oil, 1-2 tbs flour, the basil and oregano and salt and pepper. Then add the can of crushed tomatoes and stir again until coated. Poor the vegetable mixture evenly over the chicken and add the remaining cup of water. Cover the chicken and veggies with foil and bake for thirty minutes. Then turn the heat down to 350 degrees and relax. The longer you cook this dish, the more the flavors will develop and the more tender the chicken will be. (As long as you keep moisture in the sauce, otherwise you will have dry, hard to swallow, shitty chicken). I baked mine for nearly two hours.

When you are about fifteen minutes away from service, cook the polenta. Bring the broth to boil, gradually stir in cornmeal and turn the heat down. Stir, stir, stir. Clumps are ugly. After about ten minutes the polenta will have thickened. Take it off the heat, add the butter and parmesan. Salt and pepper to taste. YUMMMMMM.

Serve the chicken over a pile of polenta with veggies on top. So, so good. Thank me later.

Side note: I added a bit of flare to my dish with a gremolota (equal parts minced lemon zest, garlic and FLAT LEAF or ITALIAN parsley. If you have never tried the combo, it brightens up the braised meat and veggies and tastes like HEAVEN in your mouth. Try it. I dare you).