Braised Chicken with Mushrooms and Oven Baked Polenta

I'd never tried polenta before and I've been wanting to make it for some time now. This was an oven baked polenta, so it was very easy to make, just throw it together in a pan, whisk halfway through baking, and add the rest of the ingredients for a perfectly creamy polenta. However, I'm just not sure if I'm completely sold yet. I liked the creaminess, I liked how it was the perfect blank palate to soak up the flavors of the chicken and mushroom sauce, but it was just missing something to me. A meatiness, if you will, it just tasted a little empty to me. So either I need to figure out a better way to make polenta, or I will just be serving this with mashed potatoes. Does anyone have any good polenta tips for me?

Now the chicken on the other hand? Fantastic, divine, juicy, flavorful. You just can't beat chicken thighs that are cooked with such flavorful ingredients like white wine, garlic and mushrooms. We gobbled this up, and went back for seconds! Whether you make this with the polenta or not, you've got to try the chicken!

Braised Chicken with Mushrooms and Oven Baked Polenta
By Great Food Fast

Ingredients

4-6 boneless chicken thighs (the recipe calls for breasts, but we like our thighs!)
course salt and fresh ground pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb mushrooms wiped clean and sliced
4 garlic cloves, halved
1/2 dry white wine (optional)
1 3/4 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, plus more for garnish
Oven Baked Polenta (recipe to follow)

Directions

1. Sprinkle the chicken breasts with 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the chicken; cook until lightly browned, 2-3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.

2. Add the remaining tablespoon oil to the hot skillet. Add the mushrooms, garlic and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cover; cook over medium heat until the mushrooms release their juices, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the lid. Cook over high heat, tossing occasionally, until the mushrooms are golden, 4 to 5 minutes.

3. Pour the wine, if using, into the skillet; cook, stirring, until evaporated, 1 minute. Add the stock and parsley; cook over medium-high heat until the mushrooms are tender and the liquid has reduced, 8 to 10 minutes.

4. Return the chicken to the skillet. Cover; simmer over low heat until the chicken is cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes. Serve the cutlets and polenta topped with the mushrooms and a drizzle of cooking liquid. Garnish with additional fresh parsley.

Oven Baked Polenta

Ingredients

3/4 cup cornmeal
course salt and ground pepper
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon fresh marjoram, or 1/4 teaspoon dried

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425F. In a lidded baking dish, whisk together 3 cups water, the cornmeal, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, and 1/8 teaspoons pepper. Cover and bake for 30 minutes, stirring halfway through (the polenta will still seem very watery, and you'll want to throw it out and give up, but don't worry, it's supposed to look like that! lol)

2. Remove from the oven, and add the milk, butter and marjoram, and whisk briskly until smooth. Serve immediately.

Serves 4