Braised Chicken Marsala and Sage Polenta

Don't be intimidated, this is simple to make and

so mouth watering delicious

I first made this for clients, and now I just keep coming back to it when

I'm in a jam and need something fancy to whip up

She does it again, adapted from one of my favorite cookbooks, Martha Stewart's Dinner at Home

Yields 4

Chicken Marsala

Ingredients:

4 chicken thighs, bone-in, skin on

4 chicken drumsticks

1 T EVOO

2 red onion, peeled and quartered through the stem

2 Plum tomatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces

6 thyme springs

1/2 cup marsala (Italian sweet wine)

1 1/4 cup chicken stock, low sodium

Preheat oven to 400

Rinse chicken, pat dry with paper towel and season with salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a large oven proof skillet (I love my cast iron skillet)

Working in batches, brown the chicken, about 10-12 minutes, transferring chicken to a plate

Pour out the access fat

Add tomatoes, onions and thyme to the pan, cook 4 minutes

Pour in Marsala and cook until reduced by half, about 5 minutes

Add the chicken back to the skillet and pour the broth over

Transfer to the oven and cook until tender, about 35 minutes

Transfer chicken to a platter, arranged nicely and garnished with fresh thyme

Skim off access fat from the pan, simmer liquid over medium-high heat

until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes

Spoon sauce over the chicken

Sage Polenta

Ingredients:

5 cups water, plus more as needed

1 cup course Italian polenta

2 T fresh sage, chopped

3 T unsalted butter

Bring water to a boil in a large sauce pan

Add 2 t salt

Whisking constantly, add polenta in a slow and steady stream

Return to a boil.

Reduce heat to a very low simmer

Cover partial and continue to cook, stiring occasionally

When creamy and begins pulling away from the side of the pan, about 40 minutes

Add sage during the last 5 minutes

If the polenta is too think to stir, add water (up to 1/2 cup) stirring continually

Remove from the heat, stir in butter, salt and pepper