Chicken with Fennel and Olives, over Creamy Parmesan Polenta

I can't say enough about this fabulous dish.  It is now my favorite chicken recipe and that says a lot...

I have been trying to make a creamy polenta, and this one with parmesan cheese is over the top.
I got this recipe from a great blog, Proud Italian Cook, whose pictures and recipes are amazing.

Here's the recipe, which I tweaked a bit and it was amazing.

6 chicken thighs
1 fennel bulb, sliced
1 onion, sliced
8 cloves of chopped garlic
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes (I used 5 roma tomatoes, chopped and sprinkled with salt, left to sit out for an hour)
Jumbo green pitted olives (I bought about 10 and sliced them in half)
Parsley, thyme, oregano and basil (I used 1 tsp. of parsley, thyme and basil from penzeys)
White wine (about 1/4 cups)

In a large oven proof skillet brown up your chicken which has been seasoned with salt and pepper until it has a nice deep golden color, remove and drain the fat. Drizzle in some olive oil and saute the garlic, onion and fennel and then deglaze with a healthy splash of white wine. Add in your herbs, salt and pepper then place the chicken back in. Spread your olives all around then place the pan in a preheated 375F oven for around 45 minutes uncovered.*

*I put in a talbespoon of olive oil to brown the chicken and cooked it about 4 minutes on each side on medium heat on top of the stove.

It doesn't say when to add the tomatoes, so I put them in after the wine.


Creamy Polenta
1 1/2 cups of half and half, cream or milk
1 1/2 cups of chicken broth
3/4 cup of polenta,
1 tablespoon butter
Grated parmesan ( a nice size handful) and chopped basil
In a deep sauce pan heat your milk and broth until boiling then whisk in the polenta until it starts to bubble and splatter, be careful! Take it off the stove add in butter, cheese, snipped basil, salt and pepper to taste. Tastes best when served immediately, if it thickens up just add more liquid to loosen it up.
* I added 1 Tablespoon of cream cheese right near the end of the cooking.