Chicken Legs with White Wine, Sage and Honey

I like to use chicken legs because they are often on sale, in bulk, with backs attached. They are a good buy generally. I almost always cut off the backs and freeze them. When I have enough, I make stock.

This dish is very easy to make and is very tasty. The sauce is sweet and full of flavour.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons Olive Oil

4 chicken leg and thighs,

salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped

7 sage leaves, 1 tablespoon
1/2cup white wine
1/2 cup chicken or veggie stock
2 large sprigs fresh thyme
1 teaspoon, honey
balsamic vinegar

Fettuccine, enough for 4

Season chicken. Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add the Olive Oil and heat. Add the chicken, skin side down, and brown. Remove chicken from the pan, Pour out all fat except 1 tablespoon. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add and Sauté the onions. Cook 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often so they don’t burn. Add garlic the last few minutes. Rub the sage leaves between your hands then lay the sage leaves into the pan and then add the thyme. Stir.

Return the chicken to the skillet, skin side up. Add the wine, stock and honey. Bring to a low simmer, cover, and cook for 35 or 40 minutes. Remove the chicken, place on a plate put in a warming oven to keep warm. Place the skillet on a medium flame, add the balsamic vinegar to the braising liquid, and reduce until it starts to thickened Adjust seasoning.

Serve on a bed of fettuccine with a good dab of butter or olive oil mixed in. Lay a chicken leg on top and spoon the liquid the chicken cooked in, over the chicken and pasta.

Serves: 4

Skillet Cornbread

I really do think a great way to start a weekend morning is to make some cornbread. I often made cornmeal muffins Saturday mornings but lately I have decided that skillet cornbread is the way to go. It is very good and very easy to make. I quite dislike the sweet cakey cornbread that restaurants tend to serve. Montana`s Restaurant cornbread is particularly bad. Mine is firm and not very sweet. It should be served with butter and, if you like, a bit of maple syrup. If you are more of a traditionalist, serve it with molasses.

What you need to start, is a cast iron skillet. First thing, heat the oven to 425 degrees, wipe some oil around the skillet and put it in the oven.

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
3/4 cup all purpose flour
3 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Mix these ingredients together in a bowl.

In another bowl, whisk together

2 large eggs,
2/3 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup milk
3 Tbsp melted butter of vegetable oil

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
Take the skillet out of the oven and scrape the mixed batter into the hot skillet. Put it back into the oven for 20 to 25 minutes. When the top is brown it is ready and should easily turn out onto a plate.
Slice it as you eat it a piece at a time, to keep it warm.