Chicken in Mole Sauce with Crunchy Fried Polenta

Try this and let me know if you liked it, please! I get lots of comments that my recipes sound good but I never hear if anyone actually cooked them. Do you? If you like polenta and you like crispy fried food then you have to love the fried cheese polenta.

Make the polenta loaf an hour or 2 ahead so you can chill it and slice it easily. it costs $5.50 to buy the same size loaf at the store I go to and if you make it yourself the cost is less than a $1. Besides cheese you can easily add bits of chopped up sundried tomatoes and basil, cilantro and green chilies, garlic and capers, olives and green onions, just like the store bought version has only much better. The basic spicy smoky cheese loaf comes out so nicely brown and crispy, something that doesn’t happen with the store bought version, that once you make this I bet you never buy it at the store again. It takes 15 minutes to prepare and you can make several loaves and freeze them for later. I like to mix fine cornmeal with coarser grits for a better flavor and texture. The crispy fried polenta is wonderful by itself as an appetizer with a nice sauce or with nothing else.

Polenta Loaf for Frying

1/3 cup corn meal

1/3 cup grits

2 teaspoons Chicken or beef bouillon (with salt)

1 tablespoons hot pepper sauce (or to taste)

2 cups water

½ cup finely grated Cheddar or Monterrey Jack cheese

1 teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring

Place water in a saucepan and add the cornmeal, grits, bouillon cubes and hot pepper sauce. Turn heat to medium high and when the mixture starts to simmer reduce heat to medium low, cover and cook for about 15 to 20 minutes until the polenta is thick and bubbly. Turn off the heart and stir in the cheese and liquid smoke. Taste and adjust hot sauce or salt if needed. I use a 10 ounce plastic tubular container that I bought some sliced white cheddar in for a mold, it is the perfect size. I put a piece of saran wrap in before I spoon in the warm polenta and then I can just drop out the chilled polenta in saran wrap and slice it up. It looks prettier than the store bought polenta, it tastes better and browns much nicer. I like to use my cast iron pan for these but any good skillet will work just make sure you get the oil ice and hot before adding the polenta slices and I find olive or peanut oil works best for frying these as these oils have a nice flavor to add to the polenta.

Chicken with Mole Sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup minced onion

2 cloves minced garlic

4 boneless and skinless chicken breasts

1/4 cup blanched almonds, crushed

1/2 cup chicken broth

8 ounces tomato sauce

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

Heat oil in a frying pan and add onions and garlic and cook five minutes. Add chicken and brown on both sides for about 10 minutes and add almonds and cook for a few more minutes. Add broth, tomato sauce and spices and cover and simmer for about 20 minutes and chicken is tender. Serve with crunchy fried polenta.