Polenta
Preheat the oven to 350° F
In an oven-proof bowl, add one cup of cornmeal and water. (For firm polenta, use 4 cups water; for soft polenta, use 5 cups water)
Add a strong pinch of kosher salt, a grind or two of black pepper, a tablespoon or two of butter, the Parmesan cheese, and give it a stir
Cook 30 minutes and stir again
Cook 15+ minutes, or until nearly all the liquid is absorbed and stir it again
Roast the Garlic
Preheat the oven to 425° F
Wrap the heads of garlic together in aluminum foil and place them on a baking sheet
Roast for ~ 30-35 minutes
Honey-Garlic Chicken
While the garlic roasts prep 5-6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
To maximize crispiness, pat the chicken thighs dry with a paper towel, before seasoning the outsides with kosher salt, a few grinds of freshly cracked black pepper, and coat the skin sides with a little bit of olive oil
Thinly slice the white ends of the scallions
Slice the wider green ends and set them aside to be a garnish
Heat an oven-proof skillet (cast-iron if you have it) over low to medium heat.
Place the oil-coated skin sides of the chicken thighs down into the pan, and let them cook for ~ 5 minutes until the rendered fat from the chicken begins to cover the bottom of the pan
Raise the heat to medium-high and readjust the chicken thighs so they're sitting in the fat
Cook the skin side of the thighs until they're deeply browned and crispy (~ 10 minutes)
Turn off the heat, flip the thighs onto their uncooked side, and throw in the sliced white ends of the scallions
Take the roasted bulbs of garlic out of the oven and let them cool 5 or 10 minutes before squeezing the now-soft cloves into a bowl
Mash the cloves into a paste with a spoon, and squeeze about ½ cup of honey over the top. Mix the two with a spoon.
Spread the garlic-honey blend on top of the chicken thighs (which are still in the pan). Don’t go crazy. A light layer will do, and you'll need to save some for your pan sauce
Throw the skillet into your oven (which is still at 425°), and cook the thighs until the honey caramelizes and the chicken is cooked through to 165° (~ 15 minutes)
Move the thighs from the skillet onto a plate and place the skillet back on the stovetop over medium heat
Garliky Pan Sauce
Melt 3 -4 Tbsp of butter in the pan
Add the remaining honey-garlic blend, along with a couple of glugs of white wine vinegar
Stir to incorporate it all into a sauce and also to remove the crispy chicken bits from the bottom of the pan. (This will only take a couple of minutes, no need to bring this to a simmer)
Finish and Serve
Scoop some creamy polenta into a bowl, load up a chicken thigh, give the whole thing a nice spoonful of sauce.
Top it all with pepper, flaky sea salt, and sliced green scallions