Last night I spatchcocked a chicken and cooked it on the grill. I rubbed it liberally with Penzey’s Ozark Seasoning and let it cook under indirect heat for a bit more than an hour. It was really good.

But, even with our hearty appetites, we ate less than half of it. That, of course, was the plan… Leftovers can be my friend, sometimes…

One of my favorite go-to dinners is something in a sauce with a bunch of olives. It’s quick and easy – and always good without any fuss. At any given moment there are at least four varieties of olives in the cupboard or in the ‘fridge – quick and easy. While I was shopping on Monday, though, I stopped by the olive bar at the grocery store to do a bit of a mix-and-match of things I didn’t have. My original thought was to cook them with sausage and serve it all over pasta.

But I ended up cooking the chicken, first. Ergo, lots of leftover chicken and a container of mixed olives, various hot peppers, roasted garlic… The sausage became chicken and the pasta became polenta.

One must maintain flexibility in meal planning…

I took about half of the leftover chicken and cut it into bite-sized chunks – the rest will become chicken salad with grapes and walnuts, tomorrow, for Victor’s lunch.

Into a skillet it went with the olive mixture and about a cup of white wine. I brought it all to a boil, reduced the heat, and let it simmer for about 15 minutes to reduce a bit. The only seasoning I added was some black pepper – it didn’t need anything else.

I cooked up polenta – with milk and a bit of pepato cheese – and served the chicken over the polenta.

Simplicity.

And there are biscotti for dessert!