From the Pantry: A chicken recipe that is full of fall flavor

Everywhere you turn these days you are inundated with pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin. It's in your latte, your ravioli, your candle and even the ubiquitous Oreo cookie.

I, for one, like my pumpkin almost solely in pie. Not knocking those who like all things pumpkin but for me it's not a draw. I think what I like even more than the pumpkin in pumpkin pie are all the warm spices that we attribute to it like ginger, cinnamon, allspice, etc. Fall would not be fall without upping the doses of these spices on the menu.

In my home these spices typically wind up in baked goods. But recently I made use of them for dinner and the dish reminded me happily of pumpkin without the round orange fellow anywhere in sight.

Thanks to a very welcome email from 'The Splendid Table” (NPR's cooking show) promising a quick weeknight dinner I made Jamaican inspired Polenta Crusted Chicken Thighs that were crazy simple and a lovely way to use these 'fall” spices the whole year. Because let's be honest, how often does your allspice, cardamom and nutmeg get used outside of the holiday season? Odds are not much and after making this dish I realized that I am cheating my taste buds of some amazing pops of flavor in my savory dishes.

This recipe makes use of several more staples in your spice pantry like coriander, paprika and cayenne and is highly adaptable to your own taste preference. I personally went easy on the allspice and cayenne and was happy with the result. The recipe reflects my edits but feel free to up the spice factor if it pleases your palate. The original recipe called for finely ground cornmeal or instant polenta. I only had coarse-ground polenta so I opted to cut it with Panko bread crumbs to make sure the crust wasn't too crunchy. Again, this is another area in which you can mix and match guided by your pantry and your palate even if your palate isn't into the current pumpkin craze.

Crunchy Chicken Thighs with Jamaican Spice

' 1/4 cup polenta

' 1/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs

' 2 teaspoons paprika

' 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

' 1 teaspoon garlic powder

' 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

' 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

' 1 teaspoon ground coriander

' 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

' 6 to 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

' 2 teaspoons kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 425ºF.

In a shallow bowl, combine the polenta and Panko with the paprika, allspice, garlic powder, cinnamon, ginger, coriander, and cayenne. Whisk with a fork to combine.

Season the chicken thighs with the salt and then coat them completely in the cornmeal-spice mixture, pressing the coating with your fingertips to adhere.

Arrange the thighs in a baking dish and bake for 12 minutes. Flip the thighs and turn the oven temperature down to 350ºF and cook for 10-12 minutes more, or until the juice of the chicken runs clear when you poke it with a fork. If you would like an even crispier crust, place under the broiler for about a minute on each side.

Source: Adapted from 'The Chef Next Door”