Rinse chicken in cold water. Pat Dry. Salt. Brown sausage in olive oil. Remove from pan. Brown chicken in olive oil with a 1 teaspoon of butter. I like mild Italian sausage as the fennel adds another layer of autumn flavor. Chicken legs works well, but you can use a whole cut up chicken or even chicken wings.

In a roasting pan, add in celery or fennel, browned, chicken and sausage, muscadine grapes, salt, pepper,cayenne pepper and fresh thyme. It will be your call on how much heat to bring into the dish. I made it subtle but present, and I think it balanced out the dish. Too much heat will cloud the flavors.

Bake at 375 until chicken and sausage are halfway done and muscadine grapes have begun to reduce. Add in orzo, making sure there is enough liquid in pan to cook them. You can add in some chicken broth or water. Orzo will cook in about 20-30 minutes.