Polenta for Breakfast

Running out the door again. I figured we should have one good breakfast together before my next trip. Now that I've discovered polenta in the rice cooker it's easy enough for anytime. Since I first had it in some California chic restaurant (was it Zuni Cafe or Dell Fattoria by now I can't remember) I've loved polenta and eggs. Quick cook polenta flavored with goat cheese, olive oil fried eggs and crispy disks of spicy sausage -- another treat from the traveling cooler.
Be back soon Honey.

A Little New York At Home

Flying back to San Francisco from New York my checked luggage included a bright red cooler bag literally stuffed with Italian Sausage and cheeses from New York's finest shops (and a couple from my family in Baltimore too). This seemingly innocent coil of Faicco's Sausage Shop's broccoli rabe sausage started it all.  James loves broccoli rabe and James loves Italian sausage and I have never seen one flavored with the bitter vegetable before. I had to bring it home for him to try. So started the cooler.
I proudly laid this coil in a pan heated with a slick of olive oil and a splash of water and cooked covered over medium heat until the sausage was browned on the bottom. I flipped the coil and let it cook for about 10 more minutes still covered until brown on both sides. Okay -- sausage carried lovingly home is one thing, but the polenta -- that's another.
Mercifully I always have some polenta or rice in the house so I can always pull together some kind of dinner. I used to stir polenta on the stove. Then I discovered oven baked polenta and I thought why ever make it any other way. Then came crock pot polenta. It takes longer to cook but stays warm waiting for diner. Make in advance, worry free polenta. Why ever make it any other way.
Until now. For some reason I started browsing rice cooker recipes on the internet. I had read some chef mention that he makes oatmeal in a rice cooker. I tried it and low and behold without paying a bit of attention I had a warm sweet delicious breakfast for James.
What else could I do in there?? Polenta of course.
1 cup of polenta. 4 cups of liquid (I used 2 of chicken broth and 2 of water but if I'd had any milk in the house I might have used some too). A pinch of salt. A knob of butter.
Cook on white rice setting. When the cycle ends give everything a good stir and mix in grated cheese. Set the rice cooking cycle to go again (we like ours a little extra thick) or just allow it to sit on warm. When you are ready your polenta will be too.
No mess, no stirring, no bother. Polenta becomes and everyday dish.
Really -- why make polenta any other way.

A Simple Stack

Creamy polenta, a crisp breaded chicken cutlet, bitter carrot top pesto and a peppery salad of arugula, cress (and sheep's milk cheese) from our overflowing garden. Simple summer suppers.

Broccoli and Beans

A simple sauté of vegetables and beans with a familiar family secret -- anchovies. I started in the usual way; a pan with warming olive oil and chopped garlic. For extra flavor I added in about 6 anchovy filets and a dash of crushed red peppers. I stirred as the pan warmed to dissolve the anchovies into the oil and then added in broccoli florets. After 5 minutes or so the broccoli was bright green and crisp. I added in some pre-cooked beans (these were borlotti I had in the fridge) about 1/2 cup of water and brought everything to a simmer. After 5 minutes the broccoli was tender and ready to serve over warm goat cheese polenta and a sprinkling of parmesan cheese for a hearty spring supper.

Pot Roast For Company

" Do you need us to bring anything?" they asked. "No, just come" we said. And yet our friends Mike and Sally came bearing gifts. Literally a bucket of fresh beets direct from Sally's amazingly beautiful and productive garden and greenhouse, a cushion spurge she thought I might enjoy in my garden and a beautiful package of beef cheeks wrapped in white paper. Invite a rancher to dinner and if you rate you might get an enviable cut like cheeks or hanger (both tucked away in my freezer right now).

Our favorite neighbors, our friends recently came back from a trip. We missed them and wanting to hear about their travels made a good excuse for dinner at our house.
Looking into my freezer I found a chuck roast -- almost 4 pounds --really two big for the two of us (not a fact that generally stops me) so it seemed perfect to build a dinner for four around. Pot roast. Could I really serve pot roast to guests? James had advised me to make a "regular dinner" not go overboard. Pot roast is about as regular as it gets so I forged on.
Stracotto (Italian Pot Roast) in Italian officially means overcooked but the name is used for a variety of braised roasts. The meat is slow cooked in a rich sauce flavored with pancetta, aromatic vegetables, dried mushrooms and tomatoes. Jumping off from Sara Moulton's recipe I found online I started by soaking 1 ounce of dried mushrooms in a cup of warm beef stock. Then browned the seasoned meat on all sides in hot olive oil. I set the meat aside, poured off most of the fat and added a couple ounces of chopped pancetta to the pan along with a chopped onion, carrot, and celery stalk. When the vegetables softened I tossed in 4 cloves of garlic (finely chopped), about a TB minced fresh rosemary, 1/4 cup chopped parsley, 2 bay leaves and seasoned the pot with salt and pepper. Next I stirred in 3 TB of tomato paste and a whole bottle of red wine (well actually the remains of two bottles I had in the kitchen -- using up that wine was initially the inspiration for this dinner). The wine cooked down for about 20 minutes and then the beef went back in the pot along with the mushrooms, a 28 oz can of tomato purée, and enough beef stock (yes I used the mushroom soaking liquid but poured it through cheesecloth first to remove any grit) to come 2/3 of the way up the side of the roast in the pot. The meat simmered very slowly, covered for almost 3 hours. I turned it over in the pot a couple times while it cooked.
When the meat was super tender I strained the sauce to remove the aromatic vegetables and cooked the liquid down a bit (with the meat resting on the side) to serve as gravy.
When people come to dinner, though I do like to be busy in the kitchen, I to have a good number of make ahead dishes. That way the kitchen seems clean and everything well organized to hit the table at the same time without guests seeing the cook starting to sweat. I usually add the finishing touches while James and our guests enjoy a few appetizers (today it was a salt cod brandade I had tucked way in the freezer for just such an occasion and toasty French bread) Alongside the classic of make ahead dishes, pot roast, I served an oven baked polenta. -- a fuss free but still impressive side dish, especially when studded with delicious creamy Humbolt Fog goat's cheese and parmesan. With these two rich dishes instead of a heavy vegetable recipe I opted for a bitter fresh tasting arugula, radish and red onion salad with tart balsamic vinaigrette (1/4 cup balsamic, 1 tsp dijon mustard, 1/2 tsp salt, pepper, 1 minced clove garlic, 1/2 cup olive oil shaken together).

I know James said "regular dinner" but I just can't have people to dinner and not serve dessert -- especially when I know our guests, like Mike and Sally, appreciate a sweet treat. More than once James has told "you don't always have to serve dessert." But honestly I do. You go to someone's house you expect dessert -- it's what good boys and girls get. Even if it's just something simple I can't feel that I have treated guests well unless the cake plate comes out.

Usually, because I love a theme, I would have gone for something terribly Italian like budino or biscotti and vin santo. But tonight -- because I wanted to try a recipe I saw on The Kitchy Kitchen, a cooking blog with photography so gorgeous I think about quitting every time I read it -- and because we have a lot of jam around the house thanks to my annual county fair efforts -- I opted for these simple lemon jam bars. A little tart a little sweet and just sugary enough to feel special -- just like the perfect dinner for friends.

Polenta and Chard

Lucky us. 

A cool spring rain falls outside perking up the flowers and trees. Inside we're snuggled with the dogs enjoying the weather and the excuse to be lazy together.

Days with bit of chill call for hearty warm suppers. Stews, soups, and of course -- polenta.  But since lazy is the word of the day I went for an easy oven baked polenta (no stirring). 

First, so I didn't have to make a separate vegetable, I boiled some chard cut into 1/2" pieces in salted water for about 13 minutes (I put the stems in first for 3-4 minutes and then followed with the leaves for another 10). I drained the chard and reserved the cooking water to flavor the polenta. In an oven proof saucepan I combined 4 cups of chard cooking water, 2 TB of butter, a pinch of pepper and 1 cup of polenta. After the mixture baked for 40 minutes I gave it a good stir and let the polenta cook for just 10 minutes more.  It was creamy, hot and smooth (no stirring and no lumps -- oven magic) afterwards when I stirred in the cooked chard and a good sized handful of grated cheese.

With a couple minutes to spare while the polenta cooked with no effort from me, I whipped up a quick sauce with ground meat, madeira wine, capers and thyme based on Mark Vetri's lauded veal ragu` 

Warm and easy nearly fuss free cooking -- a perfect simple dinner for a drizzly spring day.

Quick Dinner At Home

Hands off cooking. That's what I call it. Long cooking dishes that simmer with barely any help at all. More often than not I am doing three or four other things while I am getting dinner ready. So I keep a mental catalogue of busy day dinner recipes.
At the top of that list is crock pot polenta. I don't know why I would ever make it any other way (except maybe baked). Whisk together 2 cups of polenta with 7 cups hot water  (sometimes I use part stock or milk), a pinch of salt and 2 TB of olive oil. Then whisk in a good quantity of grated cheese (12 ounces maybe) -- I like parmesan but cheddar, fontina, or pecorino are all good choices. No stirring (unless I walk by and feel like peeking in), no worrying just 2 hours on high and you have a creamy, cheesy, comforting base for dinner.
Vegetables are usually the last minute dish I am struggling to have ready with the rest of the meal. While I was slow cooking I thought I'd try a variation on long cooking broccoli rabe. I combined 2 cups of broccoli florets and peeled stems. 1 cup of olive oil, a hearty pinch of crushed chile peppers,  6 peeled cloves of garlic and a sprinkle of salt in a saucepan. I put everything over medium heat until the oil started to sizzle, tossed in 1/2 cup water, covered the pot and let the broccoli simmer on low for an hour and 15 minutes. This is old fashioned. Not modern crunchy vegetables, but soft warm deep green flavor.
I turned the polenta to low after maybe an hour and 45 minutes and let the broccoli wait while I pan fried spicy Italian sausage.
A perfect combo, homemade with hardly a moments work.

Even Easier Polenta

I know I've gone on and on about the various virtues of polenta made in the oven. "I'll never make it any other way," I declared -- that was before my oven was a rainy walk across the yard. I've found another way -- perfect for a crowd or a party -- my beloved crock pot. Simple.
First I coated the ceramic insert with spray olive oil -- thinking about a potentially sticky clean up later. I poured 3 cups of polenta and 8 cups of water into the pot along with a glug of olive oil, 2 TB of butter, and more than a pinch of salt. I set the temperature to high, covered the crock pot and gave the contents a whisk every half hour or so - to keep out polenta creamy and smooth. After about two hours (the polenta was really starting to thicken) I added a good sized handful of grated cheese, a few more TB of butter and S&P to taste. After 4 hours on low (I could have let it go for maybe 8 or 10 hours if I had a party waiting) I topped James' polenta with roast chicken, pan-fried cauliflower (with garlic and pine nuts) and piquant Italian style salsa verde, a chopped mixture of capers, anchovies, parsley, arugula, sage, garlic and olive oil also great on steaks and sandwiches.
Polenta makes great leftovers. I love it for breakfast with eggs or chilled, sliced and fried as a side dish treat later in the week.

A Cold Rainy Night

Rain is falling outside but inside the wood stove is roaring and I've got a pot of creamy, cheesy, polenta bubbling on the stove. On top just a simple sauté of spicy Italian sausage, kale from the garden and baby spinach. A perfect warm dinner for a cold rainy night.

I'm Ba-ack!

I've been away for about a week and James has been home eating frozen leftovers from our dwindling "fridgeventory." I have to get a few good dinner dishes in before I have to leave again, all too soon.
With almost no ingredients in the fridge but a garden ready and waiting I managed to toss together a creamy, cheesy polenta with a savory ragout of Italian sausage, fresh green zucchini and home-grown cippolini onions.

A Little Olympic Provisions at Home.

I love polenta. I love grits. I love Olympic Provisions.
Tonight I riffed off one of the Portland restaurant's entree plates to whip up this creamy polenta (well it was half polenta and half Trader Joe's new stone ground grits) for James' dinner. I mixed the grains ( 1 1/2 cups) with salt, butter, 3 cups of water and one cup of milk and popped them into the oven, uncovered, to bake for about 80 minutes. When the polenta came out of the oven I quickly mixed in a hunk of fresh goat cheese and ladled the creamy grains into a bowl topped with griddle sausages and -- because James is not a big tomato fan and our garden is still producing like crazy -- braised kale.

Polenta And Greens

Another play for my super easy oven-baked polenta. While the cornmeal cooked (without stirring or any work from me) in the oven, I sautéed Italian sausage with garlic and crushed red peppers. When the sausage was browned I took it out of the skillet and rendered some chopped pancetta for a little extra flavor. Then I tossed in ribbons of kale a splash of water and a sprinkle of salt. The kale cooked, covered, for 5 minutes until well wilted. To finish I added the sausage back in along with a good dollop of olive oil, about 3/4 cup of cooked cannellini beans and nearly 1 cup of the bean cooking liquid. I let the mixture simmer for a couple minutes while I served up the creamy polenta.
Hearty cold weather food for a brisk April night.

Oven Baked Polenta

I'd heard it was possible. I was skeptical. How could polenta left on its own in the oven come close to the creamy sublime texture brought forth from near ceaseless stirring?

With a whisk I mixed one cup of polenta, two cups of chicken broth (okay not traditional but I thought it would make my "diet" portion a little more flavorful), 2 cups of water, a few sprigs of thyme, S&P and a crushed clove of garlic in a 2 quart pot. After 50 minutes (uncovered) in a 350º oven I stirred in a pat of butter. On a normal non-diet day I would have mixed in some grated cheese or milk too. Ten minutes later I had creamy soft luscious polenta. No one would ever guess how easy it was. I'm gonna try this one for guests -- just when you need your hands free. I topped James' "hands-off" polenta with braised chard and buttery seared scallops.

Comfort Food From The Garden

I decided not to go to the farmer's market this week, and finishing work at 7 am the morning of only had a little bit to do with my decision. We're not taking full advantage of our garden and before I turn the beds fully over to spring crops I thought we should celebrate the last of our winter crops. Tonight, Tuscan kale and a bit of burgundy chard. While looking to make the most of my late in the season but still super fresh produce I stumbled on an earthy recipe from Italian culinary matriarch Lidia Bastianich, polenta with white beans and black kale. The beans are cooked simply with olive oil and bay leaves (I did that a couple days in advance). The kale is quickly braised with chunks of bacon in plenty of olive oil, and the polenta is velvety soft and laced with easy melting nutty (I used Gruyere, Toma and Parmesan) cheese. This is the kind of simple Italian cooking where the ingredients, not technique, play a starring role. A perfect way to show off our garden's bounty.

Crispy Polenta Cakes

I like to disguise leftovers. It makes me feel clever.

James had warm polenta the other day and I took what was left in the pot, spread it on a sheet pan and let it firm up in the fridge. I cut the mixture into circles with a biscuit cutter and laid the cakes in a hot pan with olive oil and crisped them on both sides. If I'd had more time I might have coated the cakes in panko bread crumbs for extra crunch.

In another pan I heated some olive oil and added in some garlic, chopped fennel salami, and the last frozen fava beans from our most recent front yard harvest. I cooked those ingredients down with some white wine, butter and S&P to make a quick ragout. On top one of our backyard eggs (extra precious now since the girls have slowed down due to winter's chill) fried in fruity olive oil. A sprinkle of cheese brought dinner to the table.

James didn't recognize the ingredients . . . he was too busy eating and mumbling how delicious it was.

Herbed Polenta

Right now I have two dinner goals. I am trying to work down our pantry -- use things we have in the house, and find dishes that work for my diet and with a little embellishment work for James too. Tonight, thinking of the mound of now off limits( for me) dairy in our fridge I decided on a creamy polenta. I had a recipe from Osteria Stellina ready to adapt. First I gathered a mix of fresh herbs -- 3 sprigs of thyme, about 2 TB rosemary, 1/4 cup of parsley, and about 1/2 TB fresh sage all chopped together waiting to flavor James' dinner. I melted a TB of butter in with 2 TB of olive oil and added in 1 chopped onion. I cooked the onion over medium heat until it was translucent and soft but not colored (about 4 minutes). Then I added 4 cups of water, 1/2 of the herb mixture, S&P, and brought the mixture to a boil. I stirred in 1 cup of polenta and allowed the pot to boil for just a minute or two until the polenta had started to thicken and then reduced the heat to low (so the mixture was just bubbling) and cooked -- stirring occasionally for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes I poured in about 1/2 cup heavy cream, the rest of the herbs and a handful of chopped raclette (I went for something easy melting) cheese. I stirred for a few minutes more until the mixture was soft and creamy.

While the polenta cooked I whipped up a vegetable topping we could share. To a non-stick skillet barely coated with a spray of olive oil I added sliced mushrooms, chili peppers, garlic, and salt and covered the pan over medium low heat to let the mushrooms color and cook down. I added a bit of broth and a large bunch of escarole, covered the pan again and let the greens steam on top of the mushrooms. For James I sautéed thin slices of chorizo in fruitty olive oil for a drizzle on top. Herbed polenta with sautéed mushrooms and escarole with chorizo oil.

You could call it pantry driven Euro-fusion or, just what James had for dinner.

Crispy Polenta Cakes and Mushroom Ragout

I had two big portobello mushrooms taking up space in the fridge and need to put together something warming and cozy for another rainy day. But I really didn't fell up to endless stirring or babying something on the stove. Besides, I'm trying to be back on the diet plan so who wants to make stew for one? I decided on a rich mushroom ragout. I sautéed pancetta and a few small cubes from the end of a chorizo I found in the drawer, added in a chopped onion and sauteed until it was soft. Next came the thinly sliced mushrooms which cooked for 10 minutes or so, until they gave up a bit of liquid. Then I added a good dollop of tomato paste, about 1/2 cup (maybe more ) of white wine (there was an open bottle in the fridge), and about a tsp of dried thyme and let the skillet bubble until the wine was cooked off. I finished the ragout with a good sized knob of butter and a splash of whole milk (no cream in the fridge). I served the ragout over polenta cakes -- cold polenta cut and fried in olive oil.

Okay probably not a dinner James will brag about or bring up later like last week's Italian fried chicken, but I did notice a pretty clean plate.

Home Style Away from Home

We cook at home. Even when home is a vacation cottage or a hotel room. In my usual kitchen I have all my spices, my herbs (and my garden), my pantry, my knives -- everything I need, just where I can find it. Away from my home kitchen, dinner takes a lot more thought. I try to just buy the ingredients I need (no bottles and jars to cart home or waste), use the minimum of pots and pans (hotel selections are usually pretty limited) and get maximum flavor with minimal effort (everyone needs a little vacation). It's a dinner time puzzle waiting to be solved.

This simple sauté is perfect for any location.

I bought about a cup of polenta from the bulk food section of the local grocery store -- bulk foods are great for gathering little bits of grains, flours, nuts, pastas . . . whatever ingredients you might need -- a carton of chicken broth (that's 4 cups just about right for a cup of polenta), some pre-shredded parmesan from the deli section, 2 hot Italian sausages, one head of garlic and a bunch of broccoli rabe -- James' favorite. Farmer's markets are also a great place to only by the vegetables you need that day.

First I brought a saucepan of salted water to a boil and blanched the broccoli florets. I drained the broccoli and set it aside and used the same saucepan to bring the chicken broth to a boil. I stirred in the polenta and allowed the pan to simmer (stirring every now and then -- I don't stir constantly as most recipes dictate) for about 30 minutes until the polenta was cooked and smooth.

Meanwhile I splashed a bit of olive oil in a frying pan, removed the sausage from the casings and added it, along with thinly sliced garlic, to the oil already over medium heat.

To finish the polenta I stirred in butter, shredded parmesan cheese, a bit of butter (you can usually "borrow" that from a hotel breakfast), S&P, and a bit of fruity olive oil (some things are always worth the splurge at home or away). When the sausage was browned and cooked through I added the broccoli to the pan and tossed it around until heated through and flavored with the spicy sausage ( a good way to forgo vacation bought spice racks).

Creamy polenta, crisp bitter broccoli, spicy sausage -- an easy meal that always feels like home.

Ad Hoc Dinner: Tomato Sauce Challenge Part One

Yet another adventure with Thomas Keller.

I know I've mentioned it -- but this year James, although he couldn't wait for Christmas, gave me Thomas Keller's new Ad Hoc cookbook. At Ad Hoc Keller serves offers one appetizer, one entree, a cheese course, and one dessert a night. Chef Keller's version of what we home cooks do every day or would if we could.

When I saw the recipe for oven-roasted tomato sauce I had to give it a try (especially since there is a similar Mark Peel recipe to challenge it), in spite of the more than two hours cooking time. I roasted aromatic vegetables (leeks, onions, fennel and garlic) with salt and canola oil for 45 minutes. Then I stirred in brown sugar and red wine vinegar and allowed the mixture to roast for 20 more minutes. When the vegetables were tender and caramelized I stirred in two large drained cans of San Marzano tomatoes -- 1 can chopped, 1 left whole -- and a sachet of bay leaf, thyme, peppercorns and garlic -- and allowed the mixture to roast at 350º for an hour and a half more stirring every 30 minutes. When I tasted the sauce I thought it was a bit too sweet but chef Keller writes that the sauce goes well with polenta or meatballs. I decided to try them both.

The meatballs -- if you ignore the mix of meats (pork, sirloin, chuck, and veal -- I used turkey) are pretty straight forward. I sautéed onions and garlic until just tender but not browned. Let that cool and add to the meat mixture along with 1 egg, q/4 cup bread crumbs, chopped parsley, and S&P. The twist comes in the cooking. After forming the nearly baseball sized meatballs around a cube of fresh mozzarella I baked them on a rack for 20 minutes until just cooked through. Mini-hamburger maybe but pretty darned good.

The trouble came with the polenta. This wasn't my first polenta by any means, but Keller's method was new to me. His instructions told me to bring chicken broth to a boil and pour the polenta in a fine stream while stirring -- usual so far. But then, Keller says to cook out all the moisture (about 20 minutes) until the polenta is quite dry before adding an absurd, by any one else's standards, amount of butter and cream -- warning that the polenta could be gooey if not fully dry before adding the fat. Well maybe I need pictures, or further instruction. Our polenta was tasty but the texture . . . all wrong.

Hmm maybe I need some personal instruction -- Chef Keller . . . I'm available.