I made polenta – from scratch – for the first time ever tonight.
Actually, that’s not true. I made it one other time, a dinner that is frequently referred to by Chris as the “Rosemary Incident of ‘05.” Let’s just say that rosemary is potent. A little goes a long way.
This time, I went the basil route and made some to go along with fish:
It was so easy, I was really surprised. It seems intimidating for some reason. I used this brand, and basically added a bunch of basil to the recipe on the package: 1/2 cup corn meal, 1.5 cups vegetable stock, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and three tablespoons parmesan cheese. I didn’t halve the parmesan cheese. That would be stupid.
And then the other great discovery of the night was Trader Joe’s bruschetta:
Chris wasn’t with me at the grocery store this weekend, and let’s just say there were a few impulse buys. Maybe more than a few. This was one of them, and it’s a keeper. I had a couple tastes straight from the jar, even. Then I mixed about 1/2 cup with a bag of baby spinach and put it over the fish, which was just baked for about ten minutes or so.
I can’t wait to use the rest of the bag of polenta. Anyone want to hook me up with a recipe?
LOVE polenta!! Try this recipe:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/eating-well/roasted-winter-vegetables-with-cheesy-polenta-recipe/index.html
Polenta is one of those things thats super easy to make, but really impresses people!
Polenta was the Blogger Secret Ingredient a few weeks back- Here’s the list:
http://rhodeygirltests.com/2008/10/13/blogger-secret-ingredient-party-week-6-and-the-winner-is/
and my contribution: http://www.hangrypants.com/2008/10/she-says-pumpkin-polenta-with-spinach-and-garbonzo-beans/
hi!
when i hosted the BSI (blogger secret ingredient) one week I chose POLENTA as the ingredient. here are the results with a bunch of recipes:
http://rhodeygirltests.com/2008/10/13/blogger-secret-ingredient-party-week-6-and-the-winner-is/
if that link doesn’t show up right just go to my site and in the search area put in “bsi polenta” and it will be the first one that come up.
I’m with Sabrina. There were some bombay recipes that people submitted.
Mine wasn’t one of them!
WOW, it looks scrumptious!!!
hey ari!
yum… i love polenta. my fav way of making it is topping it with mushrooms cooked with balsamic vinegar. i think i originally saw it in a martha stewart book, but now i can’t find it. this is a similar recipe, except that we make it vegetarian.
http://melbournegastronome.blogspot.com/2008/07/mushroom-fashion-shoot.html
I am a big failure with the polenta. I have no advice.
Glad to hear making polenta from scratch isn’t as scary as it seems.
That dinner was amazing. It made me forget about The Rosemary Incident of 05.
For now.
I never thought about making polenta before! This looks great, and basil definitely sounds like the way to go
Your polenta looks awesome! I wish I had recipes…I’ve never made it before, but I might have to try it now.
Try it for brunch! All of Heidi Swanson’s recipes are great
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/breakfast-polenta-recipe.html
VG –
Looks great!
HP –
I didn’t even know that. That’s awesome.
Rhodey –
You are smart for picking that.
Erin –
Bombay. You’re funny.
Sharon –
Thanks!
Lena –
Hi! That looks amazing. I love mushrooms. This is next for sure.
Kristen –
That’s okay.
Rose –
I was surprised. It took like five minutes.
Chris –
Thank you.
Livit –
It definitely was.
Natalie –
You should.
Pepper –
I love Heidi Swanson.
Hello there!
I found your blog through Carrots N Cake’s blog. You are hiilarious and now I’m reading through old posts and want to comment on what else that Bruschetta is good for.
I haven’t seen any meat in your blog, which is fine, I’m vegan. but in case you do eat chicken, I’ve baked chicken w/ the bruschetta spooned over it and sprinkled w/ cheese (there are some good vegan mozarellas out there) and omg it keeps the chicken so so moist! even after FREEZING and defrosting a portion for lunch it was STILL moist!
Sorry about the lactose issue….I just went vegan in an attempt to get rid of my stomach pains, which may or may not be from dairy…and its been 9 days and I already feel so much better….
Did the doctor tell you what’s going to happen after 2 weeks of eliminating dairy? omg dairy is in almost everything! i found traces of it in some goddamn crackers so I’m making my husband eat those..and it was in a can of SOUP! a CAN of soup! ugh! he ate that too……
I read the digestive tune up book by john mcdougall, m.d. and decided to try veganism.
um feel free to email me to reply to this post and you dopn’t necessarily have to keep this post up! lol