Happy New Year 2010.
Its been 6 months since I am not touching this blog.Been busy for a while with my new house,and trying to understand my new digital camera. Its only a simple Panasonic Lumix FS 12,not a DSLR camera :)
My house is 80% set. We need only to find a nice kitchen cabinets, IKEA doesnt have branch here, so whether Italian Kitchen is our choice or other shops , no decision yet as its a huge spending:)
SOme pictures from my yellow kithen with a yellow NY cab...
Back to the food,I chose Polenta for the starter of this year. I made this polenta last December,when I wasnt in the mood for rice. And its good,healthy and light..
Polenta- is Nothern Italy´s golden cornmeal porridge which is for me is so interesting to make and to eat. I got the recipe from Italian magazine from Better Homes &Gardens Special Interest Publication,Fall/Winter 2009
And with this recipe, we could choose whether we gonna fry,grill,broil or layer the polenta.
Its easy and tasty, but because I cant find that type of cheese, so instead of cheese, I dropped in garlic powder and more butter. Half I fry and half I baked. Both are nice.
Enjoy..
Soft Polenta
prep: 15 minutes
cooking: 25 mnutes
1 cup coarse-ground yellow cornmeal
1 cup cold water or chicken broth
1 tsp salt( omit if using broth)
In a large saucepan,bring 2 1/2 cups water to boiling. Meanwhile, in a bowl, stir together cornmeal, the 1 cup cold water and the salt.
2. Slowly add cornmeal mixture to boiling water, stirring constantly. Cook and stir until returns to boiling. Reduce heat to medium-low.
Cook for 25-30 minutes or until very thick,stirring frequently and adjusting heat as needed to maintain a very slow boil. Spoon soft polenta into bowls. Makes 6 side-dish servings.
Baked Polenta: prepare as above, except pour the hot polenta into a 9-inch pie plate, spreading evenly. Let stand for 30 minutes. Cover and chill at least 1 hour or until firm. Preheat oven to 350F. Bake,uncovered,about 25 minuted or until heated through. Let stand on a wire rack 5 minutes, Cut into 6 wedges.
Fried Polenta: Prepare as above,except pour the hot polenta into a 71/2x 31/2x2-inch or 8x4x2-inch loaf pan. Cool. Cover and chill for at leat 4 hours or overnight. Run a thin metal spatula around the edges of the pan. remove polenta from pan, cut crosswise into 12 slices. In a large skillet or on a griddle, heat 1 tbsp butter over medium-high heat. reduce heat to medium. Cook half of the polenta slices 16 to 20 minutes or until brown and crisp, turning once. repeat with remaining slices, adding 1 tbsp butter to skillet before adding polenta. If desired, serve with additional butter and honey or maple-flavored syrup.
My on the way fried polenta..
This basic polenta recipe (above), is just the starting point. Add butter, cheese or a fresh herb and you have a delightfully different side dish. Start with these ideas for stir-ins.
-decrease the salt to 1/2 tsp and stir in 2 tbsp butter after cooking
-decrease the salt to 1/2 tsp and stir in 1/2 cup shredded parmesan, romano or fontina cheese after cooking
-stir in 2 tbsp snipped fresh basil or Italian flat leaf parsley or 1 tsp snipped fresh oregano or thyme after cooking.
