Polenta

I love Southern food and one of my favorite things to eat is Grits smothered in butter, salt, and pepper and topped with a poached egg. So it’s no wonder that I love Polenta. Made of fine ground corn meal (course ground is also available) this creamy comfort food is a perfect substitute for mashed potatoes or rice. I usually use quick cooking Polenta but there is no substitute for the slow cooked and version that takes 45 minutes to 1 hour of almost constant stirring. But with the right care, the quick cooking Polenta can be just as creamy and satisfying.

The best thing about Polenta is how versatile it is. Once cooked you can serve it immediately topped with any meat/gravy combination, a mushroom ragu, some crumbled bleu cheese, grilled sausages and peppers, roasted vegetables, butter and maple syrup for breakfast, the possibilities are endless. Or you can pour the Polenta onto a greased sheet pan and spread it out then let it cool to set up. Cut it into squares, triangles, rounds, or any shape you want with a cookie cutter. It can now be grilled or baked and served with anything. I love to cut it into about 1 ½ inch squares and grill them then top them with sundried tomato pesto and fresh basil and serve at room temperature.

For quick cooking Polenta bring 4 cups of chicken or vegetable stock to the boil over high heat, turn the heat to medium-high and slowly whisk in 1 cup of quick cooking Polenta. Continue to stir for 3 minutes. Then take it off the heat and add 2 tablespoons of butter and ¼ cup heavy cream or ½ & ½, and any fresh chopped herbs you like. Add ¼ - ½ cup of cheese if you like. Season with salt & pepper and serve. The other night I used a combo of fresh basil & fresh rosemary because that’s what I had in the house and about ¼ cup fresh grated Romano cheese. This makes enough for 6-8 servings making it very cost effective.

A fun thing to do is to pour the cooked Polenta into a deep dish pizza pan and top it as you would a pizza then bake it. Cut into pizza slices and serve. Kids love this.

For tons of awesome Polenta recipes go to www.FoodNetwork.com or just go buy some quick cooking Polenta and play with it. You’ll come up with lots of uses for this simple peasant food.

The First Meal

We finally arrived at our new home in Clearwater on Sept. 1st. It took me several days to unpack boxes and get my new kitchen in order. It's a crappy small kitchen but I'll be remodeling it soon. At least it's better than the kitchen in our last apartment. LOL

Last night I decided to cook our first meal in my kitchen. We are sick of poorly prepared restaurant food that we've been eating since we started our move. It's been 2 weeks since I've cooked anything. I shopped at Fresh Market, very nice gourmet grocery store. Not very big but the seafood and meats there are very good. However, I'll still be looking for other gourmet grocery items in the Clearwater area that I was unable to find at Fresh Market. We were both in the mood for seafood so I decided on the Sea Scallops. Here is my recipe for Seared Sea Scallops with Tarragon. I served this with some simple sauteed asparagus and a baby greens salad topped with a bit of blue cheese.

Seared Sea Scallops with Tarragon

Serves 2

3/4 pound Sea Scallops

2 tablespoons EVOO

1-2 tablespoons Penzey's Florida Seasoned Pepper (or use the Seafood Seasoning Blend of your choice)

1/4 cup white wine (I used Sauvignon Blanc)

zest of 1/2 a lemon

1 tablespoon cold butter

1/4 cup heavy cream

1-2 tablespoons fresh chopped tarragon

sea salt to taste

Pat scallops dry and sprinkle with Florida Seasoned Pepper and sea salt. Heat EVOO in a saute pan over med-high heat. Add the scallops to the pan but do not crowd the pan. Saute the scallops until browned and on both sides and cooked just until done. About 2-2 1/2 minutes on each side. Do not overcook the scallops or they will be tough. They should feel firm but bounce back when touched. Remove the scallops and keep warm.

Return skillet to stove and add the white wine, bring to a boil. Deglaze by scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet, boiling until liquid is reduced to about 2 tablespoons. Reduce heat to low and whisk in the cold butter and lemon zest. Then whisk in the heavy cream and tarragon. Taste and adjust the seasoning with seasalt and fresh cracked pepper and reduce slightly. Plate scallops and top with sauce. Garnish with additional lemon zest before serving.