Creamy Polenta & Truffled Mushrooms

I've been staring at the leftover bag of cornmeal ever since I made cornmeal crusted tuna a few weeks ago and thus my staring turned into craving polenta and/or cornbread. Then, I went out to dinner one night and polenta was on the menu but no one seemed to want to order it because of its fatty nature. Well, true but false when homemade- polenta can be slimmed down quite easily. Now the issue became what do I cook with the polenta? A few weeks ago a friend of mine, Shirley, came over for dinner and taught me how to make mushrooms with Marsala cooking wine. So, using the leftover Marsala she brought over, I decided to give it a go, tweaking it a bit of course.

Ingredients:

For the polenta;
1 cup cornmeal
4 cups 2% milk
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
salt & pepper, to taste

For the mushrooms;
2, 8-0z packs mushrooms (any type you prefer)
2 shallots, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup Marsala cooking wine
2 tbsp. dried thyme (definitely use fresh if it's available to you)
1-2 tablespoons truffle oil
salt & pepper, to taste

Procedure:

For the polenta;

Bring milk to a boil in a saucepan over a medium heat, stirring every so often. When you see bubbles start to form around the edges, slowly add in the ground cornmeal. Add a tablespoon of salt and continue stirring on a medium heat for 2-3 minutes, until the mixture heats up again. Reduce to a low heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, paying attention to the polenta and stirring every other minute or so. If your polenta thickens up too much, no worries just add a bit of water to loosen it. Turn off the heat when done, and add in the Parmesan (before serving). If necessary, season with salt and pepper, to taste.

For the mushrooms;

Heat a saute pan over a medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil. When the oil is hot, add in the minced shallots and stir for about 3/4 minutes until the shallots are translucent and a tad browned. Next, add in the mushrooms, thyme, salt, pepper and the Marsala wine. Reduce heat to medium and stir for about 10 minutes, until all the liquid is cooked out. When finished and read to serve, top it off with truffle oil.

Serves 4. Enjoy!

Lentil Salad

Hello all, I apologize for my brief leave of absence. Between my social calendar obligations and all my school work due before Spring Break, I did not spend all too much time in my own kitchen (and I totally feel a bit heavier as a result).

For my father's birthday I did not know what to get him (especially with my quite diminished bank account), and he is always asking about the blogola so I decided to make him a birthday feast. My main aim was to make highlights from the blog; making dishes that would never usually be found on my table at home. Well, it was a huge success and guess what? I have a new recipe to share! (Plus I got to bring tons of leftovers back to the city with me. Score!)

Ingredients:

1 16 oz. bag lentils
2 large carrots, cut in small cubes
1 large parsnip, cut in small cubes
1/2 onion, minced
4 large cloves garlic, pressed
1 tbsp.+ 1 tsp. dried thyme
dash of cayenne pepper
1/4 cup olive oil (2.5 tbsp. for sauteing and 1.5 tbsp. for salad)
1/4 cup chopped parsley
3 tbsp. white vinegar (can also use TJ's orange muscat champagne vinegar!)
salt & pepper, to taste

Procedure:

Bring lentils to a boil, once boiling add some kosher salt, cover and simmer for about 15-20 minutes until the lentils are cooked through.

While the lentils are boiling...

Mince carrots, parsnip and 1/2 onion. Heat 2.5 tbsp. olive oil on a medium-high heated saute pan. When the oil is hot, toss in the 1/2 onion stirring for about 3 minutes, until beginning to become clear. Add in 4 cloves of smashed garlic, stir for another minute. Then, add the carrots and parsnips to the mix, stir to mix with onion+garlic mixture. Add in dried thyme, a dash of cayenne, salt and pepper. Stir the mixture every so often until the carrots and parsnips become soft, about 5-7 minutes.



Strain the lentils, put them in a mixing bowl. Toss with parsnip mixture, chopped parsley, white vinegar, and the rest of the olive oil. Add a little bit of salt and pepper if necessary. Cool in the fridge for approximately 30 minutes before serve time. Enjoy! Serves 8-12.