Shrimp and Aspargus Risotto

I love risotto and I always forget how long it actually takes to make risotto. However, the time is definitely worth it and I feel like the secret ingredient of love is always evident in risotto since so much time is put into making risotto. Risotto needs constant care and attention while you are cooking it, not stirring the risotto enough can lead to it sticking to the pot.

Total time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Servings: 4 to 6

3/4 pound thin asparagus
1/4 pound shell-on shrimp (I used 3/4 a pound of shrimp)
5 cups water or reserved asparagus stock (I used the stock)
3 tablespoons butter, divided (I used 1 and 1/2 TBSP)
1/2 cup minced onion (I used shallots because I feel like they are tastier in risotto)
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1/4 cup dry white wine
Salt
2 tablespoons grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (I bought and forgot to use)
2 tablespoons snipped chives (I did not use)

FOR ASPARAGUS STOCK - Cut off the bottom 1 to 1 1/2 inches of the asparagus spears. Thinly slice the bottoms and add them to a large saucepan along with the trimmings from the minced onion. Shell the shrimp and add the shells to the saucepan. Cover with at least 5 cups of water or asparagus stock and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook at least 30 minutes to make a mild stock.Cut away the very tips of the asparagus. Add shrimp to asparagus tips and set aside. If it is warm in your kitchen, set it in the fridge.
Slice the remaining parts of the asparagus in one-fourth-inch rounds.
Cook the asparagus rounds, butter and the onion in a large skillet over medium heat until the onion softens but does not turn color, about 5 minutes.
Add the rice and cook, stirring constantly, until all the kernels are opaque, about 3 minutes. Add the wine and stir until it evaporates.
Ladle approximately 1 1/2 cups of the simmering stock through a strainer into the rice and cook, stirring, until it evaporates. When the bottom of the pan is almost dry, add an additional one-half to three-fourths cup and repeat.
Keep cooking this way, adding more stock as needed, until the rice begins to swell and become tender. Stir in 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt and the reserved shrimp and asparagus tips, and continue cooking until the rice kernels are swollen and completely tender. Do not cook the mixture dry; the final texture should be somewhat soupy with slightly thickened liquid. This will take about 25 to 35 minutes in all.

Taste and add more salt if necessary. Spoon into hot shallow bowls and serve immediately.

Martha's Mac and Cheese

Now I am not that big of a fan of Martha Stewart, but I do realize that she does have some recipes I definitely respect. The first was her buttermilk pancakes..and just recently when I was looking for good mac and cheese recipes, I found that a lot of people really like the Martha Stewart's mac and cheese recipe. It's called Martha's perfect macaroni and cheese recipe. It's pretty good.


*The original recipe calls for 12 servings so I just halved the recipe shown below.

6 slices good-quality white bread, crusts removed, torn into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces**
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for dish
5 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 1/2 cups (about 18 ounces) grated sharp white cheddar
2 cups (about 8 ounces) grated Gruyere or 1 1/4 cups (about 5 ounces) grated pecorino Romano
1 pound elbow macaroni

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 3-quart casserole dish; set aside. In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, heat milk. Melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter in a high-sided skillet over medium heat. When butter bubbles, add flour. Cook, stirring, 1 minute.


Slowly pour hot milk into flour-butter mixture while whisking. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick.


Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, 3 cups cheddar, and 1 1/2 cups Gruyere or 1 cup pecorino Romano. Set cheese sauce aside.



Fill a large saucepan with water. Bring to a boil. Add macaroni; cook 2 to 3 fewer minutes than manufacturer's directions, until outside of pasta is cooked and inside is underdone. (Different brands of macaroni cook at different rates; be sure to read the instructions.) Transfer the macaroni to a colander, rinse under cold running water, and drain well. Stir macaroni into the reserved cheese sauce.


Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle remaining 1 1/2 cups cheddar and 1/2 cup Gruyere or 1/4 cup pecorino Romano; scatter breadcrumbs over the top. Bake until browned on top, about 30 minutes. Transfer dish to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes; serve.

**I did not use white bread to make bread crumbs, I just used bread crumbs I had already. For cheese, I made sure I got good quality white cheddar and percorino romano. The cheese will be the biggest purchase for this recipe as both cheese can be fairly pricey. However, I do believe that the quality of cheese did make a difference in this recipe.

http://www.marthastewart.com/article/perfect-macaroni-and-cheese

BBQ Carmelized Onion and Tomato Pizza

I have been loving the fact that I can make my own homemade pizzas. It does take some time to make the dough but it's definitely worth it! One day I decided to make half a caramelized onion pizza, and half tomato pizza. I used the recipe for the Flat bread dough

After the dough has fully risen, I rolled out the dough, and laid it out on parchment paper that had been greased with olive oil and a sprinkling of corn meal. And then the rest is a piece of pizza ;)

I caramelized a whole onion - and on half the pizza, spread BBQ sauce and mozzarella cheese and then sprinkled the caramelized onions on top. On the other half of the pizza I spread tomato sauce on, sprinkled mozzarella cheese and layered some tomatoes on the pizza.

I baked it in a preheated oven set at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. And then poof! You have homemmade pizza!

Beef Tangine with Butternut Squash

A picture of this dish came up when I was browsing the CL website and it looked like a perfect winter night meal.
Not only does it look warm and toasty, it has great flavor and this dish has got a kick to it!

Ingredients
2 teaspoons paprika*
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper**
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (1-pound) beef shoulder roast or petite tender roast, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 shallots, quartered
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
3 cups (1-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1 pound)***
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

*I used 1 tsp smoked paprika and 1 tsp regular paprika.
** I did not have crushed red pepper, only red pepper flakes, seemed to work just as well.
*** I only used 2 cups of butternut squash I didn't want to overwhelm the meal with so much squash.

Preparation

Combine first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl. Add beef; toss well to coat.

I let the flavors marinate while I chopped up the shallots and minced the garlic.

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add beef and shallots; cook 4 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. (I used a pot since I do not have a dutch oven)

Add garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Stir in broth and tomatoes; bring to a boil.

I could not find pre-cut butternut squash so I just bought a whole squash, peeled and cut it into squares. I let the stew mixture come up to a boil, transferred into a big oven safe pot and added the butternut squash.

I let it cook on 300 for about 1.5 hours.
I bought slow cook meat (I could not find shoulder roast) because I intended to let this stew in the oven for two hours. Unfortunately slow cook meat really means it wants to be cooked in a slow cooker so my meat was still pretty tough! Next time I will know for sure that I need to use the pork shoulder or at least another type of roast.

I really like this recipe. The only changes I would make is I would make it in a crock pot next time and let it cook for 8 hours so that the meat is super super tender.

Cast Iron Pans

So I ashamed to admit that at the age of almost 30, and having been cooking for over ten years now..I had no idea about the wonders of a cast iron pan! My brother told me he wanted one for his birthday so I have just been doing some reading up on them. After some research, I am quite convinced that after I buy my bro one..I will also get myself one as well.

So here is what I thought was most interesting about cast iron pans.

1) They keep for ages, unlike stainless steel pans and your usual pots and pans, it seems like cast iron pans can keep for a very long time as long as you take care of them. (also they are probably more affordable than the normal pans!)

2) They are even distributor of heat.

3) They can move from the stove to the oven, so that is super useful if you want to make frittatas or dutch oven pancakes.

4) They are a pretty good asset to your kitchen, they make you look like a pro.

5) If you put cold liquid into a hot cast iron pan, it will crack almost immediately.

The interesting thing that I read about these cast iron pots, is that you have to keep them well seasoned. At first I thought that meant you had to season your meat pretty well before you plopped it into the cast iron pan (yes embarrassing but at least I am willing to admit that I had thought that)

Seasoning the cast iron pan is a process in which you would do something like the following:

"Preheat the oven to 350 degrees while you warm the pan gently over low heat on top of the stove. Using a brush or a paper towel, spread a tablespoon or so of a fresh neutral oil like corn or grape seed in the pan; the surface should be evenly covered, with no excess. Put the pan in the oven, bake it for about an hour and let it cool in the oven."

Sound intimidating? It's ok because apparently now there are cast iron pans available that are pre-seasoned! Pretty neat huh!

The Girl and the Goat..and why my BF is awesome.

My awesome BF surprised me with dinner at the Girl and the Goat. The Girl and the Goat just opened here in Chicago last year. There was a huge buzz about it even before it opened since the restaurant was being opened by Stephanie Izzard, the winner of the Top Chef Chicago season. Plus, add the the fact that Stephanie is actually from Chicago and seems like she is a sweetheart, her restaurant opening was one of the biggest piece of culinary news that Chicago has had!

Being a huge fan of Top Chef, Stephanie Izzard was my fav top chef winner and I have been wanting to come here ever since I have heard that Stephanie was opening a restaurant here in Chicago. My BF had told me a week ago that he had wanted to take me somewhere for dinner on Sunday night as a surprise. Since I knew that it takes about three months to get a reservation here I did not expect that we would be coming here. (I have checked with the online reservation site myself a couple times so I know that you have to look about three months in advance if you want reservations at a reasonable dinner time.) It turns out he made reservations in October! I was so shell shocked that we actually had reservations at the G&G, I could barely answer when the hostess asked us if we wanted to check in our coats.

For how crowded the restaurant was, we were actually seated right on time. We got there at 6:40, my BF reservations were at 6:45. We got a drink at the bar and were promptly seated. I was still in shock so I spent those five minutes willing my brain to realize we were actually at the Girl and the Goat! On our way to our table, the hostess wished us a great dinner which I thought was nice. (I was still too busy smilling like an idiot since I was amazed we were here!)

Here is what we ordered:

Lamb sausage stuffed calamari - interesting take on this dish, I thought it was pretty good, the lamb felt a little try but ground lamb does tends to be a little on the dry side. I thought it was delicious still!


Escargo meatballs - My BF loved this dish. I agree as well. The meatballs are so flavorful. I couldn't really taste the escargo but I could have eaten just the meatballs for dinner. Plus the meatballs came with these chinese long greenbeans that I love!


Goat liver mousse - I wanted to get something with goat since we were at the Girl and the Goat and figured this would be an interesting dish to try. The waiter also mentioned that the crumpets that came with this dish were homemade and I am a sucker for homemade bread! The goat liver was creamier than the usual pate texture and it tasted more like sausage than liver so I thought it was pretty amazing. Plus it came with little pickled sides that were pretty tasty.
Pig face - I was really expecting this to come...well more face like, but I overheard the waiter telling the table next to us that it is more like a headcheese and it is all grinded up together, cut up into patties and fried. It came with a fried egg on top, and the combination of the egg yolk and crispy pork...I mean you can't go wrong right?
For dessert, we ordered the blood orange sorbet. I am not usually a sorbet girl, but the combination of flavors in this dish, the orange sorbet with pistachio cake and crunchy savory parsnip crisps, along with this vanilla like custard pudding went shockingly well together!A view of the little kettle that our dessert came in, cute huh?

I was so happy that the G&G did not disappoint. When I watch Top Chef, sometimes I wonder how those dishes would taste since they always use the most interesting ingredients and weird combinations. I always think to myself, would that taste good? With the G&G I feel like all of the dishes sounded so interesting and had things I would never have thought would have gone together, but the textures and flavors all come together to make some pretty amazing dishes.

I also really love the decor of the G&G. It is a huge loft space, but still manages to feel homey. It was a lot bigger than I expected and I like that they tried to make as much seating space as possible, yet the place still looks super nice. Service at the G&G is attentive but not overwhelming, prompt and not pushy, so it is the perfect balance.

I am pretty amazed that my BF manage to keep these reservations a secret for so long. Especially since everytime someone brings up this restaurant I am always like I so want to go there! I literally was so shocked I was speechless..and if you know me, that is pretty rare! So BF thanks a ton, that was the best surprise ever!

Cheesy Potatoes

Ok sorry it's a new year and already I have been lazy. Don't worry I have been cooking...but have just been forgetting to take pictures and post about it!

I was going to a dinner party and decided to make some cheesy potatoes for my side.

After looking through over a dozen of cheesy potato recipes I decided to go for this recipe.

Ingredients Needed
2 lb. frozen, cubed hash browns*
1/2 cup butter
1 can cream soup*
1 cup sour cream
1 cup milk
8 oz. shredded Cheddar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper


I could not find frozen cubed potatoes so I just bought six potatoes, microwaved them for about 4-5 minutes and then cubed them. Note: my potatoes were a little crunchy still so I would microwave them a couple minutes longer if you go this route.

I always think freshly grated cheese tastes better so I grated a block of cheddar cheese for this dish.

I know this looks gross, but to start off the concoction, you put the butter and cream soup (I used condensed cream of chicken soup) into a pot and combine the two. After the butter has melted, take the pot off of the heat, add the cheese, sour cream and milk. Mix all ingredients well and spread into casserole. Bake at 350°F for 1-1 1/2 hours or until bubbly and browned.

Mushroom and carmelized shallot strudel

I hosted dinner for my best friend, her hubby, and my BF before we all went home for the holidays. I found this recipe on CL and thought it would make for an elegant vegetarian entree. Since the recipe called for 8 servings I halved the ingredients for this recipes. The servings are not that big so if you are not serving other sides, then I would suggest 8 servings for four people.

Ingredients
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups sliced shallots (about 8 ounces)
1/8 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon water
4 (8-ounce) packages presliced mushrooms
2 tablespoons dry Marsala or Madeira
2/3 cup low-fat sour cream**
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
8 sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed
Cooking spray
1/3 cup dry breadcrumbs, divided
1 tablespoon butter, melted
Preparation
Preheat oven to 400°.


Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and sugar; cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Sprinkle with water; cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until shallots are soft.

Add mushrooms; cook, uncovered, over medium-high heat 20 minutes or until liquid evaporates, stirring frequently. Add Marsala; cook 1 minute. Remove from heat, and cool. Stir in sour cream, parsley, salt, thyme, and pepper.
(I actually am not a big fan of sour cream so instead of sour cream I added two slices of the laughing cow light swiss cheese wedges, it gave it a creamier consistency and added a bit more flavor than I thought the sour cream would have given it)


Place 1 phyllo sheet on a large cutting board or work surface (cover remaining dough to keep from drying), and lightly coat with cooking spray. Sprinkle with about 2 teaspoons breadcrumbs. Repeat the layers with 3 phyllo sheets, cooking spray, and breadcrumbs, ending with the phyllo. Spoon 1 3/4 cups mushroom mixture along 1 long edge of phyllo, leaving a 1-inch border. Starting at the long edge with the 1-inch border, roll up jelly roll fashion. Place strudel, seam side down, on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Tuck ends under. Repeat the procedure with the remaining phyllo sheets, cooking spray, breadcrumbs, and mushroom mixture. Brush strudels with butter. Bake strudels at 400° for 20 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes. Cut each strudel into 4 slices.

In the reviews, some stated that they had trouble with wrapping the mushroom mixture in phyllo. Phyllo is pretty forgiving if you are encasing food in many layers of phyllo, if it rips while you are wrapping the phyllo, just add another layer on top and no one will notice. You just have to make sure to move quickly as phyllo dries quickly which causes it to rip faster. Also, I would check the strudel about after 10 minutes, it might not need as much as 20 minutes in the oven

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Flatbread Dough

I have really stayed away from trying to make fresh bread for a while now. Last time I tried, I put a lot of heart and time into this honey wheat bread and it never rose....so after that I was a bit disheartened and strayed away from any baked products that required yeast. Last week, I thought it was time that I stepped it up and tried to make amends with my long lost friend...yeast.
Seeing that this was my re-entry into the dough world.. I thought I would attempt something less intimidating...flatbread dough. I mean after all if it doesn't rise, it is supposed to be flat right? It was a success and I found a go to flatbread recipe! So thought I would share the wealth!

Flatbread Dough
2 and 1/4 cups flour (divided)*
1 package yeast**
6 TBSP warm water (100-110 degrees)
1/2 cup warm water (100-110 degrees)
1/2 tsp salt
dash of sugar

*I won't lie I didn't bother dividing the flour right away
**I used regular activating yeast

Dissolve sugar and yeast in 6 TBSP warm water in a large bowl, stir in 1/4 cup flour and let stand 30 mins or until bubbly.

Then add 1 and 3/4 cup flour, 1/2 cup warm water and salt to the yeast mixture, stir until soft dough forms.Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface, knead until smooth and elastic. (about 8 minutes) Add enough remaining flour to prevent dough from sticking to hands) Place dough in large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top.Cover and let rise in a warm place (85 degrees) and free from drafts.Let rise one hour or until doubled in size.
A couple of important things I realized this time around. I used a thermometer to check the temp of the water - this is very important! I realized that in the past my idea of warm was actually hot and it killed the yeast! This time around having the thermoter really helped!
Also it was really cold in my apartment that day so it was hard to find a warm spot to let the dough rise. My best friend Risa suggested setting my oven to the lowest temp and then placing my bowl of dough on top of the oven. Risa is a genius! Thanks my BFF! (not to be confused with my BF - BFF is best friends forever, and BF is boyfriend..yes I am still in grade school) If you do decide to go the oven route, make sure you don't use a metal/steel bowl because that conducts heats quickly and there is a chance it could start baking the dough)

Chicken Satay

We had a dinner party last week and I thought that chicken satay would be a party friendly finger food to have. Who doesn't like chicken satay with peanut butter sauce!

Here is what you need.

Skewers
4 TBSP peanut butter (I used creamy)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup lemon or lime juice (I used lemon)
1 TBSP brown sugar
2 TBSP curry powder
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 tsp hot pepper sauce
6 skinless boneless chicken breast cut into long strips

For best results, marinate the chicken in the chicken satay sauce overnight.

Before cooking you will need to soak the skewers in water for at least 20 minutes. (That way if you are grilling them, the sticks do not burn)

I grilled half of the chicken skewers on my george foreman and it turned out great. We also put half in the oven since we had so many and needed them to cook quickly but if you have time, I highly recommend the grill.

I also found a peanut sauce that went well with the chicken satays!

PEANUT SAUCE
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 TBSP hoisin sauce
1 TBSP fish sauce or soy sauce
1/4 cup water

I added a bit more peanut butter and water to this recipe but I would recommend tasting the original one first and then adding whatever you think it might need more of!

Pumpkin Cheesecake

I love pumpkin pie and I like cheesecake so I thought it would be interesting to make a pumpkin pie cheesecake, which has more emphasis on the pumpkin than cheesecake.

As per usual, I looked to my fav source, Cooking Light for a pumpkin cheesecake recipe. I mean cheesecake is without a doubt going to be somewhat fattening so I wanted to mediate as much damage as possible!

Here is the recipe below.

Ingredients
Cooking spray
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 4 cookie sheets)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 (8-ounce) block fat-free cream cheese
1/2 cup (4 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
1 cup canned pumpkin
2 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 large eggs
1/2 cup frozen reduced-calorie whipped topping, thawed
Cinnamon (optional)

Preheat oven to 325°.

I was a little wary about just putting the graham cracker crumbs without anything to hold them together, so I found another crust recipe. I used 8 graham crackers and I mixed them with one egg white and a 1/2 tablespoon with sugar and baked this for 8 minutes.



Then Combine sugars and cream cheeses in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add pumpkin and next 9 ingredients (through eggs), and beat well.


Pour cheese mixture into prepared pan. Bake at 325° for 35 minutes or until center is just set. Turn oven off, and partially open oven door. Cool cheesecake in oven 1 hour.

Remove cheesecake from oven, and cover. Chill at least 8 hours or overnight. Serve with whipped topping, and sprinkle topping with cinnamon, if desired.



I did some variations of my own. I omitted the sour cream since I didn't have any on hand and I never really eat sour cream. I added the whole can of pumpkin since I love pumpkin but the cheesecake did taste more pumpkiny than cheesecakey..which was fine with me. If you like more of a cheesecake flavor, I would follow the instructions for only adding one cup then. I did not have any ground ginger so I added a teaspoon of pumpkin spice and did not add additional nutmeg or cloves. I also did not serve it with a whipped topping since I thought it might be rich enough.

All American Chili

Nothing says warm comfort food better than chili..and what could be better than an All American Chili recipe. I found this recipe in guess where..yes Cooking Light! (You know how Rachel Ray is know for saying EVOO all of the time, well I guess I will be known for cooking CL recipes)

Anyways I really like this recipe. It is unique in that you use red wine in this chili. It was my first time adding red wine to chili, and the red wine flavor really came through on this one and tasted absolutely tummy warming and delicious!

Ingredients
6 ounces hot turkey Italian sausage*
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped green bell pepper**
8 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound ground sirloin***
1 jalapeño pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cumin
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 bay leaves
1 1/4 cups Merlot or other fruity red wine
2 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes, undrained and coarsely chopped
2 (15-ounce) cans kidney beans, drained
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese

*I used beef spicy italian sausage since the turkey sausages only came in big packs.
** I omitted the green pepper.
*** I used one pound of ground turkey.

Preparation
Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Remove casings from sausage. Add sausage, onion, and the next 4 ingredients (onion through jalapeño) to pan; cook 8 minutes or until sausage and beef are browned, stirring to crumble.

Add chili powder and the next 7 ingredients (chili powder through bay leaves), and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in wine, tomatoes, and kidney beans; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Uncover and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Discard the bay leaves. Sprinkle each serving with cheddar cheese.

Polenta with Corn and Thyme

It has only been in the past year that I have started to understand the wonders of polenta. According to Wikipedia, polenta is made with ground yellow or white cornmeal (ground maize) originally made with Chestnut meal in ancient times.

It can be ground coarsely or finely depending on the region and the texture desired. What is also funny about polenta is that it was originally and still is classified as a peasant food. It is has only been in this late 20th century that polenta has become more popular in gourmet food.

The greatest thing about polenta is that it's so easy to make and you can do so many different things with it. I found a creamy corn polenta recipe in Martha's Stewart's Every day Food magazine. (I know quite different from my normal CL's issues)

In large saucepan, melt 1 TBSP unsalted butter over medium heat, add 1 cup frozen corn and 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves. Cook, stirring occasionally, until corn is warmed through, about 1 minute.
Add one cup whole milk (I used 2% milk) and 1 and 1/2 cups water and bring it to a boil. Slowly whisk in 1/2 cup fine yellow cornmeal. (Be sure to follow these instructions and use a whisk! Otherwise it will get clumpy!)
Cook, sitrring constantly until mixture is thick and creamy, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 1 TBSP butter and 1/4 cup grated parmesan. Season with coarse salt and ground pepper. Serve immediately. Serves four.



I served this corn polenta with the honey spiced rub drumsticks. I added a little more red pepper this time and I ran out of honey so I did not glaze the drumsticks with honey. The extra red pepper gave the chicken a kick! The creamy, cheesy and buttery taste of the polenta went excellent with the spicy chicken!