Broiled Polenta with Roasted Tomatoes

I hope you are all enjoying a wonderful Labor Day.
We have spent the weekend catching up with old
friends which was so nice!

We did our market shop this weekend and so
I have so many good choices to make for dinner.
This one is a new recipe that came out of

an Italian Step by Step cookbook.  I changed a few

of the ingredients and added the roasted tomatoes to

top of the dish.   

Broiled Polenta wtih Fennel Seeds

4 cups water

1 2/3 cup instant cornmeal ( I used half cornmeal , half polenta)

2 tbsp. butter

1 tbsp fennel seeds ( I decided to put them in my nut grinder instead of leaving them whole)

1/2 cup toasted almonds ( I added this ingredient and also put it in the nut grinder)

2 tbsp. finely chopped parsley
olive oil
salt and pepper

*Cheese is optional

Heat the water, add salt and bring to a boil.  Sprinkle in the cornmeal, stirring .
Stir the cornmeal for about 10-15 minutes over a medium heat.  The cornmeal will

begin to thicken and come away from the sides of the pan.  Take the pan off the heat

and add the butter, fennel, nuts and parsley.  Season with a little salt and pepper.
Brush or spray a rectangular dish with oil (medium - small dish).
Spoon the polenta in the dish and smooth out the surface.

 Let sit a few minutes until the polenta sets.
Flip the polenta over onto a cutting board (carefully).  Turn your broiler on high. 
Cut the polenta into slices.  Place the slices on a baking dish and brush with oil.

Put them in the oven on broil until the tops become lightly brown and crispy.

I also made roasted cherry tomatoes to put over the top.

I take cleaned cherry tomatoes and put them in dish with 

olive oil, a little balsamic vinegar, sliced garlic.

I put them in the oven on 400 degrees for about 35 minutes. 

At the end, when they are done cooking I add fresh basil.   

My polenta was served with a little Asiago cheese and

roasted tomatoes.

Tomato Tart

I found this fabulous recipe for a Tomato Tart in Cooking Light.
I had to hurry up and try it before tomato season is over.
We still have good tomatoes at some of the local farmer's markets
so I made this tart for dinner last week with a nice garden salad.

Tomato Tart
from Cooking Light
(with a few small changes)
 (14.1-ounce) package refrigerated pie dough or a pre-made pie crust
Cooking spray
2 1/2 ounces fontina cheese, shredded (about 2/3 cup)
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped
1/3 cup sliced shallots
3 heirloom tomatoes, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cornmeal
1 tablespoon thyme
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/4 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
1 1/2 tbs.  grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves
1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered


Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Roll dough to a 12-inch circle; press into a 9-inch deep-dish tart or springform pan coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with fontina, olives, and shallots. Arrange half of tomato slices over shallots Combine flour, cornmeal, and thyme; sprinkle over tomatoes. Top with remaining tomato slices; sprinkle with 3/4 teaspoon salt and pepper.

3. Combine milk, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and eggs; pour into pan. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes or until set; let stand 10 minutes. Top with basil.

4. Combine 1/4 teaspoon salt and cherry tomatoes. Slice tart; serve with cherry tomatoes.

* I made a few minor changes.  First, I used a pre-made crust . If you are going to do this you have to be careful how high you fill the tart.  For our tart, I cut up three different types of tomatoes: roma, heirloom and cherry tomatoes.  I also increased the amount of fresh parmesan to 1/3 cup. I had some pancetta so I added it into the tart as well.  My tart took a little longer than 40 minutes to bake but I would suggest checking on it as it cooks to determine when it is done. 

It was very, very good!

Watermelon, Feta , Olive Salad

I know , I know , I can hardly believe it has been a month since my last post!
So many good things are going on and so blogging had to be put on the back
burner.   As many of you know we started the 2012-2013 school year last week
and I am happy to say that it was a GREAT first week at my new school!


I sat down with the camera just a few minutes ago to see what food
photos I have saved that I haven't posted about yet. There are several recipes to
update all of you on.

Over the summer, my husband had some of his colleagues over for dinner.
They were all very nice.  Meka, who is from Finland, also enjoys cooking
so he put together this beautiful and delicious salad.

The salad was slices of watermelon, red onions that marinated in lime juice,
black olives, feta cheese chopped parsley and mint and then at the very
end a drizzle of olive oil over the top. This dish was both
stunning to the eye and delicious tasting.  

                                                                   Here is a photo!
                                      I will have to try to make this one on my own very soon.

Spinach and Ricotta Crepes - Gluten Free

I have been listening to so many people talk about Gluten Free recipes lately
that I thought I would give one a try. No one in my family has any gluten
allergies but I have several friends who do so learning a how to make a
gluten free meal will prove to be good resource. 

I liked this recipe for Spinach and Ricotta crepes because it reminded me of
Manicotti, which my family makes from scratch for Christmas Eve Dinner. 
I adapted this recipe from Simply Gluten Free.


Spinach and Ricotta Crepes

Ingredients


5 large organic, cage free eggs

7 tablespoons water – use divided

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Kosher or fine sea salt and pepper

Gluten free, non-stick cooking spray

2 tablespoon olive oil – use divided

4 cloves garlic, minced – use divided

1/2 cup chopped onion

6 ounces baby spinach leaves

2 cups ricotta cheese (part skim or full fat) at room temperature

¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1tbs. lemon zest

½ cup grated parmesan cheese – use divided

1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

½ cup fresh basil, chopped

1/2 tbs. dried oregano

Olive oil and Balsamic Vinegar for tomatoes



Directions:

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat, add the chopped onion and cook for 2 -3 minutes, add 2 minced garlic cloves and cook for about 1 more minute. Add the spinach, 1 teaspoon of salt, ½ teaspoon of pepper and cook, stirring, until the spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes. Let cool then place the spinach in a paper towel and squeeze out all the water. Place the spinach in a mixing bowl, add the ricotta cheese and ¼ cup of grated parmesan cheese, lemon zest, nutmeg and mix well. Set aside for now.


In a small casserole dish put your cherry tomatoes, 2 minced garlic cloves, 1/4 cup  or so of olive oil and 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and a sprinkle of dried oregano. Roast these tomatoes on 375 for about 20 - 25 minutes. Until the liquid gets a little thicker and the cherry tomatoes get real soft.   This can cook while you make and fill the crepes.  Add the fresh basil to the tomatoes when you take them out of the oven.    



With a fork, beat the eggs with 5 tablespoons water and a pinch of salt until the whites and yolks of the eggs are fully incorporated. Stir in the chopped parsley.

Heat a 6 inch non-stick crepe pan or small skillet over medium heat. Test the pan by dropping a tiny bit of water on it and listening for a "sizzle sound".  If you hear the sizzle - you are ready to start cooking.
Spray the pan lightly with some cooking spray. 
Pour or ladle about 3-4 tablespoons of the egg mixture into the pan (or enough to create a thin coating on the pan) .
Move the pan back and forth to evenly distribute the egg mixture.
Cook about 2 minutes or until the edges come away from the pan slightly and the bottom is browned. Carefully flip the crepe over and cook about one more minute then slide crepe out of pan onto a plate. Continue until you have 10-12 crepes.

Spray a 9 inch by 12 inch baking dish with some cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Place about 2 heaping tablespoons of the ricotta mixture on each crepe, roll into a log and place seam side down in the prepared baking dish. Repeat until all crepes have been filled and rolled. Sprinkle with the remaining parmesan cheese. Bake for 15 minutes or until the filling is warm.

Top the crepes with the roasted tomatoes and serve.

 This is a very savory dish. Nice and light. The roasted tomatoes add a nice sweetness
 to the creamy ricotta filling.  Ok my gluten free friends I found a dish I can make for you. 

Making Baby Cakes at the Viking School of Cooking

This week I took the "Baby Cakes" class at the Viking School of Cooking with my friend Linda.
We had a great time learning how to make four different types of mini cakes.  

The Menu was:
Pound Cake Petit Fours
Chocolate Bouchons
Mini Mason Jar Strawberry Cakes
Little Lemon Pudding Cakes

As you will see from the photos below ~ I think all the cakes turned out great!
My favorite was Lemon Pudding Cakes and the Chocolate Bouchons.

If you like interactive cooking classes you should check out the
Viking School of Cooking.
http://www.vikingcookingschool.com/hc-cgi-bin/hc?templ=new_vcs/calendar.html&store=36
The chefs that taught our class, Sandra & Leslie,
were super friendly and gave a lot of great tips to us as they showed us
how to make each cake.    You also get to keep all the recipes! 

                                                           Pound Cake Petit Fours

                                                 Mini Mason Jar Strawberry Cakes

                                                      


                                                               Chocolate Bouchons

                                   One of each on a plate for eating of course - YUM!!

Peachtree Road Farmers Market

Thank you Robin for introducing me to the Peachtree Road Farmers Market.

What a delightful market, super organized and filled with so many great vendors.

We enjoyed a wonderful Saturday morning at the market listening to music and strolling

along as we checked out each vendor. 

Jim had a very yummy blueberry and peach tart from

the Red Queen of Tarts.

http://www.redqueentarts.com/

I had a excellent apple and cheddar tart from

the Little Tart Bakeshop.

http://www.littletartatl.com/

and of course we had to stop by the

King of Pops cart and try

some of their homemade pops.

              There were so many other great vendors but we couldn't get treats from all of them.
                                                                     
                                                                 H&F Bread Company

Greendale Farm - selling Artisanal Raw Milk Cheeses

 .

Souper Jenny

Peachtree Road Farmers Market, we will be back!!



Crock Pot Pulled Pork

There are not a lot of recipes on my blog that involve the crock pot and
that's not because I don't like it ~ it's just a different type of cooking.
Most of the time I enjoy the chopping, sautéing, multi-tasking that preparing
a meal usually requires but there area lso times where I wish making
dinner took less of my time.

I find that crock pot cooking is great for those times when you don't have
the time to be in the kitchen for hours but you still want a good meal. 
The beauty of crock pot cooking is you can put all the ingredients in the
 pot and walk away or even go to work and come back to a good meal.

This is a very easy recipe for Pulled Pork that is made in a crock pot.
The pork turns out so tender and has a wonderful flavor.


Pulled Pork Recipe


4-5 lb. Pork Shoulder or Boston Butt
1  ( 18 ounce) bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce
1 (12 ounce ) can of Root Beer
1/2 cup of Chipotle Enchilada Sauce
1 tbsp of spicy mustard
1 tsp. of chipotle seasoning


Pour all the ingredients in the crock pot
except the pork shoulder.  Mix the sauces
and seasonings around until they are
combined. Place the pork shoulder in the
crock pot.  It is ok if it is not completely
covered with the sauce.  Use a spoon
to pour a little sauce over the top.


Cook the pork on low for 7 -8 hours
turning it once or twice. 


You will know when it is done because
the pork will be so tender it will break
apart easily with a fork. 



I only had a 3.5 lb pork shoulder and it cooked for about
6 hours. It fell apart so easily.   I sauted onions and apples
 in a little butter and added a little spicy mustard and a
splash of apple cider vinegar. 

                                 I place the pulled pork on nice rolls and topped it with
                                                           the onion, apple mixture.
                                                                  EXCELLENT!