Eat Polenta, Be Happy

So, I've decided to try to revitalize this blog this summer (was it ever really alive, though?), so here goes.  (Also, Helvetica is a font type now.  Good job, blogger, you win.)

Let's start this post with an interactive question: Did you know that polenta is GREAT?  

Oh.  You did?  Okay, sure.  Because you are better than everyone, good for you.  Well, I did not because...I'm a lifetime learner. Whatever.  Here is the recipe for my inaugural polenta experience (again, sorry for no pictures):

Polenta with Caramelized Onions and Mushroom Sauce
Polenta can be purchased dry and quick-cooked on the stovetop, or, if you're lucky, you'll find the weird tube of already cooked polenta to slice and use as you wish (thanks to Katie Klug for telling my lazy self about this, and to Marsh for being the only store in Bloomington that carries it).  If using pre-cooked polenta, you can bake in oven at 315 F for about 15 minutes or heat on the stove top (or, heat it in the microwave, but really, don't).  

Makes about 3-4 servings.  
(Since I'm single, I made the mushroom sauce at Time 1, and then, per serving, sauteed 1/2 onion + 1 garlic clove + 1/3-1/4 of the polenta to order.)

Polenta
1 1/2 onion
3-5 cloves of garlic*
10-16 oz of mushrooms** 
About 1 cup milk and/or stock***
1-2 tablespoons flour or corn starch**** 
A few tablespoons olive oil
Thyme, salt, peper to taste

If baking polenta, preheat oven to 315 F before starting.

For the Sauce:
Cut mushrooms into pieces.  I like my mushroom pieces sort of small, so I halve and slice them, but you can make them as big or small as you like.  Heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a pot on medium. While the oil heats, mince 1-2 cloves of garlic.  Add garlic to heated oil for about 15 seconds; then add mushrooms.  Let mushrooms cook until wilted; about 10 minutes.  Add flour or corn starch and stir until smooth.  Start adding milk or stock in parts and bring sauce to a simmer, continuing to add liquid until you have the desired amount and consistency - you may end up using less than 1 cup or more than 1 cup.  Add thyme, salt, and pepper to taste.  Let simmer for a little longer and then take off heat.

For Everything Else:
If baking polenta, slice, rub a little olive oil, salt, and pepper on the slices and bake in a baking dish or cookie sheet for about 15 minutes.  If cooking on stove top, just slice and let chill out on the countertop while you: Julienne onion and mince 2-3 cloves of garlic. Heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan on medium to medium-low heat.  Add in garlic and onion.  Let sauté and then reduce heat to medium-low to low and leave onions be.  This will help them caramelize.  If starting to get brown, push onions around (yeah, go ahead, you pusher) and possibly reduce heat.  Add in polenta slices and cook until warm.

DONE.  Sort of.  Place polenta slices on plate.  Or, if you want less geometric polenta, mush polenta. Top with caramelized onions, and then top that with mushroom sauce.   

If you're feeling audacious, or just hungry, add in a nice green veggie. Tonight I cut up some zucchini and added it into the onion/garlic mixture before adding in polenta (being a vegetarian means I will take extra vegetables wherever I can get them).  You could also be more ambitious and actually toss a green salad or something.  That would be nice.

*I use about 2 cloves of garlic for the sauce and 1 clove of garlic (and 1/2 an onion) for every serving, but I've been told I'm a crazy garlic fiend, so...

**I used crimini because they're relatively cheap but flavorful.  Wild mushrooms would be great in this though.

***I like to do half milk and half stock.  You could also use cream, but I'm cheap.

****Oddly, I only had corn starch on hand, which results in what I think of as a sort of shellacked finish to the sauce and a slightly more gelatinous texture (it's really not that bad even though I made it sound horrid).