POLENTA

It has been a LONG winter here in Atlanta. Winter is NOT my favorite season. So, I have been doing a lot of hibernating lately and cooking up comfort food. Whenever I see a recipe featuring polenta I get the urge to make a big pot. Polenta screams comfort food to me. (no, I am not Italian) Just this last week it seemed polenta was featured everywhere I looked-New York Times, POLENTA, Los Angeles Times,POLENTA, even when I was flipping through the Silver Palate Cookbook, The New Basics, POLENTA. The NY Times version featured Mark Bittman (I adore him) making a stove top version, I made it. (if you haven't check out the NY Times Food section on Wednesdays and Mark Bittman's video recipe clips, they are the best). Then I brought up the LA Times food section online and polenta again. Russ Parsons, another favorite, shared his oven baked version. I tried that one too. The Silver Palate, The New Basics polenta was a little different, it was made with milk. You guessed it, I made that one too, creating a casserole with polenta, sausage and tomato layers. After making 3 different versions of polenta in one week, I did have my favorite, the oven baked method from the LA Times. Winter hibernation 2010 lunch, a big pot of oven polenta, roasted green asparagus, and sauteed shiitake mushrooms. Real food, real simple and SOOO delicious. My version of winter meets spring. Now, I just hope spring starts winning out over winter, sooner then later.

Polenta

adapted from Los Angeles Times -Russ Parsons

8 cups water

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 cups Bob's Red Mill Corn Grits also known as Polenta

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

1. Heat oven to 350 F. In a 3-4 qt oven proof pot combine water, salt, butter and corn grits. Bake uncovered for 1 hour and 20 minutes.

2. Stir polenta and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until polenta is the consistency desired.

3. Remove pot from oven and stir in Parmesan cheese. Let rest for 5 minutes.

Winter Pork and Fruit Ragout

Yesterday was my Sunday Kitchen Day. It started with a request from my daughter to make Cheddar, Bacon & Fresh Chive Biscuits~(I actually told her they were scones, oops) from the February 2010 Bon Appetit. I had made them a few weeks ago and she loved them, me, not so much. So, I cheated and made her Cheese SCONES from my favorite scone source, "The Cheeseboard Collective Works." I liked them better, she of course, liked the other ones-with bacon.

Anyway, that was how my day in the kitchen started. Then I needed to make a batch of cookies for my other daughter's tennis team match today, it ended up getting rained out. We'll probably eat those cookies instead of freezing them for the make up match.

But the reason I stayed in the kitchen, was to make one of my favorite winter recipes from the "Silver Palate Cookbook "(my version of Betty Crocker). WINTER PORK & FRUIT RAGOUT. I usually make it once a year, in the winter and somehow each time a new great memory is created around the ragout. This time it was priceless humor. My daughter was busy doing homework, it was around 5:00 p.m., we usually eat at 7:00(if my family is lucky according to them) and she continued to tell me how hungry she was. Meanwhile, the Pork and Fruit Ragout was in the oven baking and creating an aroma that filled the kitchen area. My daughter now declared she was getting so dizzy with hunger because it smelled so good. (Just what a cook/mom likes to hear...not the dizzy part, but the, it smells so good part). Not only does this Pork and Fruit Ragout produce an alluring appetite trigger, it tastes amazing. It was one of the first recipes I ever made from the "Silver Palate Cookbook." Over the years, I have made it for my family(they are so lucky), for company(great do-it-a-head dish), and party potlucks. I serve it with rice and a simple mixed green salad.

I did not hang up my apron yet. I had one more item on my list to make. I had bought a BIG container of blueberries(feeling superfood-ish) at Costco earlier in the week and had made a batch of Blueberry Muffins. I still had half a container left so, yes I made more Blueberry Muffins. I absolutely love Blueberry Muffins, they make school day mornings more bearable. You can imagine, blueberry muffins baking in the oven and Pork and Fruit Ragout, my daughter was really dizzy! Me too! Today, leftovers.

Winter Pork & Fruit Ragout
adapted from the Silver Palate Cookbook
serves 4-6

3 lb. pork tenderloin, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 dozen dried apricot halves
1 cup raisins
1 cup dry red wine
1 cup red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
3 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped
3 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 shallots, minced
1 cup dry white wine
1 quart Chicken Stock
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup honey

Preheat oven to 350 F

1. In a large bowl combine pork, apricots, raisins, red wine, red wine vinegar, dill, mint, thyme, cumin, and pepper. Marinate in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Stirring now and then.
2. Strain the pork and fruit. Reserve the marinade. Separate out pork and pat dry. Reserve fruit in a small bowl.
3. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan, brown the meat in small batches. Transfer the pork to a large dutch oven casserole.
4. Wipe out the frying pan, saute shallots for about 5 minutes over medium heat. Add reserve marinade and bring to a boil. Thicken slightly for a few minutes, pour over the meat.
5. Add the apricots, raisins, white wine, half the chicken stock, bay leaves, and honey to the dutch oven with pork. Stir to combine. Over medium high heat, bring to a boil. Cover and put in oven.
6. Bake for 75 minutes. Uncover pot, add more chicken stock if meat looks dry. Bake for another 30 minutes or until pork is fork tender.