Entertaining Continued

My friend Ivy says, that the Chinese say, that whatever you do on the first day of the New Year will be what you will be doing the whole year. I sure hope this is true, because I cooked a delicious meal, shared it with friends, made new friends, and thoroughly enjoyed myself. (I know what you're thinking--the Chinese have a totally different calendar...how can you transfer their superstitions? Well, mostly because I've heard it before and second because it encourages us to set an intention or tone for the year to come.)
The challenge was to not buy anything other than what we had in the fridge. Marcos did go out to buy a bottle of wine but that doesn't count because we weren't cooking with it. The menu was stacked polenta with portabello mushrooms, roasted red bell pepper and three cheeses, with a spinach salad on the side. Simple yet elegant. Wouldn't be in the kitchen all day, in fact only started cooking 2 hours before their arrival, and only because I was making the polenta from scratch.

Polenta

I use thick ground corn grits from South Carolina...if you don't have access to such delicacies there is usually a thicker grind grit, hopefully yellow corn, available at your gourmet or natural grocer. When I don't have any available from SC, I either call my Dad to send more or buy them in bulk from my local coop.

1 cup polenta, dry, thick ground corn

Salt (the water and the grits to taste)

Garlic (I used only what was available to me...the innards of a bulb of garlic, just enough:)

Basil, dried about 1 Tbsp

1 quart water (start with 2 cups though and slowly add more)

Boil two cups of water with a couple dashes of salt. When the water is boiling stir in the grits. It is important to stir because if you forget this step your polenta/grits will be lumpy. Add in the garlic, minced. Add in the basil and more salt. Stir again. The water will be absorbed quickly. Add more, stir. Continue adding more water and stirring when necessary. If you don't stir your grits/polenta will stick to the bottom of the pan and burn. Taste them and add enough salt to make it hard for you not to eat them all right now. Let them stand to cool and dehydrate. Cooking time is about 30 minutes but if you want to cook them a little longer they'll taste even better. You want them to cool and dry out as much as possible so forming them into cakes is easy, also if they're a little too wet the oil will splatter and pop in the pan. Cooking them at night and then refrigerating yields the best results. You can even put them in plastic cylindrical containers that will help form them into the classic polenta shape. Don't use glass because you'll have a time getting them out and the shape thing won't work out. I didn't do this because I wasn't sure what I was cooking exactly...and it was tasty nonetheless.

Now you have to fry them. Simply shape them into cakes, heat the oil in the pan (olive, medium heat, bout a tablespoon), drop them in. Make sure you're wearing an apron to prevent the splatters from marring your clothing. This part will take longer than you think. Don't flip them until they start to brown around the edges and hold together. Don't overcook either as they won't still be moist in the center. But they'll taste great regardless, and your friends will be impressed that you made your own polenta.

I roast my bell peppers over the open gas flame of the stove. If you do not have a gas oven then you have to broil them in the oven. Once the skin starts to blacken, remove from flame and let cool. Remove the skin either by hand or in a brown paper bag (by shaking), do not run them underwater as that removes some of the oils that are so tasty.

Pictured here are also two of the three cheeses I used. Tucumcari Feta and Tucumcari Green Chile Jack. (Both made in Tucumcari, New Mexico) The third was an Amish Blue, quite tasty as an accent cheese.

Sorry for the hand blur in that picture...obviously I wasn't taking the pictures this time, for the most part. You must marinate the mushrooms, this makes them juicy and delicious. I marinated mine in the following..

Mushroom Marinade

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

1 heaping teaspoon of garlic chile oil

3 tbsp. braggs

3 tsp. agave nectar

Lemon juice

2 teaspoons marjoram

water

splash leftover NYE champagne

I think that's all I used. I usually just mix stuff together following the Ayurvedic principles of taste: something salty, something sweet, something spicy, something bitter and something astringent. Works like a charm. Make sure you pour the marinade over the gills of the mushroom and then cover it. I usually have them marinading in the frying pan I will use. You will also cook them in the marinade making them extra tasty. Marinade for at least 20 minutes, cook for about 10 minutes over a medium flame.

Spinach

Spinach was my first layer, the bed of greens. I simply wilt the spinach in a bit of lemon juice, the water left on the leaves from washing and salt and pepper. Make sure to cover the leaves while they cook to maximize the steam. I typically will throw in some garlic but I had already used my supply in the polenta. Oh well, I didn't miss it anyways. Also the wilting of the spinach is only a matter of minutes, if you steam them too long they will start to deteriorate. Wilt only until they all begin to turn a darker green.

Polenta, Portabella, Roasted Red Bell Pepper & Three Cheese Stack

At this point you've done all the prep work and you can just stack it up. Start with the bed of greens, stack one polenta cake, layer with the green chile jack, then the portabella, next feta, then the bell pepper, then the Amish blue, then, if you're a New Mexican, strips of roasted green chile, finally top with another polenta cake (this may not fit exactly so just tilt it onto the side of the stack). If you like your food steaming you should throw the stacks into a warm oven before serving. So tasty...wish I had some pictures that weren't blurry :(

Spinach Salad (per each)

A handful of washed spinach

Chopped carrots

slices of pear

crumbled feta

halved walnuts

Drizzle with olive oil, braggs and cider vinegar for dressing

I know it sounds like I was in the kitchen all day but I wasn't. Started cooking at 5, guests arrived at 7, exactly when I was ready to plate. It may seem like a lot of steps but it's worth it. I even forgot the onions. In the past I have sliced onions so that the circles remain in tact, then fried them on a low heat to caramelize them. This adds a nice slightly gourmet touch. enjoy!