Grilled Polenta Cakes

Now that May is here it is time for weddings, graduations and Air Force inductions. Well ok most of you don't have any Air Force inductions coming up, but we do. My son, Joel, is graduating from college and getting inducted into the Air Force. If you have been reading my blog for awhile you might remember that he already completed 4 years in the Marines, but that wasn't good enough for him he decided he wanted to be a pilot. So he is going into the Air Force now to become a pilot. We also have a wedding coming up. So in the next couple of weeks my posts maybe kind of sporadic. In the meantime enjoy this appetizer that is consistently one of my most viewed recipes.


Grilled Polenta Cakes with Bruschetta Topping

Tomato Topping
2 tomatoes, cut into a small dice
2 tbs Kalamata olives, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
4 basil leaves, cut into fine ribbons

Add all ingredients to a bowl and drizzle with enough olive oil to coat thourghly coat the mixture.

Polenta Cakes
Make polenta according to the package or your regular method. Then pour it into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish, that has been sprayed with no-stick spray. Let the polenta cool for a few minutes and then refrigerate so it will firm up. After polenta has firmed up use a 2 1/2 to 3 inch cookie cutter or a glass with an equivalent opening to cut out the cakes.
Preheat the grill to medium high.
Take the polenta cakes and put them on a well oiled grill, to prevent them from sticking. Cook until polenta has good grill marks and then flip them over and cook until you get the grill marks again.
Top each polenta cake with the tomato mixture.

Polenta with Mushroom & Sausage Sauce

Polenta, grits, mush, gruel or porridge is all pretty much the same thing, boiled cornmeal. The big difference comes from the type of corn used and whether it is ground coarsely or fine or anywhere in between. Anyway you look at it polenta is good and found through out the world in one form or another. The dish itself is rather bland until you add something to it, such as cheese or put something on it like a sauce. Today I topped it with a sauce.

Polenta with Mushroom & Sausage Sauce
Polenta:
Polenta, Grits or cornmeal
water
Sauce:
1 tbs Olive Oil
2 Hot Italian Sausages, casing removed, cut into 1/2 moons
4 oz Mushrooms, cut into large pieces
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
1 tbs Tomato Paste
1 24 oz can Crushed Tomatoes

For the Polenta:
Since I don't know whether you are cooking grits, polenta or cornmeal and how coarsely it is ground I am going to go out on a limb here and tell you to follow the directions on the package. You can add cheese, butter or any other flavoring that you desire.

For the Sauce:
Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. When the oil is shimmering add the sausage and mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms start to brown. Add the garlic and let it cook for 30 seconds, then add the tomato paste. Let the tomato paste cook for a minute or so and then add the tomatoes. When the sauce starts to bubble, turn the sauce to low and let it cook until you are ready to eat. The longer you let it cook the thicker it will become.  Don't let it become to thick and dried out, but if you do add a little water or wine to loosen it back up and cook until it reaches your desired consistency.
Plating:

Polenta is traditionally served family style on a wooden board. I shaved a little parmesan cheese and sprinkled some basil ribbons over the top. The basil was more to give the photo some color than anything else. I highly recommend a glass of red wine to go with this.

Grilled Polenta Cakes with Bruschetta Topping

My brother, Bob, came to visit me this past weekend. He wanted me to recreate the dinner that I blogged about when I went to Paula's from Bell' Alimento for a cooking lesson. Now what do you do with leftover polenta cakes? I narrowed my options down to grilling them or putting frosting on them setting them on a paper plate and leaving them in the break room at work. The second would have been funnier but I am glad I went with the first. I think my co-workers are glad I opted for the first option as well.

Grilled Polenta Cakes with Bruschetta Topping

Tomato Topping
2 tomatoes, cut into a small dice
2 tbs Kalamata olives, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
4 basil leaves, cut into fine ribbons
Olive oil to cover the mixture

Polenta Cakes
Preheat the grill to medium high.
Make a batch of Paula's Polenta Cakes right up to the point where you you get the saute pan.
Take the polenta cakes and put them on a well oiled grill, to prevent them from sticking. Cook until polenta has good grill marks and then flip and repeat.
Top each polenta cake with the tomato mixture.