Sausage and peppers on polenta

Polenta is a great thing, but many people shy away from it because of the work involved, which mainly consists of 30 minutes or more standing at the stove stirring. But if you have a microwave–and who doesn’t–this drudgery can be avoided with results that are 100% as good. And this dish and many others can become an everynight thing.

The Polenta

• 4 cups water
• 3/4 c coarse corn meal
• Pinch salt
• 2 TB butter
• 2-4 TB crumbled/grated cheese such as gorgonzola (or other blue cheese), romano, parmesan, etc.

You need a 2 quart souffle or similar baking dish. A round dish makes stirring easier but is not essential. The cooking times depend on the power of your oven, so pay attention.

Put the corn meal, water, and salt in the baking dish and stir to make sure there are no lumps. Put in the microwave on high power for 6-8 minutes. Stir well, cover with a paper towel (in case of splatters), and cook on high for another 6-8 minutes. Stir again and if it’s still thinner than you like (it will thicken a bit more when it sits) cook for a minute or two more.

Remove from the oven and stir in the butter, cheese, and a bit of pepper if you like. Let sit, covered, for 5-10 minutes and serve.

The Sausage and Peppers

A very simple yet tasty topping for the polenta.

• 2 TB olive oil
• 4 links Italian sausage cut into 1/2 inch coins
• 4 red/yellow/orange bell peppers, stemmed and seeded and cut into pinky-size strips
• 1 medium onion, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch thick half rings
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
• 1 can diced tomatoes, drained, juice reserved

Put the first 5 ingedients in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring now and then, until everything is cooked thru and starting to brown just a bit. Put in the tomatoes and cook for another few minutes. For a saucier result, add the tomato juice. Correct seasoning and serve over the polenta.

Kimchee seafood pancakes

We had these at a Korean food stall in a nearby H-Mart and fell in love. Why not make our own? They are quite easy and make for a quick dinner when served with some Korean pickles and a bowl of rice.

At the heart of these is, of course, kimchee. It’s widely available in Asian markets and even some better-stocked supermarkets. It’s also easy and satisfying to make your own if you have a bit of time and space in the fridge. It keeps for months, getting slowly more and more sour, and has dozens of uses beyond pancakes, such as biscuits, soups, and fried rice. A web search will turn up dozens of recipes; this is my current favorite: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1023243-tongbaechu-kimchi-whole-napa-cabbage-kimchi.

OK, on to the pancakes. You can vary the seafood, using all shrimp or adding some squid, etc.

• 3/4 c medium size shrimp, raw
• 1 small skinned fillet of cod, haddock, or similar fish
• 1-1/2 c AP flour (or 1 c flour and 1/2 c rice flour)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 egg beaten
• 1 c roughly chopped kimchee
• 1/4 c kimchee brine
• 3-4 scallions
• 1-1/2 c cold water (about)
• Neutral oil for frying

For the sauce

• 1/3 c light soy sauce (such as Kikkoman)
• 1/3 c rice wine vinegar
• 2 TB water
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 TB toasted sesame seeds

Mix all the sauce ingredients and stir to dissolve the sugar. Set aside.

Peel, devein, and cut shrimp into 1/2″ pieces. Cut fish into same size chunks. You should have about 1-1/2 c seafood. Cut scallion whites and part of the greens into 1/2″ pieces.

Mix the flour(s), salt, brine, most of the water, and egg to form a batter similar in consistency to what you use for traditional breakfast pancakes. Add a bit more water if needed. Stir in the seafood, scallions, and kimchee. Ready to cook!

You can make a couple of large (10-12 “) pancakes which you will cut up before serving. Or a larger number of smaller ones (5-6 “) for individual servings. To speed things along, you may want to have 2 or more pans going at once. Nonstick pans are best for this.

Heat your pans over medium high heat and add 1/8 inch neutral oil. When the oil is shimmering, ladle in some batter and spread to about 1/2 inch thickness. Cook undisturbed until the bottom is nicely browned, then flip and brown the second side. Poke with a fork to ensure it is cooked thru then remove from pan. If necessary, keep warm in a low oven while you cook the remaining pancakes.

Serve with the sauce which may be used for dipping or be drizzled on top.

Lemon-ricotta pancakes

Luxurious and a nice change from your standard buttermilk pancakes. Serve with butter and maple syrup, fruit compote, etc.

• 1/2 c + 2 TB AP flour
• 2 TB table sugar
• 1/2 TB baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Zest of 1 large lemon
• 1/2 TB vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 c ricotta
• 1/3 c buttermilk
• 2 TB butter, melted and cooled a bit

Thoroughly mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk together the remaining ingredients then whisk into the dry until well blended. Add a bit more flour or buttermilk if needed to get the right consistency. Cook in a nonstick skillet over medium heat for 2-3 min or until bubble rise to the surface. Flip and cook for another minute or 2 until the bottom is lightly browned. Serve immediately.

Chili with ground beef and beans

Chili is great food for cold weather–it is January as I write this. There are jillions of recipes, with beans or not, with tomatoes or not, with ground or cubed meat. This has become our regular go-to chili and because it freezes well we make big batches and almost always have some in the freezer. Also it can be made a few days ahead and reheated.

While some chilis are made without beans, I think they are an important part of a good chili. Most important, they taste good, but also are nutritious and low cost. You can use canned but I prefer to cook my own. Pinto beans or red kidney beans are traditional.

The chili flavor is of course the center of the dish. While some recipes go to the trouble of toasting, cleaning, and grinding dried peppers, I have found you can get equally good if not better results with high quality chili powder. This is *not* the chili powder off the rack at the supermarket! I like to mail order it from the southwest, where the best chilis are grown. I can recommend the company Made in New Mexico for really good chili powder and other regional foods.

Cumin is a major spice here. While you can buy ground cumin, you’ll get much better results by toasting and grinding your own.

You’ll note the treatment of the ground beef with salt and baking soda. I learned this technique from a cooking magazine. The baking soda quickens the browning of the meat so you get a decent result before the meat overcooks.

How to serve this? Over plain rice is one idea. I also like to put a piece of cornbread in a bowl and top with the chili. Or cornbread on the side. Homemade tortilla chips are good too. You can top it with various things such as grated cheese, chopped radishes or red onion, chopped cilantro, sour cream, chopped scallions, avocado, etc.

• 1 lb dry pinto beans or 3-15 oz cans
• 2 lb ground beef, preferably 85% lean chuck
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 large or 6 small garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1/4 c vegetable oil or bacon drippings
• 1 to 4 TB chili powder, to taste (mild to spicy!)
• 2 TB ground cumin
• 1 TB garlic powder
• 1 TB paprika, preferably the Spanish smoked kind
• 1 TB dried oregano, preferably Mexican
• 1-15 oz can diced tomatoes with liquid
• 1 TB sugar
• 1/2 TB ground black pepper
• 2 TB balsamic vinegar

For dry beans, wash and put in a large pan covered by about 2″ of water. Bring to a boil, remove from heat, and cover. After about an hour, drain and discard the liquid. Add fresh water to cover and bring to a simmer. Start checking after 40 minutes, it might take up to an hour. When they are “al dente” – still a bit firm – remove from heat and drain, reserving the liquid. Set aside.

For canned beans, drain, reserving the liquid, and set aside.

Mix the beef thoroughly with the baking soda and salt, adding 2 TB water. Hands are great for this! Set aside for at least 15 min.

Heat the oil (medium-high heat) in a large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring, for about 5 min. Add the ground beef and cook, stirring, until the beef is browned. This may take 10-15 min. Don’t break the beef into tiny pieces, leave it in 1/4 to 1/2 inch chunks. It will give off some liquid. Add the chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, paprika, and oregano. Stir for a few minutes.

Add the beans, tomatoes, sugar, and black pepper along with 1 c water and enough bean liquid to give the consistency of a really thick soup. Cover and bring to a slow simmer for 1-1/2 hours, stirring every now and then. Add water if needed.

Add vinegar. Taste for salt and add if needed. Stir well before serving.

Cultured butter

Butter is surprisingly easy to make at home, and even better–you can make cultured butter with its richer and more interesting taste. This is nothing more than butter made from cream that has been allowed to ferment a bit.

• 4 c heavy or whipping cream, preferably not ultrapasteurized
• 1/2 c plain whole milk yogurt.
• Kosher salt (optional)

Thoroughly mix the cream and yogurt, cover loosely, and let sit on the counter for 24-46 hours. It will thicken a bit and taste a bit tangy. Put in the fridge for an hour or two to chill down to 55-60 degrees.

Put cream mixture in a food processor. Zap it until it “breaks” — this can take as little as 2 minutes or as many as 6. When it breaks it will be very obvious–the mixture will quickly go from looking sort of like whipped cream to a bunch of small yellow globs floating in a pale liquid (that’s the buttermilk). Pour into a strainer lined with a couple of layers of cheesecloth and let drain.

Have some ice water ready. Transfer the ball of butter to a bowl and add 1/2 c ice water. Mush the butter around with your fingers to wash out remaining buttermilk. Pour off the liquid and repeat 2-3 times until the liquid runs clear. If you want salted butter, knead in 1/2 tsp salt. That’s it– you have butter. You can use wax paper to roll it into one or more logs, press it into small ramekins, etc. Keeps refrigerated for a couple of weeks and can be frozen.

Note: You can save the buttermilk and use it for all sorts of things. Apparently pigs love it. On a more realistic note, use it in baking, add to cream soups, etc. Be aware that this traditional buttermilk is not the same as the cultured buttermilk sold in markets and the two cannot be used interchangeably.

Tomato galette

It’s the peak of tomato season as I write this, and as an avowed tomato lover I am always looking for creative ways to use them. This galette is relatively simple and is a delicious and elegant addition to a summery dinner or alone as a light lunch. I think it’s best served warm–not hot–or at room temperature.

• Your favorite homemade pie crust. If you make enough for a 2-crust pie, you will use only half and the rest can be frozen. Or, use store-bought.
• 1-1/2 lb ripe tomatoes (about 3 medium)
• 1-1/2 c grated or crumbled cheese (cheddar, feta, gouda, asiago, etc.)
• 1/3 c pesto (see note below)
• 2 large or 4 small cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
• 1 egg beaten
• 2 TB snipped chives or thinly slivered basil

Note: If you don’t have pesto, you can finely mince 1/2 c fresh basil leaves and mix with olive oil and a pinch of salt to make a paste.

Make the dough and let sit in the fridge while completing the other steps.

Heat oven to 400 degrees with rack in middle position.

Slice the tomatoes 1/4 inch thick and sprinkle with 1/2 TB salt. Let sit in a colander to drain for at least 20 min. Spread out on a double layer of paper towels and put another double layer on top, pressing down lightly with your hand. Let sit while you roll out the dough. Getting the excess moisture out prevents a soggy galette.

Put the dough on a piece of parchment paper and roll to a 14 inch circle. Trim the edge if needed–it does not have to be perfectly smooth. Trim excess parchment.

Spread the pesto over the dough, leaving 1-1/2 inches clear around the edge. Sprinkle half of the cheese over the pesto followed by half the tomatoes, half the garlic, and a grinding of pepper. Repeat.

Fold the bare edges of the dough up and over the filling. Slide the assembly onto a baking sheet and brush the edges with egg. Bake, rotating the baking sheet half a turn at 30 min. Start checking at 50 min. It is done when the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling in places.

Remove from oven, sprinkle with chives or basil, and let cool for about 10 min before transferring to a rack. Remove parchment.