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.

Sausage gravy

Any cuisine that will put marshmallows on top of sweet potatoes is in serious trouble, but even so southern cooking does have some wonderful dishes. One of my favorites is sausage gravy, served for breakfast over freshly baked buttermilk biscuits. You probably will not want lunch after this! The recipe serves 4 generously, or 8 as part of a larger breakfast. It may be halved.

1 lb bulk breakfast sausage
1/3 c minced onion
6 TB flour
3-4 c hot milk
Black pepper, freshly ground–a lot, maybe 1 TB
1 TB butter (optional)
Big pinch hot pepper flakes (optional)
Salt as needed

Sauté the sausage and onion together, breaking up the sausage into small bits, until the onion is clear and the sausage is cooked. If there is a lot of fat that has rendered, remove all but 3-4 TB. If you want the butter flavor, add it now. Sprinkle the flour over the sausage and onions and cook, stirring, for a couple of minutes. Stir in 3c of the milk, half the black pepper, and the red pepper (if you are using it), and cook, stirring, until thickened. Add additional milk as needed to get the desired consistency. Add remaining black pepper and salt to taste and simmer for another minute to meld the flavors.