Once Upon a Time in Verona

About 10 years ago, a couple of friends and I found ourselves in Verona. It wasn't well planned (okay, it wasn't planned at all), but when disaster struck, we treated ourselves to a delicious meal. Ten years later, all I remember about the meal was that it was the first time I ever had polenta - and it was absolutely delicious!!! Then a few weeks ago, I took a cooking class and we made polenta which inspired tonight's dinner...

Polenta with Zucchini, Onion & Tomatoes
Ingredients:
EVOO
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium zucchini, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 cup diced canned tomatoes (try not to get much juice)
kosher salt & ground black pepper
4 1/2 cups water
1 1/3 cups coarse or medium cornmeal
grated Parmesan

--> In a medium saucepan, bring the water and ~1 tsp salt to a boil. Add the cornmeal slowly, whisking constantly. Also whisk in a few drizzles of EVOO (~2-3tbsp). Reduce the heat to a simmer, stirring frequently with a spoon until the polenta is thick, it takes ~20 minutes. Be careful with this, if the heat is too high, the polenta will pop and you do not want it to hit your skin. Stir in the grated Parmesan cheese while the polenta is still in the pot and hot.

--> While the polenta is cooking, heat up a large stirfry pan over medium heat and drizzle with EVOO. When hot, add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion starts to brown, about 5 minutes. Then add the zucchini, stir and continue to cook until the zucchini starts to brown. Add the tomatoes (fresh & canned) and then some salt and pepper. Simmer until thick, takes about 10 minutes.

--> When both the vegetables and polenta are done, spoon the polenta onto a plate and top with the veggie mixture and serve. YUM.

It's Chili Out

Sorry for the sort of cheesy post title, but it's early in the morning and my creative juices aren't quite flowing yet. But, the winter is quickly settling in here in New York, so it is time for me to throw together a big pot of turkey chili. Last year I made my turkey chili so spicy that my sister couldn't touch it, so I scaled back just a little this year...

Turkey Chili
Ingredients:
1 pound ground turkey
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, diced
1 large red bell pepper, diced
1 ancho chile (if you have any left), diced
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 can (28 oz) whole tomatoes in the juice
1 can (15.5oz) black beans - drained
1/2 cup water
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tbsp each cumin, red cayenne pepper, oregano
kosher salt
ground black pepper
EVOO

--> Heat large stock pot over medium heat - add EVOO and once hot, add turkey. Salt & pepper the turkey once it is in the pot. I added the garlic cloves about halfway into the cooking of the turkey. When the turkey is almost done, add the onions, peppers, and chile. Stir occasionally to get the onions and peppers cooked until onions turn golden. Add the brown sugar - mix thoroughly, then add tomatoes with their juices, the beans and the water. Follow all of these ingredients with the spices. The spice amounts are rough estimates and to your liking (the red cayenne pepper will give a nice kick so be careful with this one). Add more salt & pepper to taste as well.

--> As the liquid mixture starts to boil, lower the heat to simmer and cover. Keep on the heat for at least another 30 minutes. Make sure to taste your chili during the cooking process and add more spice if necessary. The chili freezes well too, so don't feel like you need to eat it all in one sitting - it's a long winter!