Obviously I have been sparse for the past, oh, two years in blogging. I do enjoy it, but everything goes to the back-burner when you are A) Are a first year teacher and then B) all of a sudden you’re a second year teacher who is also a full time graduate student who suddenly decides to C) be a full time teacher, full time graduate student, and become a homeowner right before D) doing all of the aforementioned plus get married. Anyway, as Courtney has informed me, “you don’t get to use that grad-school crap as an excuse now that you’ve graduated.” And so I don’t.
That said, I have always made time to post about important stuff like food! (No seriously – scroll through my most recent posts which, sadly, quickly catch you up to 2009 or 2010). Now that I’m finished with grad school, maybe I will blog more. We’ll see.
But in the meantime, here are two more yummy recipes:
Roasted Sausages with Grapes and Creamy Polenta
Prior to this, I had never eaten a roasted grape. Delicious! As with anything, roasting really brings out the sweetness in the grapes. The sweet grapes with the creamy polenta and the spicy sausages are a prefect match. This is a fairly easy recipe, too. From Bon Appetit
Ingredients
1/2 cup medium-grind polenta (not instant)
3 large sprigs thyme, divided
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter
1 pound fresh hot or sweet Italian turkey or chicken sausages
1/3 cup low-salt chicken broth
1 pound seedless red grapes, cut into bunches with stems attached
1/4 cup chopped shallots
1/3 cup dry white wine
Flat-leaf parsley leaves
Preparation
Preheat oven to 450°. Stir polenta and 2 1/2 cups water in a medium microwave-safe bowl; add 1 thyme sprig and season with salt and pepper. Cover with a plate. Microwave for 4 minutes. Carefully remove plate and whisk polenta. Cover and microwave for 4 minutes longer. Repeat until polenta is soft, adding more water by 1/4-cupfuls if too thick, 10–12 minutes total, depending on strength of microwave. Stir in butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper; keep warm.
Meanwhile, heat a large cast-iron or ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausages and fry until browned, turning occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add broth, remaining 2 thyme sprigs, grapes, and shallots to skillet; transfer to oven. Roast, turning grapes and sausages halfway through cooking time, until grapes begin to caramelize and sausages are cooked through and begin to burst, 12–15 minutes.
Spoon polenta into wide, shallow bowls. Arrange sausages and grapes over. Add wine to skillet; stir over high heat, scraping up browned bits. Drizzle pan sauce over sausages. Sprinkle with parsley.
We did the sausages last weekend. This weekend, the new dish on the menu was Chicken with Kale and Freekeh-Lentil Pilaf. I was not able to find Freekeh at our local grocers nor at the new International Food Market (that was a big let down…). Instead I substituted Bulgur Wheat. Again, a yummy recipe. The magazine makes it sound as if this is a quick recipe – don’t be fooled. Read ahead, you will find that they assume you have already cooked the Bulgur and the lentils which, depending I guess on the type of lentil, can add as much as 45 minutes to an hour. Also from Bon Appetit:
Chicken with Kale and Freekah Bulgur-Lentil Pilaf
Ingredients
Vinaigrette
- 2 tablespoons cumin seeds
- 1/2 cup Sherry vinegar
- 2 small garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped Hunza raisins
- 2 teaspoons whole grain mustard
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- Kosher salt
Pilaf and Chicken
- 4 tablespoons (or more) olive oil, divided
- 1 1/2 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2″-thick cutlets
- Kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 garlic clove, smashed
- 1 pound kale, large center ribs and stems removed, torn into pieces
- 1 cup cooked freekeh
- 1 cup cooked lentils
Preparation
Vinaigrette
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Stir cumin in a small dry skillet over medium heat until toasted, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; add vinegar and garlic. Let stand for 30 seconds. Transfer to a blender; add oil and next 3 ingredients. Purée. Season with salt.
Pilaf and Chicken
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Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a large, heavy nonstick skillet over medium heat. Season chicken with salt. Working in 2 batches and adding 1 Tbsp. oil between batches, cook chicken in single layers until browned on both sides and just cooked through, 2–3minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and tent with foil to keep warm.
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Remove pan from heat; add 1/4 cup water. Stir, scraping up browned bits. Whisk in 1/4 cup vinaigrette. Scrape sauce into a bowl.
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Melt butter with 1 Tbsp. oil in same skillet over medium-low heat. Add garlic and cook until just beginning to brown, 1–2 minutes. Discard garlic. Working in 3 batches and adding more oil as needed, add kale to skillet and toss until wilted, 1–2 minutes per batch. Transfer to a large bowl. Season lightly with salt. Cover to keep warm.
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Add freekeh and lentils to same skillet. Increase heat; stir until warm, 2–3 minutes.
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Spoon pilaf onto plates. Top with chicken. Whisk juices from plate with chicken into sauce; drizzle over chicken and pilaf. Top with kale.
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