Tuscan Polenta

Fred has been exercising like a fiend lately. He hiked to the top of Pheifferhorn on Saturday (which to his delight included using his ice axe). The hike took 9 hours to complete and included sliding down a snow field in his shorts. Wednesday he rode his bike many miles UP the 9% grade Little Cottonwood Canyon and then last night he climbed ropes for 4 hours on the granite cliffs near our home. Let's just say his appetite is hearty! This Tuscan Polenta recipe is one of his favorites and even though its more of a cold weather dish I thought I'd make it for him this week.

I start by browning one pound of Harmon's sweet Italian sausage with one medium chopped onion. We have tried a few different sausages in this dish and Harmon's is THE BEST. It may be that they have left out the stronger fennel taste or maybe the red pepper but all I know is we won't use anything else. But I am sure you will be happy with your favorite sausage in this recipe.

I then add one can cannellini beans and one can diced tomatoes. Be sure to rinse the beans. I like the SW brand tomatoes because there is less liquid than other brands I've tried. If you open your tomatoes and it looks too watery, just pour a little out. You will need some though to create a saucy consistency. Heat this all up on medium heat, cooking without a cover until you get a good consistency. Not too watery, not too dry. Is that too vague? (BTW, Fred and I like more beans and tomato so we add an extra can of each. But I drain off the liquid from the second can of tomato)

Next is the polenta. This recipe uses tube polenta. You may have to shop around a bit for this but should be available in the larger grocery stores near the other Italian foods. Split the wrapper down the middle and take off. Cut your slices about 1/3 inch thick (I get 12 to 15 slices), spray or brush olive oil or Pam on each side and grill for 5 minutes on each side.

Place 4 to 6 polenta rounds on each plate and top with your sausage mixture. I add a bit of fresh basil, basil oil or pesto on the side for flavor. Or you can mix it straight in to the sauce. Top wtih shredded parmesan.


Tuscan Polenta

1 pound Italian Sausage
1 Medium yellow onion, chopped
1 -14 oz can Cannellini Beans, drained and rinsed
1- 14 oz can dice tomatoes
(salt to taste)

1 tube Polenta
Olive oil
Shredded Parmesan


Brown sausage and onions until sausage is slightly pink. Add tomatoe and beans, making sure to rinse off beans. Cook about 10 minutes on medium high heat or until sausage is done and sauce is
reduced a bit.

Slice polenta in 1/3 inch rounds and spray or brush with olive oil. Grill for 5 min on each side. Place polenta slices on plate and ladle sausage mixture on top. Top with basil or a bit of pesto if you have it as well as parmesan.

A Spicy Contest

Well, we did it the old fashioned way. I had my daughter pull the winners from a hat!

And the winners are: Peggy and Stephanie - Congrats!! I will be in contact with the details on your certificate.

In honor of my daughter, Lauren, arriving to spend a week with me and because it's really heating up in SLC this week, I am THRILLED to announce my very first contest on TheMorsel.

After posting the Spice House entry on Monday, I sent an email to Patty and Tom Erd, who own The Spice House, letting them know I featured them. I received a wonderful response and the offer of two (2) $30 gift certificates to give away to my readers! Here's a little excerpt from The Spice House site about Patty and Tom.

Owners of The Spice House, Tom and Patty Erd, are second generation spice merchants. Their business was founded by Patty's parents, Ruth and Bill Penzey, Sr. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1957. Patty grew up working in the shop. (To Patty, as a child, it seemed a pretty torturous way to earn an allowance but Patty's perception has vastly changed about the business since she became an owner!) The Penzeys sold the business to their firstborn child and son-in-law in 1992 as they looked toward retirement. The credit for the creation of The Spice House, its principals, and its dedication to quality goes wholeheartedly to Bill and Ruth Penzey. As is normal in the next generation taking over, Patty and Tom wanted to take the company a bit further, honor the dedication to its principles, but put some of their mark on the company.

Patty and Tom opened the second Spice House in Evanston, Illinois in 1997, close enough to home and parental business consulting to be comfortable, yet far enough to feel it was their own adventure. The opening of the shop in Evanston had really nice coverage by both the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun Times. Wonderful things happened in this new venture, culminating with the Evanston Small Business of the Year award in the year 2000 and a really nice morning segment on FOX news. The business continued to grow. Patty and Tom became members of wonderful organizations involved in the culinary arts, and participated in many programs combining restaurateurs and chefs with educational spice programs. They spoke for the Culinary Historians of Chicago, Slow Food, Les Dames d’Escoffier, and were selected by the American Institute of Food and Wine as participants in the Best of the Midwest Festival. They were on the circuit tour as educators for the AIWF, although their daily duties as shopkeepers limited them to mostly events in the Midwest. They lectured regularly at Kendall Culinary College in Evanston. Alton Brown taped a segment in the Evanston shop, he began at 7am and was dragged out by his cameramen at 7pm only because they were from Atlanta and their baseball team was playing in the World Series that night. The “fruitcake” episode on Alton Brown’s Good Eats show has now aired five years in a row at Christmas time.

The real Chicago store that Patty and Tom had dreamed about for many years while they operated only the Milwaukee shop opened in 2001. More wonderful things continued to happen. Now they fell into Mayor Daley’s “made in Chicago” category. (The mayor LOVES things made in Chicago) The Ethnic Chicago line of seasonings they created to reflect the background and favorite flavors of various immigrant groups brought from the homeland as they joined the “melting pot” of Chicago received a little more attention. (These were developed in Evanston, but Chicago does not count Evanston in the “made in Chicago” category) Tom and Patty were invited to speak at a fancy surprise birthday party for Hizzoner where some of the most famous Chicago chefs prepared food with these same ethnic blends. The special guest that dropped by at the end of the meal was none other than then President Bill Clinton who shook all of our hands at the chef table.

In 2002, Tom and Patty won the prestigious Good Eating award from The Chicago Tribune food section. Patty and Tom continue to have wonderful educational lecturing opportunities including the Newberry Library, the DePaul Geographical Society and the now nearby Cordon Bleu affiliated culinary college CHIC. They had radio interviews with WGN’s Dean Richards and Rick Kogan. They did several really nice interviews with Michele Norris on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered. Patty was featured as the spice expert on the new PBS show, Real Simple. Patty also served as a spice expert at the most recent IACP conference in Chicago. She sat on a panel with Madhur Jaffrey, Jill Norman and Nina Simmonds, some of the top spice experts in the world! Tom was on Channel 2's Table for Two this November as a salt expert.

Thank you so much, Patty and Tom. And without further adieu, today I will be giving away two $30 gift certificates. All you need to do is go to The Spice House site, look at the variety of spices and leave a comment on TheMorsel telling me which spice(s) you would love to try and what you would create. Deadline for entries will be 7pm Mountain time (8pm Central) today, Wednesday July 8th. To make this fair, I will randomly draw two names and announce the winners tomorrow morning. Each winner will receive one $30 gift certificate.

Thanks for reading! Good Luck!

The Spice House

Remember that little box that arrived on my front porch a few days ago? Remember I told you it held some tastes of Chicago? Remember my chicken obsession? It may be over. For now.

(Not really)

I was looking for a recipe to jazz up some salmon and halibut and happened upon a site called The Spice House that sort of flipped my switch. The more I read the more I wanted. I was all settled on just buying a few jars to replace some very old spice jars in my cabinet. But then it turned out shipping started at $12. It made no sense whatsoever to buy $12 worth of spices and then pay $12 for shipping. So I said to myself, well hey, I might as well get everything I was planning to buy over the next year in one fell swoop. So TA DA! Wow! And they are beautiful, sleek and so Chicago-esque. And, hey, those of you in Chicago and Milwaukee can actually drive to one of their four stores. How cool is that?

So let's take a tour. I love the name of this one and the color. I'll be using Lake Shore Drive to make Halibut or Lake Shore Drive Grilled Potatoes.

I am really excited about this one. Gateway To The North Maple Sugar Seasoning. Isn't that an awesome name? This is great for salmon or homemade bbq sauce. The Spice House has a recipe for Northern Nuts. That would make a great neighbor gift. It could be a great seasoning for fish or pork as well.

Salmon Seasoning stands up to the stronger taste of Salmon. Ingredients are salt, sesame seeds, dill seed, black, white, and green pepper, garlic, lemon peel, mustard seed, onion, caraway, rosemary, dill weed, and cayenne.

Smoked Spanish Paprika can be used as a marinade for grilled salmon. I can use this for Paprikash too.

And this, this is true cinnamon. Ceylon cinnamon is lighter, more delicate than the cinnamon we know called Cassia. I am so excited to try this in rice pudding, and blended in whipped cream as a topping for pie.

I bought two kinds of cocoa. One is dutched and one is natural. The natural is used in baking, is stronger flavored. The dutched is processed and takes some of the bitterness out and is used for dusting on whipped cream and to make hot cocoa. Coming soon, a lucious chocolate cake recipe. There is also The Spice House's Freedom From Tranquility Hot Cocoa recipe.

This Chicago Old Town Spiced Sugar is also used for sprinkling on toast or in coffee and tea. It would make a great topping for sugar cookies.

Pure Madagascar Vanilla Extract, Anise and Almond Extracts. I will use these in my Italian Pizzelle and Swedish cookie recipes. I've got to make this Almond Milk recipe.

Thanks for taking the tour!

4th of July Trifle

Note: The recipe follows after a really long chicken discussion (grin).

Ha. Fred thinks he’s so clever. The Urban Chicken discussion is not over! Our neighbor Karen was walking her cute little Bichon, Penny, in our circle on Sunday afternoon, so we popped out of the house to chat for a few minutes. I was busy Sunday afternoon creating this lovely trifle and Fred was tying his 185th Prusik knot of the day (Fred’s new hobby is hanging off granite cliffs in Little Cottonwood Canyon.)

So anyway, I was standing on the sidewalk telling Karen about my blog when Fred pipes up from the cement stoop. ‘Tell her about your crazy idea to have chickens in the backyard!’

I cringed. Karen was probably the last person I wanted to know I was entertaining the idea of chickens in the backyard. After all, she seems so chic and sophisticated. And we live in a nice country club neighborhood. But, most important? HER HUSBAND IS THE FORMER MAYOR. I'm sure chickens in this neighborhood would violate several dozen ordinances.

Karen looks at me, looks at Fred, looks back at me, takes a deep breathe and yells ‘DO IT!!!’

Fred turned every shade of purple, pointed his finger at her and said 'HEY, YOU'RE NOT HELPING! I looked at her dumbfounded. She said 'Yes, do it. There's another woman just down the street who has chickens. It's a great idea!' .... Oh, really? NICE.

Fred immediately threw her off our land, warning her to never darken our doorstep again. Ha, ha, ha. Check. One more vote for the crazy Chicken Lady.

Karen and Penny went home but I decided that it would be a GREAT idea to invite her and Steve over to try the trifle later that night. I was dying to ask more questions about the woman down the street. Five minutes after they walked through the door Karen says 'Hey, Honey, Liz wants to have chickens. Isn't that a great idea?' He didn't bat an eye. He told me 'Yes, you can do that. We passed that ordinance 15 years ago.' BINGO!!

Poor Fred. He's doomed. I think I better hide all the ropes.

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4th of July Trifle

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 store-bought pound cake (12 ounces), cut into 3/4-inch-thick slices
• 1 bar (8 ounces) Neufatel cheese, room temperature (or light cream cheese)
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 cup whipping cream (the unwhipped liquid in the case near half n half)
• 3 cups fresh blueberries (three 1/2-pint containers), rinsed and dried (I didn't have fresh so used frozen, thawed and drain juice)
• 3 cups fresh strawberries, hulled, sliced and tossed in 3 Tbs sugar
  

In a small saucepan, bring 1/4 cup sugar, lemon juice, and 1/4 cup water to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Let cool completely, then brush over both sides of cake slices. Quarter each slice. Try to use up all the liquid. The pound cake can take it. It helps with the overall flavor of the final product.

With an electric mixer, beat the Neufatel with remaining 1/3 cup sugar on high speed until lightened. With mixer on medium speed, gradually add heavy cream in a steady stream; continue beating until mixture is light and airy (mixture will be like a very soft whipped cream).

Arrange half the cake pieces in the bottom of a 2-quart serving dish. Spoon half the cream-cheese mixture over cake in dollops; spread to sides of dish. Scatter the blueberries on top. Repeat layering with remaining cake, cream-cheese mixture, and strawberries on top. Cover, and refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour and up to overnight.

Dreaming of Chicken (Coops)

It's been an exhausting week. I have so much to tell you. Thanks for hanging in there while I was off galavanting. I'm planning some delicious fare this week that includes the use of my new grill, beautiful berries and lucious chocolate. Please stay tuned, but right now I need your help. I've fallen in love. Goofy in love. With chickens. Or with the idea of having chickens. Rhode Island Reds. Cochins, Brahmas, Ameraucanas, Crested Polish, I love them all!

I attended a seminar last week which has kindled my inner farmer and now I can't think of anything but chickens. And eggs. Blue, tan, ivory, white, and green eggs. It was a fantastic course explaining all the things you need to know to have 3 or 4 or 20 chickens in your back yard. I sat there with an ear to ear grin. Hey, I only want 3 - that shouldn't cause too much of a stir in the neighborhood, should it?

But here's where I need your help. When I called Fred after the seminar, he answered the phone like this: 'Hi Hun, if you bring home any chickens, I'm going to divorce you.'

Well. Gee. There goes my little dream of collecting fresh eggs every morning. Chicken lovers unite! Call Fred right now and cast your vote.

I also met up with my friend Lacey at the Downtown Farmers Market. But, uh oh, what's that a photo of? I guess I'll be saying goodbye to an old friend in my cup cabinet. Fred's rules about my little obsession till applies.

There are all sorts of wonderful vendors at the market. Dolcetti Gelato is one of my favorites. Lacey hadn't tried it before. We shared a cup, choosing pistachio and fresh banana. Wow. Really, really good choices. She's hooked. On the gelato and the farmers market. Sorry Jeff. I'll return her at the end of the summer.

We also shared a delish pesto, veggie sandwich. I bought a jar of this fresh pesto so I can make this for Fred at home. A grilled piece of whole wheat breaded spread with pesto, then covered with sauteed zucchini and onions, fresh roma tomatoes and sprouts. Heeeaaalllthy!

And finally, I can't wait to share this with you. What's in this box? A little taste of Chicago!

Stay tuned.

Summer Corn Saute

Oh my heck. (Janai, put your hands over your ears) I've fallen off the wagon twice this week. Steak last night and filet mignon at Grand America for lunch today. What is wrong with me?

I AM A VEGETARIAN. Really.

Oh, all right, let's just go with it. So what goes better with steak than corn! The perfect summer duet.

This recipe really belongs to Martha but we won't tell her. The ideal side dish for your summer dinner and extremely easy. Who needs to fuss with all that boiling water and messy butter anyway.

Corn and Zucchini Saute

4 thin green or yellow zucchini squash, halved and then sliced thin
4 - 5 ears of yellow or white corn, raw, cut off the cob
3 Tbs olive oil
coarse salt and pepper to taste
Several large leaves of fresh basil
1 Tbs of white wine vinegar

Heat oil in large skillet, add squash and saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Add corn, coarse salt and pepper and continue to saute for another 3 minutes or until corn is getting tender. Take off heat, add wine vinegar and torn basil leaves, then stir. Done. Simple. Easy. Corn. Yum.

Orange Tortilla Soup

It still refuses to warm up here in Northern Utah. Normally, we hit the mid 90's by this time, but the last week has been rainy and grey with lows of 50. Reminds me of Chicago. In October. And November. And March. And almost every other month of the year. Our guests, Ron and Elaine, actually said it was warmer here than back home. They must be lying. This gloom was actually welcome for a few days, but I'm done now. Rain, rain, go away.

To warm up our bones, I made the ever popular Orange Tortilla Soup for our guests on Sunday. This recipe comes from our ever popular neighbor Laura M. Hopefully, I'm still popular with her after I share her recipe with the internet. Love ya, Laura~

Ingredients:

1 Medium yellow onion, chopped
1 Clove garlic, minced
4 Celery stalks sliced
3 Tbs vegetable oil
2-1/2 Cups vegetable or chicken broth
1-1/2 Cups orange juice
1-1/2 Cups tomato sauce (14 oz can is fine)
1 Cup water
1 (4 oz) Can green chilies chopped
1 Tbsp chopped cilantro (optional)
3 - 4 Carrots sliced
3 or 4 Chicken breasts
Pepper Jack cheese grated
Tortilla chips

Chop your celery and onions. Mince garlic and slice carrots. Do yourself a favor and buy pre chopped chiles. I bought the whole so I had to chop.

Saute onion, garlic and celery in 3 Tbs of vegetable oil.

Stir in broth, OJ, tomato sauce, chilies, cilantro and carrots. Simmer until carrots are tender.

In the meantime, cook your chicken. I prefer to cook chicken breast in a non-stick pan. I heat 2 TB of oil on med-high heat, salt and pepper the breast, cook on each side about 5 min on that higher heat, then turn the heat to med-low. Do not cover!!! Big mistake. You end up with boiled chicken. I leave the lid off until almost done - you can tell you've overcooked chicken breast when it doesn't give anymore when you press with the back of your fork. I prefer to a point where it might still be a bit underdone and then take off heat and let it sit for another 10 minutes or so. Its usually perfect. Clear as mud? Sorry.

Cut or shred your chicken into bite size chunks and add to your soup. Cook another 5 minutes or so and its ready. Just make sure your carrots are tender.

Serve by placing tortilla chips (crunched or not) at the bottom of your soup bowl, ladle soup over and top with shredded jack cheese.

Huevos Rancheros Mi Amigos

My second cousin, 27 times removed, and his wife are in town this weekend. Besides driving them crazy with my incessant worries about them getting lost in their rental car, I let them buy me breakfast at my favorite breakfast spot. Located 10 miles up a beautiful canyon in the Wasatch Mountains, Silver Fork Lodge has beautiful views, loads of hummingbirds and great food. Ron ordered the famous oatmeal; Elaine and I split Huevos Rancheros and a beautiful fruit platter. Strawberries, kiwi, canteloupe, blueberries and grapes.

Since Fred didn't go with us, I decided to make my own Rancheros last night for dinner! I pan toasted a flour tortilla, topped it with warm, black beans, eggs over easy, salsa, sour cream and cheddar cheese. I also browned up some hash browns to go with it. The trick to getting your hash browns brown and not too greasy? Use about 3 Tbs oil for 2 cups potatoes, get your oil hot to begin with, but after the potatoes are in, turn the heat on low, flatten them down with a spatula and cook for at least 15 min on each side. I add 2 Tbls butter, cut in small bits, all around the side of the pan and let that melt down into the potatoes. Add salt and black pepper. Adding the butter after you turn the heat down adds flavor and keeps it from burning. Make sure to flatten them again on the second side. Hash browns can't be rushed!!

We chose to sit inside for our breakfast yesteday, the wind was a little much. But the views were fantastic as you can see through that big window!

After breakfast, I took them for a walk around a mountain lake that is just a few miles up the road. We stopped to chat with a fisherman. He was casting for perch.

It was a little grey but so nice. We had a wonderful walk and I look forward to cooking for them tomorrow. They may be treated to Orange Tortilla Soup. Adios!