Once Upon a Bookshelf

So, the LCBO puts out a quarterly Food & Drink magazine. And anyone who is a graphic designer in Ontario that I know of knows that this is one of the BEST magazines to get. The spreads are gorgeous. Positively gorgeous. The ads – lovely! For a foodie, the magazine also provides awesome recipes. This particular recipe comes from the Spring 2006 volume of the magazine, and while I’ve had the magazine for three years, I didn’t actually try this recipe until a couple of days ago. I think it is the result of the fact that I’ve suddenly discovered a love for polenta. Just happened randomly out of the blue. And yum!

This particular recipe was very easy, very quick (the longest period of time was chopping up the mushrooms and thyme) and very tasty.

Ingredients:
Mushroom Mixture:
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 lb (250 g) sliced mushrooms
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tsbp finely chopped fresh thyme or parsley
Salt and black pepper

Polenta:
2 1/2 cups water
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup instant polenta
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp butter
Crumbled Gorgonzola

Directions:
Heat butter and oil in a large frying pan over medium heat until it begins to foam. Increase heat to high and add mushrooms. Cook, stirring until mushrooms are lightly golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Add garlic and herbs, stir 1 minute. Add salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm.

In a large saucepan, bring water and salt to a boil. Gradually add polenta, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon until creamy (like a thick porridge), 2 to 6 minutes depending on instant polenta used. Stir in Parmesan and butter.

Serve polenta in wide pasta bowls, topped with mushrooms and sprinkled with Gorgonzola.

Serves 2-3.

Notes from Courtney:
I don’t like Gorgonzola, so I substituted Feta for it. Also, I didn’t have instant polenta, so I used another recipe that I have from the Company’s Coming Table for Two book for polenta: Measure 1 cup chicken broth into small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a medium. Slowly add 1/3 cup yellow cornmeal, stirring constantly. Add 1 Tbsp butter. Stir. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, covered, for about 2 minutes, stirring often, until thickened. (This makes enough for two, so you don’t really have to make more for this recipe.)

Do you have a recipe you’d like to share with us for Midweek Morsels? Stop by Kristina’s Favorites to leave a link!