Okay, mama is bugging me to mention that in this cold winter coming or already here, one of the simplest, tastiest dishes on earth is polenta and sausages. Simple: For four people, sauté any number of sausages you like until nicely browned (drool). Stir 1 cup of corn meal (polenta is corn meal and there are many (we happen to have an Italian one from Tarangna that is whole-grain but plain corn meal will do just as well (Albers, for example in the USA) into 2-3 cups of chicken broth or even plain old salted water, but broth is best. Stir the broth and corn meal until nice and thick and add a big spoon of grated parmesan, a pat of butter, salt and pepper.
Make a simple tomato sauce: Saute a small, chopped sweet onion in 1/4 cup olive oil, add 1 large can of crushed tomatoes, salt to taste and simmer. When the polenta is nice and smooth and fairly thick, spoon it onto a warm plate, make a well in the middle, spoon in tomato sauce and sprinkle with grated parmesan.
Voila’!
This dish will warm any tummy, even mine. I tasted the polenta and it was pretty darn good. Maybe a little tuna fish could be added….
Mama is looking at me as if I have gone bonkers.
Cooking is exhausting. She made ME stir the polenta. (Just kidding, you don’t have to stir polenta more than a few minutes, contrary to all the old wives’ tales on stirring, stirring, stirring for hours on end. Mama knows short cuts and that’s one.)
The mom’s mouth is drooling. She says sausage is almost as good as bacon.
Oh, both get me going, but they have to be without seasonings in them I think. Some people put ground onion in sausage. I think mama should MAKE mine. She used to make sausage in her learning-to-cook days about a gazillion years ago, haha. Oops, she’s coming after me…
My mom has tried polenta on two different occasions – one made by Grandma and another at a restaurant in Italy. She had decided that she just doesn’t have a taste for it. But she does like cornbread. Go figure. I bet your momma makes a grr-eat cornbread. MOL!
Well, she puts real corn niblets in it and really good chili peppers and butter and buttermilk or yogurt and yes, I think your mama would like it. But most polenta is not cooked right, even in Italy….
yummmmmm, that looks soooo good!! Especially in this cold, rainy weather – and today, papa is making his tortilla espagnola with chorizo. Mama’s favorite! Well, actually she has lots of favorites, but this favorite she doesn’t have to make!! And yes Loulou, the polenta would be perfect – with tuna and a sprinkling of kibbles. Going to see if papa will modify a mini-version of tortilla for me!
OOH, we LOVE that tortilla, the chorizo for me! Wait a minute. Can I have chorizo? Don’t think so.
Hmmmmm We like corn cakes and pasta in the winter.Meowin’ of pasta, we think mommy should get in the kitchen and get a pot of gravy goin’. That would be yummy delishus. Lookin’ bootyful as always LouLou. Stay warm. Big hugs
Luv ya’
Dezi and Raena
I hope you all are well land okay with the cold. Thank you for visiting. I’ll visit you soon!
That does look good.
Easy to make. REALLY easy.
wouldn’t be surprised to find your mama adds tuna next time so you can enjoy some too. 🙂
I’ll bet you could make a nice sausage gravy and use it in place of tomato sauce.
The sausage makes its own gravy because mama sautés the meat and then adds some dry white wine or vermouth to the pan and the gravy it made. She stirs it into the tomato sauce to make it rich but this dish without tomato sauce is not as good.