Polenta with Leeks, Endive, Pancetta & Poached Eggs

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Polenta with Leeks & Poached EggI’ve always been a big fan of polenta, but with how miserably cold it’s been this winter, I’m turning into a complete fiend.  I think I could eat polenta morning, noon, and night until the day comes (probably sometime in late May) when I can step out my front door without seeing my breath and wearing fewer than 10 layers of clothing.

My latest go-around was a bowl of very creamy polenta topped with sautéed leeks and endive, crispy pancetta, and a runny poached egg.  It makes an excellent stick-to-your-ribs sort of breakfast, a great just-came-in-from-shoveling lunch, or an excellent I’m-going-to-find-comfort-in-this-warm-bowl-of-polenta-while-I-sit-on-the-couch-wrapped-in-an-afgan-bemoaning-the-fact-that-I-live-this-freaking-tundra dinner.

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Braised Baby Artichokes with Creamy Polenta

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Braised Baby Artichokes with Creamy PolentaWhen the calendar turns to spring, my mind wanders from braising to grilling and I tend to stop day-dreaming about polenta all together.  But after this dinner, I think that’s going to change.

Spring evenings are actually an ideal time for a bowl of not too heavy polenta with saucy, braised artichokes.  The weather’s nice enough to eat outside, but come dusk, the air gets a bit brisk and a warm bowl of polenta is just what you need to remain al fresco.

Or scratch that theory.  How’s this for the perfect spring braising/polenta scenario?  Lunch on an incredibly gloomy, gray, drizzly Saturday afternoon.  It’s the kind of day when you eat lunch at the kitchen table and it ends up lasting for hours.  You light a candle, sip red wine, and let yourself become hypnotized by the pitter-patter of falling rain.  Dessert after a lunch like this?  Only the most decadent thing imaginable–a nice long nap.

Whatever the circumstances, I can find a way to make this meal work and you should too.  It’s simple, delicious, and the flavors and textures are supremely comforting.  The artichokes aren’t fussed with much, just cooked in white wine with leeks and garlic, brightened up with a handful of parsley and a squeeze of lemon.  The polenta is kept soft and loose, with a spoonful of Mascarpone cheese added for a touch of richness.

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Braised Pork Shoulder with Fennel, Oranges & Olives

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Orange, Olive & Fennel Braised Pork Shoulder

Sometimes, in life and on blog, I feel a little self-conscious about what I eat.  I get embarrassed over bringing my grocery basket to the register, wondering what the cashiers must think of me: the girl who grocery shops daily and almost always ends up with a bulb of fennel, citrus fruit, and a little something from the olive bar.  I worry that you all might be getting sick of recipes that call for lemon slices, orange zest, shaved fennel, and olives.  My cooking crutches are no secret.

This time around, I’m resisting the temptation to turn my crutch ingredients into a salad and instead I’m incorporating them into a braise.  We’re going to add pork shoulder to the grocery list and treat it to a long, slow simmer with my favorite ingredients.  The richness of the pork will be countered with the slight bitterness of orange peel, briny olives balanced with sweet fennel.  Hope you’re hungry; this is a good one.

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Mushroom Bolognese with Mascarpone Polenta

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Mushroom Bolognese Sauce over Creamy Mascarpone Polenta
For the record, I didn’t set out to make a vegetarian ragù that would masquerade as the king of Italian meat sauces. In fact, I’m normally a little annoyed when people disguise vegetables as classic meat staples.  Hot dogs are not supposed to be vegetarian.  Nor is bacon and meatloaf is simply not meatloaf when it does not contain meat.

But for this sauce, I’m willing to make an exception.

This sauce looks very much like the real-deal Bolognese sauce.  Other than the quartered Crimini mushrooms, it is very finely textured and velvety.  It smells of earthy, woodsy Porcini mushrooms, reduced red wine, tomatoes, and rosemary.  It doesn’t exactly replicate the taste of a meat-based Bolognese but that is not its main objective.  It’s main objective is to satisfy and comfort.

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