Polenta Cake with Fig Spread

Ack!  It's been so long since the last time I cooked!  How sad. 

Today is supposed to be a beautiful day, and it just so happens that a lot of people are on their "in between" weekends and aren't working.  So, naturally, we're going to go wine tasting and polo match watching at King Family.  My cooking mojo has been a little lackluster lately, but I was hoping to amp it up a little with this recipe.

Lindsay, me, and Neil at King Family before everyone started sweating...

I used to hate the idea of polenta cake (texture issues, etc.), but I've really come around to it over the last year.  Polenta is really just a fancy name for cooked corn meal.  To be honest, and I know this isn't a typical way to eat it, but I frequently eat it like mashed potatoes, and don't wait for it to set up in a mold in the fridge.  

Since I was making food for some other people, I decided to do it "the right way".  You can prepare this the night before, and pan fry them before serving.   

Liz and Troy brought some delicious pulled pork, and Colleen and Nosheen fed us a yummy veggie tray and hummus.  Lindsay graced us with gluten free chocolate chip cookies (if you're reading this, can I have some of the leftovers?) and Neil in typical fashion brought the salt in the form of a block of cheddar cheese and turkey pepperoni.

I finally got to meet Kahlua, a Bernese Mountain Dog!!  She is allegedly the runt of her litter (at 80 pounds, that's ridiculous) and is the sweetest thing.  Check out the mohawk/mullet.

Liz's hand pictured here with Kahlua the BearDog, proud owner of Troy.  She carries her own leash!!

We bought a nice chilled bottle of Crose (how punny of King Family!) and Lindsay promptly and unfortunately knocked over her glass and soaked her sandwich in wine.  Come to think of it now, maybe it wasn't an accident....

Polenta Cake
Ingredients

:: 3 tbsp butter

:: 2 tbsp olive oil

:: 3 cloves garlic, minced

:: 1/2 onion, finely diced

:: 1 tsp red chili flakes

:: 4 cups liquid (I use 2 cups chicken stock, 2 cups water, or throw in milk or cream if it's on hand)

:: 1 cup corn meal

:: parmesan cheese.  I don't know, a handful?

:: s & p to taste

Heat the butter and olive oil over medium-low heat.  Saute garlic and onions with chili flakes until soft, about 3 minutes.

Add liquid, turn up the heat and bring to a boil.

Turn heat to low.  Whisk in corn meal.  Or stir really vigorously, otherwise the corn meal will clump and you'll just have cornmeal dumplings.  

Turn off heat.  Stir in cheese.  I used an Italian blend of cheese, and threw in a dollop of cream cheese in just for creaminess (otherwise, replacing some of the liquid with milk or cream would do just fine.)

Eat as is (like mashed potatoes!), or pour into a 9 x 13 pan until the polenta cools.  

Cut the polenta into squares, as you would a batch of brownies.  Cut through diagonally to make triangle shaped pieces.

Heat up a large skillet over medium heat with a few tablespoons of olive oil.  Cook the polenta triangles about 4-5 minutes on each side until they're golden brown on each side.  Serve with the fig spread, or herbed goat cheese, or whatever the heck you're having for dinner. 

Fig spread

:: fig jam

:: cream cheese

:: pepper
:: dash salt

Stir, combine :)  I think the ratio I used was 1:4 fig jam to cream cheese.  Any fruit spread really would do.