The Poop On Polenta

  Polenta is probably one of the most diverse foods of its kind.  Once you have boiled it, you can fry it, bake it and even grill it!  It’s very versatile.  Polenta is either white or yellow cornmeal that has been ground to a coarse texture.  Polenta is originally an Italian word.  The word comes from hulled and crushed grain, especially barely-meal since corn was not introduced to Europe until the 16^th century.  It also comes from the same base as “pollen”.  (Thanks Wikipedia)

  Polenta is readily available in any grocery store.  Like most items, if you buy polenta in larger amounts, the cost goes down a bit.  So if you can, purchase the larger size, keep it in an air-tight container with a slice a bread to remove any excess moisture.  If you can find polenta that is stone ground, you will actually have the best quality grind.  Remember you DO NOT want cornmeal that is too fine.  You will have nothing but corn flavored wallpaper paste on your hands if you do. 

  Now I have to be honest here.   Making polenta the traditional way is not an easy task simply because you must constantly stir for 30 minutes or more as the cornmeal begins to absorb the moisture.  Unless you work out at the gym, your arm is going to get its own workout!  And I can hear some of you now saying, “Well I have one of those automatic stirrers.”  Well, that’s great! But it won’t be able to stir the polenta once it begins to thicken.  So what is the solution?  I ask around to several of my Italian friends here in Providence (there is a huge Italian population here by the way), and I was surprised at the different ways basic polenta is prepared.  I am going to give you the basic recipe for polenta with the traditional way that most people use.  I then will give you the non-traditional ways of cooking the polenta so that your arm won’t fall off!  So without further adieu, let’s start cooking!

  First, you will need one pound of coarsely ground cornmeal.  Next, fill a large wide bottomed pot with two quarts of boiling water, and have more readily available.  Add a heaping teaspoon of kosher salt to the water.  Again as in my previous blog, PLEASE try not to use iodized salt.  It has all kinds of chemicals that are in it and really isn’t good for cooking.  The only thing I use iodized salt for is gargling when I have a sore throat.  Use either kosher salt or even better, sea salt.  Personally, I prefer coarse Italian sea salt and use a salt grinder.  But I digress.

  Place the pot on the burner and add the water and salt.  When the water comes, to a boil, slowly add the cornmeal in a steady stream.  You do NOT want to dump all of the cornmeal in at once, or you will have nothing but a lumpy mess on your hands and you will have to throw it out and start all over.  Also, you want to make sure that the water continues to boil as you add the cornmeal.  Incorporating it slowly into the water will keep the water boiling.  As you add the cornmeal, begin to stir and don’t stop.  Continue to stir one direction so that lumps will not form.  As the polenta begins to thicken, for about half an hour (the longer you stir, the better the polenta will be; the finished the polenta should have the texture and consistency of mashed potatoes), add more boiling water as necessary.  You will know the polenta is done when it comes away from the side of the pot.

Now, there are non-traditional ways to prepare polenta.

Brown Paper Method

Prepare your polenta exactly as before, but once you've drizzled the cornmeal into the boiling water, cover it with brown paper (a brown paper bag will work fine, just make sure it is large enough to cover the entire surface). Cover the pot with the lid, and turn the heat down to a minimum. Then, after 40 minutes, the polenta's ready with no stirring!

Pressure Cooker Method

You will need the polenta and boiling water, a lump of butter and salt.  (What kind?)  Put all ingredients in the pressure cooker, cover. At high heat bring all to a brisk boil, put the lid on and cover the steam hole lower heat to a very low flame and cook for ten minutes. Once the pressure has lowered, either naturally or under cold water, remove the lid and give the polenta a good stir in order to blend in the liquid. Pour out on a board and serve as usual.

Plan Ahead Method

Put the basic recipe in a slow cooker. Cook on low overnight (at least about 6 hours). In the morning you will have the smoothest, creamiest polenta you only dreamed about.

If you are still reading this, congratulations!  You have now completed Polenta 101!  I sure hope that this has helped you.  Now that you know a bit about polenta and how to cook it, here is a recipe for a different way to use polenta.  

Polenta Pizza with Spinach, Mushrooms, Bacon & Tomatoes

The best part of this recipe is that you can completely adapt it to your taste or to complement the rest of the food that you’re serving. Pile on your favorite toppings, add a thin layer of pizza or marinara sauce, use fresh basil, tomatoes, and mozzarella for a caprese-style pizza – the possibilities are absolutely endless. Eat it as a main dish or cut into smaller servings for an appetizer. Enjoy!

Makes 4 generous main dishes or 36 appetizer servings

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, more for pan
½ cup whole milk
2½ cups water
Salt
1 cup coarse cornmeal
Freshly ground black pepper
5 strips of bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
10 ounces cremini mushrooms, chopped
2 cups baby spinach
1 Roma tomato, sliced
1 cup shredded fontina cheese

1. Brush a layer of olive oil on a pizza pan or cookie sheet. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine milk, water and a large pinch of salt. Bring just about to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and add cornmeal in a steady stream, whisking all the while to prevent lumps from forming. Turn heat to low and simmer, whisking frequently, until thick, 10 or 15 minutes. If mixture becomes too thick, whisk in a bit more water; you want a consistency approaching thick oatmeal.

2. Stir 1 tablespoon oil into cooked cornmeal (polenta). Spoon it onto prepared pan, working quickly so polenta does not stiffen; spread it evenly to a thickness of about ½ inch all over. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, cover baking sheet with plastic wrap and put it in refrigerator until it is firm, an hour or more (you can refrigerate polenta overnight if you prefer).

3. Heat oven to Heat oven to 450º. Put polenta in oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until it begins to brown and crisp on edges. Meanwhile, put one tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until they have released all of their moisture, about 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to take the mushrooms out of pan; set aside. Add spinach to skillet and sauté until it releases its water and pan becomes dry; sprinkle with salt and pepper.

4. Take polenta out of oven, sprinkle with fontina cheese, then spread spinach evenly on top of cheese and top with mushrooms, bacon and sliced tomato. Put pizza back in oven for two minutes, or until cheese begins to melt and the toppings are warmed through. Cut into slices and serve hot or at room temperature. Top with grated Parmesan cheese and crushed red pepper flakes, if desired. Recipe and photo is from www.browneyedbaker.com

  This Blog was requested by one of my readers.  If you have a suggestion or request,  please click here to send me an e-mail!

All the best to you and those you hold dear, and only the best on your table! Until next time, I remain yours, Bobby.

Mozzarella Cheese: More Than a Pizza Topping

Mozzarella Cheese: More Than a Pizza Topping

 

Traditional Mozzarella

  When you hear the mention of mozzarella cheese, what do you think of?  Is it that delicious ooey gooey white melted cheese that's bubbling on top of a hot crispy pizza? You know that cheese that always seems to burn the roof of your mouth when you take a big bite of pizza before it cooled down? Or is it that white shredded cheese that comes in those resealable plastic bags? And oh don't get me wrong, this cheese is perfectly fine to use. However, there is a lot more to mozzarella cheese than just a topping for pizza. So you're saying, "Okay Bob, what's the big deal with mozzarella cheese?"  Let me tell you something, if all you have ever had is processed mozzarella cheese that comes out of the bag, you have never truly tasted real mozzarella cheese.  So with that in mind, let's take a look at a little bit of history and then the different types of mozzarella and then maybe a recipe here the end of the blog today.

  First, mozzarella is an Italian Traditional Specialty Guaranteed food product. That is the term is used for several different kinds of Italian cheeses that are made using spinning and then cutting methods. The TSG is actually used to promote and protect the names of quality agricultural products and foodstuffs in Italy. They are based on the legal framework provided by the Council regulation of the European Union. I know that this is getting a bit technical, and I'm not about all that, so take my word for it, when you see this logo on mozzarella cheese or other Italian products you know you're getting the real deal.

                                                                                                               

TSG Logo

 A History Lesson In Two Minutes

Mozzarella which is derived from the Neapolitan dialect spoken in Campania (see map), is the diminutive form of Mozza (“cut”), or mozzare (“to cut off”) derived from the method of working.  Scamorza cheese is a  close relative,  which probably derives from scamozzata (“without a shirt”), with allusion to the fact that these cheeses have no hard surface covering typical of dry curd cheese.  In Italian, and in the English use of the word mozzarella, the vowel at the end of mozzarella is pronounced, despite some people incorrectly dropping the vowel, erroneously rendering the word “mozzarella”.  The term mozzarella is first found definitively mentioned in 1570, cited, in a cookbook in reading: milk cream, fresh butter, ricotta cheese, fresh mozzarella, and milk.”  (Thank you Wikipedia!)

The Region of Campania

Now on to our types of Mozzarella cheese.  Yummy!

Types of Mozzarella Cheese

MOZZARELLA DI BUFALA COMPANIA

  Now let's talk about the different kinds of mozzarella cheeses that are available to the public.  The first cheese that I want to tell you about is the unparalleled mozzarella di bufala Campania.  This truly is the King of mozzarella cheese. This cheese is made from the milk of a domesticated water buffalo. Water buffalo were imported into Italy during the middle ages from Africa and were domesticated and their milk was used for various purposes.  Because the production of cheese made from buffalo's milk is very limited in Italian regions, the cost of the cheese is very expensive here in the United States. However, if you have a very special occasion, I would suggest she take the plunge and splurge on at least 8 ounces of this deliciously creamy treat. You can find water buffalo mozzarella cheese at any fine Italian grocer. The price may vary but I've found it to be roughly $27 a pound in the Providence area. This is not the kind of mozzarella you are going to want to top your pizza with every day!

FIOR DI LATTE

  This mozzarella cheese is made from, and I'm sure that you've guessed it already, cows cheese. This is the most common type of mozzarella that is made a both domestically and in Italy. Since the cheeses made from cows milk rather than water buffalo, the costs have dropped dramatically. Outside of Italy, mozzarella not clearly labeled as being derived from the water buffalo can be presumed to be made of cow's milk.

  You can get mozzarella in two different forms. Mozzarella is available fresh or dried. When it's fresh it's usually rolled into a ball, approximately 2 to 3 ounces and is usually about 2 to 3 inches in diameter. Larger mozzarella balls up to 2 1/2 pounds are soaked in salt water or whey and sometimes have citric acid added.these are known as the fresh mozzarella. The dried or desiccated mozzarella is what most of us are familiar with, which is the shredded mozzarella cheese that is in the plastic bags that you buy at the supermarket. This type of cheese is usually used for the lasagna or the pizzas that we have all become accustomed to.

A mozzarella smoker

  There is one more type of mozzarella which I want to talk to you about it. I've recently come across it in a local supermarket. This is the smoked mozzarella cheese. This simply is the mozzarella cheese balls that have been hunting a smokehouse to absorb the smoked and gives the mozzarella a rich, smoky flavor, which is truly a treat. The picture above shows a typical mozzarella smoker.  The picture below actually shows a smoked mozzarella cheese in half, note the brown coloring.  I would highly suggest that if you see some smoked mozzarella in your market or favorite Italian deli to give it a try and to eat it with tomatoes and a sprinkling of basil.  If by some miracle you should find Smoked Mozzarella di Bufala Compania, my friend have hit the mother load and I will be VERY jealous!

Smoked Mozzarella

  This past weekend, I had the pleasure of having one of my Italian friends come over and share with me his craftsmanship. Franco is an internationally known mozzarella cheese maker. He made two specialty mozzarella kinds of cheese for my neighbor's 60th birthday party on Saturday.   He and his family live in Providence, Rhode Island, but works in Montreal, Canada. Talk about a major commute! There's one other kind of mozzarella form that is made and that is called a treccia.  Franco made two of these, one was approximately 5 pounds and the other was a giant 12 pounds braid. Here is the picture of Franco taking the giant treccia braid out of the water so that I could photograph it.  It truly was amazing to see!

Franco's 12 pounds treccia mozzarella

Oh and seriously, if you are interested in purchasing some of this mozzarella, Franco said that it is for sale.  Feel free to contact me for a price.

Now to end today's blog, I thought that I would give you a very easy Italian treat using mozzarella cheese.  I am sure that many of you have had fresh tomatoes with basil and mozzarella.  I am going to take it up a bit to a little higher level.  Please, please, PLEASE do NOT change the ingredients that I list here.  Doing so will change the quality of the salad.  That said here is a recipe for "Jewel Salad Comprisi".  I call it "Jeweled" because the tomatoes remind me of rubies, the celery and basil are the emeralds, the mozzarella is the diamonds and the red onions are the amethysts. It is visually stunning and well as delicious.  I hope you will give it a try!

Six large ripe plum tomatoes

Fresh mozzarella

Smoked mozzarella

Two Sliced Red Onions

Fresh Basil

Fresh Celery leaves

Coarse ITALIAN Sea Salt  DON'T YOU DARE USE Morton's!!!!!

Fresh cracked pepper

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar of Modena

Chill the tomatoes so they are relatively firm and then cut in slices.  Arrange on a plate or platter.  Gently slice the two mozzarella kinds of cheese with a non-serrated knife  Be sure this knife is super sharp!  I use a ceramic knife and gently slice pulling towards me.  Do not use a sawing motion to cut or this will crush the cheese and you don't want that!  Arrange the cheese alternating between the tomatoes.  Top both tomatoes and cheese slices with the sliced red onions.  Sprinkle a generous stream of Extra Virgin Olive Oil.  Generously grind Italian Sea Salt over the entire salad. Cut celery leaves and basil into thin strips and top salad.  Serve with Balsamic Vinegar of Modena on a side plate.  A fabulous summer salad and also is hearty enough to be it's own vegetarian meal when served with rustic Italian Bread.

Jeweled Salad

  I also will be sharing wine pairings when a recipe calls for good wine.  Here is a delicate Italian wine that I would serve with the "Jeweled Salad".

Conti di Buscareto

 Conti, di Buscareto, Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi DOC 2009, Le Marche

  The Verdicchio cultivar is produced almost exclusively in Le Marche.  It is an autochthonous vine, the history of which can be traced back through the centuries.  The vines are held to low yields, in order to enhance the quality of this ancient variety.  Grapes are hand-picked off the vine and placed in shallow cases which immediately brought down to the cellar, where the grapes undergo a gentle pressing.  The obtained must is then fermented in stainless steel barrels at a controlled temperature.

  Smooth and balanced, this wine has a light straw color, sometimes slightly green. It boasts a pleasant floral aroma on the nose, with sensations of hay and apples, and a dry but not astringent fruity flavor with a slightly bitter finish. 

   I certainly hope you have enjoyed this little expose today on mozzarella cheese.  I have received requests for a blog on polenta and vegetarian dishes.  Please stay tuned, because I have some very interesting post coming soon on both requests!  If you have a suggestion or request,  please click here to send me an e-mail!

All the best to you and those you hold dear, and only the best on your table! Until next time, I remain yours, Bobby.

Welcome

Welcome!!!!!

 

       Welcome to Bobby's Culinary Adventure!  I am glad that you are here and ready to join me in my culinary adventures.  In this blog, I hope to be able to share my cooking and eating experiences with you.  I certainly hope that you will share your culinary adventures with me.   Sometimes, I will discuss various cooking techniques, sometimes I will post recipes and sometimes I just might vent my frustrations.  I sure hope that you will join me on this trek.

       A little about me.,  First, I am NOT a professional chef and never have claimed to be.  I just love to cook for others.  I'm not sure why but I really get my jollies seeing peoples faces when they taste my food.  I have been told by many friends and acquaintances that I should have my own restaurant.  Really?  Hmm, sounds like a  good idea but I really rather deal with the public on a one on one level.  Who am I kidding?  I would love to have my own place, but there is a little thing called money.

       I was born in Rockford, Illinois many, many, many years ago.  I was raised by my father and mother in a loving home along with my two sisters and brother.  My mom was and still is a wonderful cook.  I learned many techniques from her when I was growing up.  Being from the mid-west, I was privy to many church potlucks and their glorious dishes.  I was fortunate enough to get many of these recipes and have them either written down or committed to memory.

       I attended college in Cincinnati, Ohio and have a degree in Church Music with a Vocal Major.  I still sing but am not using my degree at this time.  I now live in Providence, Rhode Island and love it here.  Many cultures are represented here.  Portuguese, Italian, French, Polish, Spanish (which encompasses many different countries and subcultures) and many African nations all have converged on the State of Rhode Island and Plantations.  Yes, that is the official name of Rhode Island.  Well, that's about it for now.  I will be publishing more soon.  Thank for taking a look at this new blog.  I hope to hear from you soon about your culinary adventure!

Oh, let start with an easy recipe!

TACO OLE BITES 

       This past weekend I catered a dinner party for 50 people. One of the appetizers that I served was my creation, Taco Ole Bites. I got the original inspiration from Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry. The group went wild over them so I thought I would share this recipe with you.

2 lbs of ground beef
2 packages of taco seasoning
1 jar of Pace Picante Sauce
1 cup Shredded Mexican Blended Cheese
1 cup crispy rice cereal
2 sheets puff pastry
pickled jalapeno slices

Cook ground beef in skillet according to taco seasoning directions. Add picante sauce and mix thoroughly. Allow the mixture to cool. Add cheese and mix. Set beef mixture aside. Roll puff pastry to size to cut 1 1/2 inch squares (this does not have to be exact). Place square into the greased cups of a mini-muffin pan. If the dough does not cover all sides of the cup, press dough lightly with fingers to spread dough to cover the sides. Place 1/4 teaspoon of the crispy rice cereal in the bottom of each cup and then fill with the beef mixture. The crispy rice will absorb the excess moisture and keep the pastry crisp.  Bake at 375 for 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and sprinkle more cheese on top of the Oles. Place back in the oven for 2 minutes or until cheese melts. Remove from the oven and top each Ole with a jalapeno slice. Serve warm. Make approximately 50 Taco Oles!

Have a suggestion for a topic?  Please feel free to email me by clicking here.
All the best to you and those you hold dear, and only the best on your table! Until next time, I remain yours, Bobby.