Morphing Polenta

Polenta Day #1

I decided to try a polenta dish that I've been wanting to try for awhile for dinner the other night.

I made Giada's Polenta with Arugula.

I cut back on the butter and used skim milk instead of the cream requested, which I think made the consistency a tad off, but it still tasted good.

I served the polenta with steamed broccoli and TJ's battered halibut and tartar sauce.

I was really impressed with the TJ's halibut from the frozen food section. Pretty good stuff for frozen food.

Hubby and I split a Flying Dog Classic Pale Ale .

I took the leftover polenta and spread it out till flat in a square-ish tupperware for later.

Polenta Day #2

I wanted to make shrimp for dinner last night, but got to the grocery store late after Zumba (and chit-chatting with girlfriends) and after the seafood counter was all put up. I decided to try out these adorable Crab Cake Minis by Phillips .

They were mini, indeed! Here are my fingers for comparison.

For veggies, I tried the Neely's roasted broccoli with cherry tomatoes dish, which didn't turn out so hot. That's what I get for trying to multitask and take a shower while my food cooks.

The crab cakes were a cinch to cook up.

As for sides, I wondered, "Hmm...what do I do with this leftover polenta?" I quickly decided to morph the leftover polenta into something equally tasty but with a totally different texture.

For the leftover polenta...I cut it up into chunks and baked it along with the broccoli and tomatoes.

I drizzled the polenta pieces with olive oil and tossed to coat.

All together now.

Slightly charred broccoli and cherry tomatoes - I'll have to give this another go, but pay closer attention next time.

The crab cakes may have been mini but they were filling, so I only ate 3 1/2 cakes. I thought they were really good for frozen food, too. Nice texture.

The polenta leftovers baked up quite nicely - I loved the finished texture. Crispy on the outside and soft in the middle.

What do you do with leftover polenta?

Dinner

Comments

[Michelle]

Hi there! I like to form the polenta into rounds and bake them with a little Parmesan or shredded cheese sprinkled on top. Not the healthiest option, but they sure taste good.

[katecooks]

i like to get that kind of texture from polenta too...love when the outside is all crispy like that!

[Marie]

I was happy to see a post on polenta because I thought not many people know about this. My ancestors were from Northern Italy so polenta is a dish I am quite familiar with. When my mom was alive she would cook the polenta to a creamy consistency and then serve it with this kind of Italian cooked salami and marinara sauce on top of the polenta.

As a child we ate leftover polenta fried on the stove top or as a side dish. I like your idea of mixing in arugula with it. I just both some instant polenta and I'm going to try that.

[Jen]

That entire dinner looks SOOOO good!!!

I like to make lasagna with leftover polenta... :)

[EatingRD]

I love baked polenta. I usually just chop it into triangles or circles, bake it, and top it with a little marinara sauce and an egg, really good and cheap! Nice bokeh on the pale ale picture (I'm trying to learn camera terms hopefully I used it right) :)

[pharmacy]

I would love to try it out. I bet that it tastes so good.