Harvest Month- Cumin Polenta Stuffed Poblanos

Here it is, the last day of November and my final Harvest Month recipe to share. This has been a fun experiment! The idea for this meal was sparked by a recipe I spotted while perusing a Better Homes & Gardens issue I inherited on a visit to Josh's grandmother. I've obviously used corn meal before, and used pre-made polenta, but never made my own. The recipe for Cumin Polenta called out to me and I almost immediately thought about filling some poblanos with it. A quick click using the Food Blog Search in my sidebar brought me Cara's Pumpkin Polenta & Manchego Stuffed Poblanos which helped fill in the rest of the picture the Cumin Polenta had started to form in my mind. I stuffed my peppers with the BHG polenta recipe, topped with Pepper Jack cheese, and followed Cara's lead by serving them over a black bean/tomato/chile ragout. Making this polenta wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it might be, and I'll definitely be trying some different recipes for it in the future.

Cumin Polenta Stuffed Poblanos
Serves 4














4 large poblano peppers
1 14 oz. cans reduced sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup diced yellow onion
1 clove minced garlic
1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 10 oz. can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1/2 cup grated Pepper Jack cheese

• Roast whole poblanos by your preferred method- stove, oven, grill, etc. I used the oven, and roast just long enough to soften, but not long enough to have to peel them.
  
• Meanwhile, in a large heavy saucepan combine broth and cumin; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; gradually whisk in cornmeal. Cook and stir until thick, about 6 to 8 minutes. Whisk in milk and butter. Season with salt and pepper.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray an oven-proof skillet with lid with nonstick cooking spray and heat over medium-low heat. Cook the onions until soft, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add the diced peppers with green chilies and the black beans, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer.
• Carefully cut a slit into each pepper and scoop out all the seeds. Fill each pepper with polenta and place on top of the black bean mixture. Top each pepper with shredded cheese and cover the skillet. Bake for about 15-20 minutes.

My notes: This polenta doesn't really firm up enough to not escape from the poblanos, so next time I might not roast the peppers beforehand and instead just cut them in half and fill. And I realize my pepper-roasting instructions are a little vague- for the life of me I can't actually remember what I did. I mean, I know I roasted them in the oven, but I can't remember what temp or for how long. I really shouldn't wait so long to share recipes- this is what happens!

No Heat Week Part 1- Cold Pesto Pasta w/ Tomatoes and Mozzarella

Recently we had the displeasure of discovering our air conditioning wasn't working properly, and upon inspection by our home warranty servicer, that we in fact needed an entirely new condensor. That is unfortunately not the kind of repair with a speedy turn around time. This situation rather inconveniently coincided with the increase in temperatures- it is indeed summer here in Texas. We used the windows when the heat wasn't severe, lots of fans, and kept almost all the lights off to cut down on creating any unnecessary heat. Once we had our "cooling" plan in place, my mind naturally turned to our cooking plan, ha. What exactly could we eat all week? I knew that it wouldn't take much cooking in that hot house before I'd pass out from heat stroke. So I came up with a week of food that required very little cooking. I guess the one bonus of it being summer is all the great fresh produce I could take advantage of. We usually eat salad with dinner each night, but this week I made them a bit bigger and added even more veggies in. This is the one recipe that really required any cooking, and as I suspected the mere boiling of a pot of pasta was borderline torturous! But the meal was delicious, so I suppose it was worth it. I based this recipe off the Caprese combo of basil, tomatoes and mozzarella- using the pesto my step mom-in-law generously shared with us.

Cold Pesto Pasta with Tomatoes and Mozzarella
Recipe by me














3/4 lb. rotini pasta
1 cup prepared pesto
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
4 oz. fresh mozzarella, cubed

• Prepare pasta according to package instructions. Drain pasta and rinse with cold water till cool to touch.
• Toss pasta with pesto, tomato and mozzarella. Season with coarse salt and ground pepper. Chill in refrigerator for at least 15 minutes. Serve.
  

Pantry Cooking: Bean and Cornbread Pie

A couple weeks ago I came home with no idea of what I'd be making for dinner. Not my usual situation, but luckily after a few moments perusing the contents of my refrigerator and pantry I had a plan in hand. My pantry contained a a couple cans of beans, some canned tomatoes and a box of cornbread mix. My refrigerator had the ingredients for the cornbread along with some cheese and sliced peppers. And I had an onion from my father-in-law's garden in my veg basket. This let me cobble together a yummy dinner for Josh and me.

Bean and Cornbread Pie
Recipe by me; Serves 4


























1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 can fire-roasted tomatoes with chiles
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
olive oil
1 box cornbread mix
shredded cheese
sliced jalapeno

• Preheat oven to temperature noted on cornbread mix. Heat oil in medium sauce pan over medium heat (I used about a tablespoon). Saute onion till softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for about 1 minute more. Add in beans and tomatoes with juice. Reduce heat and let warm through.
• Make cornbread mixture according to the instructions (or from your own recipe). Add in shredded cheese to your taste.
• Place bean mixture in oven safe dish. Spread cornbread mixture atop bean mixture. Top with jalapeno slices and more shredded cheese. Bake for 30-40 minutes, done when a toothpick inserted into the cornbread topping comes out clean.

My notes: I used a mixture of cheddar and pepper jack cheese in this recipe, but you could use whatever you personal preference might be. I almost always have these ingredients in my kitchen, so I'll definitely be making this recipe again. When I can chew well, that is. :)

Oooh, Tomato Orzo

This dish turned out so pretty! I loved the bright color of the tomatoes and parsley. It also tasted great, even the next day, which is when Josh got to eat his helping thanks to late night rehearsals. This was also a really fast dish, which made dinner that night a pleasure. I choose this recipe as a side to some Caprese Sandwiches. No secret recipe there- just layer basil, tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella on bread of your choice. I used a demi-baguette, a smaller loaf of french bread which turned out to be the perfect size. It would also be great on some ciabatta, I think. I made the sandwiches the night before and tucked them into the fridge, so dinner was a snap when I served this orzo dish on the side.

Tomato Orzo
Recipe from Everyday Food; Serves 4












1 cup orzo
2 plum tomatoes, cored and chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

• Set a large saucepan of salted water to boil. Cook orzo in boiling water until al dente. Drain well; return to pot. Add tomatoes, parsley, butter, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper, and toss to combine.

My notes: Nothing really, everything came out great. I mean, this recipe is so easy it was hard for even me to mess it up. And I mess up a lot of things. This will be a great recipe to use through the summer.

Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter

I had noticed this recipe before. It had wormed it's way into a back corner of my mind, and slept there, waiting for the day it would be awoken. And last week while I was planning my weekly menu, it finally arose. Molly mentioned it once again on her blog last week, which brought it to the forefront of my mind. I decided it would be perfect for this week, and as it turned out I picked the perfect night to make it. It was quite cold last night, and sleet came shining down most of the evening. This sauce was bright, but also very comforting. Josh is not always the biggest fan of sauce. He has been known to skip out on it completely and just coat is spaghetti with butter and Parmesan instead. But he seemed pleased to try this, and in fact had a second helping. Huzzah, a very simple and delicious sauce that my husband is happy to eat. In the future I would like to pull this recipe out for entertaining.

Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter
Recipe from Orangette, adapted from Marcella Hazan; Makes 4 servings












2 cups whole, peeled, canned plum tomatoes, chopped, with their juices (about one 28-oz. can)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and cut in half
Salt, to taste

• Combine the tomatoes, their juices, the butter, and the onion halves in a medium saucepan. Add a pinch or two of salt. Place over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, at a very slow but steady simmer, adjusting the heat as necessary, for about 45 minutes, or until droplets of fat float free from the tomato. Stir occasionally, mashing any large pieces of tomato with the back of a wooden spoon. Taste and salt as needed.
• Discard the onion before tossing the sauce with pasta.

My notes: I think one of the things that I really liked about this is that it reminded me very much of the simplest of simple meals my grandmother used to make when I was growing up- macaroni and tomato juice. Yep, that's about as simple as it gets, short of just dry macaroni. This had a similar, but so much fuller flavor. Loved this sauce. Try it. I added some cracked black pepper and a little freshly grated Parmesan. Josh added a lot of Parmesan, as per usual.