Balsamic Roasted Chicken and Cherry Tomatoes with Sweet Corn Polenta

bowl o' tastiness.

My favorite recipes are the ones where I discover I only need to buy 1 ingredient.  I don’t think I’m able to fully express the depth of my love for that situation.  It’s the opposite of the feeling I get when I see a recipe for something s’more flavored and I think I have all the ingredients, and then I realize that I ate all the mini marshmallows again, so I don’t have any.

In any case, you probably have almost all these ingredients too.  If you are a better person than me, you probably keep frozen chicken in the freezer, as I should.  If so, you probably never find yourself wondering what you can make for dinner out of kidney beans and lasagna noodles, because you plan the week’s meals in advance.  Well done you.  Please come live with me.

This whole process took me 40 minutes, from halving the tomatoes to eating my first bite.  And I had time to watch snippets of Tosh.0 during it.  This dinner goes out to my cousin Susie, who appreciates quick, easy and healthy recipes more than anyone, having 3 adorable kiddos under 4.

Balsamic Roasted Chicken and Cherry Tomatoes

1 lb or so chicken (1 package of thighs, 1 package of breasts, a whole chicken cut up, whatever)

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved or not

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

3 tbsp good olive oil

salt and pepper

Method: Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.  In a bowl (or jar) mix together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and garlic.  In a 9×13 baking dish or a roasting pan, put the tomatoes in the bottom of the pan.  Place the chicken on the tomatoes.

i always think boneless chicken thighs look like floppy socks.

Pour the vinegar/garlic mixture over the chicken.  Roast for 30 minutes, depending on what kind of chicken you used.  Baste the chicken with the pan juices 2 or 3 times during cooking.  If, toward the end of the cooking time you want to turn your broiler on high for a minute or two, that would be good. THAT’S IT.

Sweet Corn Polenta

1 cup corn polenta (polenta and grits are the same thing.  I use Bob’s Red Mill)

3 cups liquid (I used 2 cups chicken stock, 1 cup skim milk and a dash of half and half, because I had it.  The point is, cooking ratio for polenta is 1:3, meaning for every cup you use of dry polenta, you need 3 cups of liquid.)

2 cups or so of sweet corn, fresh if you have it, frozen if you don’t (if you had fresh corn on the cob recently and have leftovers, this would be an excellent use for it)

salt and pepper

Method:  About 20 minutes from when you think the chicken will be done, start this process. In a large saucepan on medium heat, mix together the polenta and 3 cups of liquid.  Stir frequently as it cooks and absorbs the liquid, this will take 20 minutes or so.  Near the very end, when it’s just a bit waterier than you’d like, stir in the corn and let it heat through.

Serve the chicken on the polenta, and pour the tomato-y pan sauce you created in the bottom of the pan over it.  You could shave a little parmesan over it, too.  And I served mine with a green salad.

Notes:  During the roasting process, if you open the oven door and are knocked over by the vinegar fumes, don’t worry, they will mellow by the end.  Also, this heats up REALLY well as leftovers.

- Cat

Beef Short Ribs with Mushroom Ragout and Creamy Parmesan Polenta

Short ribs are a fancy way of saying pot roast. Ok not really, but they are fairly similar in flavor- they are also cooked quite similarly in the method of a long braise.  Let’s just be honest here….short ribs are a fancy “in” food right now, and if you Googled that and got here it’s probably because you saw them on a menu at a hip restaurant and wanted to try to make them at home. Either way- they are good.  They are fairly inexpensive, and you can change your braise easily by substituting beer or broth for wine, different herbs, more or less garlic, different vegetables, or even a touch of chocolate in the form of a cocoa rub is great with them.

I made these while I was home for the holidays and sent my dear mother to the butcher to pick up short ribs. They did not have bone in, which is fine…though I do believe the bones do help to retain moisture in the meat. You work with what you’ve got right? I also planned on making creamy polenta, but polenta was nowhere to be found. After much deliberation, attempting to search for recipes on my phone, and talking to Caitlyn; I decided on using corn meal. Don’t do this. While the flavor is similar the texture is much gooeyer than regular polenta. I also served this with a delicious wild mushroom ragout that added a nice earthy flavor to the dish.

Short ribs ingredients:

5lbs beef short ribs

2-3 pieces of thick cut bacon

1 medium carrot peeled

1 celery stalk

1/2 of a small onion

2-3 medium cloves of garlic

1 bottle hearty red wine- I used a malbec

1 qt chicken stock, beef stock or water

3 sprigs of fresh thyme

Salt

Freshly cracked black pepper

¼ cup all purpose flour

1 Tbs olive oil

Method for short ribs:

If the ribs are not bone in you will most likely have to slice them into smaller pieces. You want each piece to be approximately 2 inches long and about 14-16 oz. Once this is done, salt and peppers each liberally and put in the refrigerator for an hour or up to a day. When you are ready to prepare them place the flour into shallow bowl and coat each piece lightly in the flour, set aside.  Slice onions, carrots, celery and garlic into a rough dice and set aside. Slice the bacon into ½ inch pieces. In a medium sized dutch oven or oven proof sauté the bacon until crisp. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside. In 2 batches (depending on the size of your pot) sear all four sides of each rib. When I say sear, I mean really really sear them, your hood fan is your best friend right now, a good deep almost burned sear will add a lot of flavor to your finished dish*.

After the ribs are seared, set them aside for a moment while you deglaze the pot. Pour 1 cup of the stock into the bottom of the hot dutch oven, it will sizzle loudly (if you’re doing it right). Turn the heat down to medium, and using a spatula or wooden spoon, gently release the crispy bits from the bottom of the pan. Once the stock has stopped bubbling profusely, and you have successfully deglazed most of the remnants off the bottom of the pot.  Next add vegetables and sauté lightly. After the vegetables have softened slightly and the garlic and onions are fragrant, add the remainder of the stock, and ½ the bottle of wine.

Using tongs gently place the short ribs back into the pot, add enough wine to cover the short ribs entirely (if there is a glass left, drink it, if you need more, add extra wine stock or water-whatever you have). Tuck the sprigs of time into the pot making sure they are submerged into the braising liquid. Cover and braise in the oven for 2 ½ to 3 hours.

Mushroom ragout ingredients:

1 ½ lbs mixed mushrooms ( I used shitaakes and button, as it was what was available)

1 ½ Tbs olive oil or butter

1 clove of garlic, pressed or finely chopped

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp freshly ground pepper

1 large sprig of thyme

1/3 cup dry white wine (or chicken broth, or even red wine)

Mushroom ragout method:

Clean and slice the mushrooms. In a medium skillet warm the olive oil or butter, then add the garlic and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute). Add the mushrooms, salt pepper, ground pepper, thyme, and white wine. Let simmer for about 15 minutes stirring occasionally until the mushrooms are soft and the sauce has reduced.

Parmesan polenta ingredients:

1 cup polenta (or grits)

2 cups milk, or one cup milk and one cup heavy cream

1 cup chicken stock

3/4 -1 cup freshly grated parmesan (asiago, romano, or a blend will also work

Freshly ground pepper to taste

Parmesan polenta method:

Combine the grits, milk, and chicken stock in a large sauce pan or small dutch oven. Cook slowly on medium heat until the grits have softened slightly and absorbed all of the liquid. Be sure not to boil this because two things will happen- a) it holds the heat really well and will continue bubbling and spitting polenta into the air even after you removed it from the heat b) it WILL burn to the bottom- fairly easily in fact. Be patient with these (and if you have to ask, yes, I have done both of the things above. After the polenta has cooked remove it from the heat and whisk in the cheese until melted and smooth. If the mixture is too thick add another ¼ cup of liquid (please make that milk or chicken stock, but water if you must). Add a few grinds of pepper to taste. While I would usually recommend salt in polenta it is unnecessary with the saltiness of a hard cheese, but feel free to add some if you like.

To plate: Place a large scoop of creamy polenta into the bottom of a low bowl or onto a plate. Top with mushroom ragout and two pieces of short ribs. Drizzle a bit of the braising liquid over the dish and serve

A few notes:

*Do not “crowd the pan” when you are searing the ribs- or any meat for that matter. With too much meat in the pan it cannot retain a proper even temperature, this is why it’s essential to sear the meat in batches.

If you cook bone in short ribs- do not be surprised if the meat falls off the bone completely while cooking- this is common

You could strain the vegetables out of the braising liquid and make a gravy, or you could serve some of the braised vegetables with the dish. I chose not too since i made the mushrooms. I also don’t think short ribs need gravy, but feel free to make it if you like.

Do not over salt the mushrooms before you cook them, they are very porous and absorb a lot flavor while cooking, add the recommended ¼ tsp, and then after the 15 mins of simmering add more if so desired.

While this dish was DELICIOUS it was extremely rich. When I make this again, I will top them with roasted cherry tomatoes, to add just a touch of tang. This dish would also be nicely served alongside a salad of mixed greens and arugula with a vinaigrette dressing.

Roasted cherry tomatoes:

1 pint cherry tomatoes

Drizzle of olive oil (1 to 2 Tbs)

Sprinkling of Kosher salt (1 to 2 tsp)

Freshly ground pepper

A  drizzle of balsamic vinegar (1 Tbs max)

On a roasting pan, or cake pan (that’s what I use since those little suckers roll) toss the tomatoes in olive oil and spice. Roast in the oven at 350 for 25 minutes  or until they have burst and are slightly wrinkly. When you remove them from oven drizzle them with a bit of balsamic vinegar and spoon over the short ribs.

-Sue

Cat and Sue Cook Together For Once, Volume 2: Gruyere Polenta Cakes, with Creamy Braised Leeks, Seared Diver Scallops and Roasted Tomato Drizzle

I’m so proud of how LONG that title is.  Because, as everyone knows, with recipes, long = fancy.  The coolest thing about this meal is that Sue and I made it up.  The second coolest thing about it is that it is a pretty even split of ideas, some were mine, some were Sue’s.  The finished result was really harmonious, all the flavors and textures complementing each other well, nothing jarring but everything speaking for itself.  Plus, people who don’t like scallops are no friends of mine.  So here are the recipes, with a few notes about each one.

Gruyere Polenta Cakes

Polenta is grits, in case there’s any confusion about that.  To make polenta cakes, you cook the grits, including all your flavors, pour them into a pan, cool them in the fridge, cut them into shapes, and then pan fry them.  Simple, delicious, an excellent addition to meals when you’re tired of rice and potatoes.  Polenta is pretty bland, so be careful to include lots of flavor.  For these, we made them creamy and cheesy with Gruyere, though I’ve  made cheddar grits, parmesan grits and goat cheese grits with enormous success as well.  The ratio I use for liquid to grits is 1:3, assuming you’ll add cheese and some butter.

1 cup grits

2 cups milk and/or heavy cream (Some cream is fantastic in here, not that you MUST include it.  Just make sure that whatever proportions of milk and cream you use add up to 2 of the 3 parts of liquid required.)

1 cup chicken stock (You can use veggie stock if you’re a vegetarian.  Please don’t use water.  If you must, use another cup of milk.  Just don’t use water.)

3/4 -1 cup shredded Gruyere

a pat or two of butter

salt and pepper

Toss the grits and all liquid in a cold pot and turn heat to medium.  Let the grits slowly incorporate the liquid, stirring frequently.  This takes 20-25 minutes, but if you’re in a hurry, you can cook them on higher heat and stand there whisking the grits the whole time to make sure they don’t clump, burn, or cook unevenly.  Your call.  When the grits are done, they’ll look like thinnish porridge or oatmeal, and you can pour them into a buttered dish or pan.  Bear in mind the eventual shape you want the polenta cakes to have, we did pretty triangles, you could easily do circles or squares, or whatever.  Let the grits cool and harden in the fridge until you’re ready to pan fry them, at least a couple hours.  To pan fry them, simply cut them into the desired shapes, melt some oil or butter (or bacon grease!) in a nonstick pan on medium-high heat, and pop the polenta cakes into the oil.  Don’t move them around much, they’re a bit fragile.  Let them cook maybe 4-5 minutes on each side, flipping only once, until each side is a nice, deep, crunchy brown.  Remove them from the oil and plate immediately.

Creamy Braised Leeks

2 big bunches of leeks

1/2 cup unsalted butter (unsalted butter is better for this, but if you only have salted, watch your temperature and account for the salt)

1 Tbs of all purpose flour

1/4 cup of cream or 1/2 and 1/2

Fresh ground pepper

Salt

So last time we talked about leeks it was for potato leek soup. Leeks are like a mildly flavored green onion. They are also a very dirty vegetable.  To prep leeks, you will need to cut off the roots (about an inch) and then cut off the top dark green fibrous portion of  leeks (about 1 1/2 inches). Cut the rest into small rings (about 1/2 inch thick). Place the rings into a bowl of water and separate the rings with your fingers. Swirl them around to help release the dirt, and then let them sit for awhile. Scoop out the leeks with a slotted spoon into your cooking pot (we used a small enameled dutch oven). DO NOT pour the leeks into a colander or you will coat them with all the dirt you took the time to extract.

Add the butter to the pot and let them cook on low heat until they are tender, be careful to not let them brown, or they will turn bitter. Add the flour and stir until evenly distributed, cook for about 1 min (you are making a roux here). Then add the cream and stir until creamy. Add a generous amount of freshly ground pepper and a sprinkle of salt. Taste to see if you need more of anything. You can keep these on low heat while you prepare everything else, if they start to get too thick add a splash of chicken broth, or splash of milk.

Seared Diver Scallops

When you go to the grocery store to buy scallops, you’ll notice the diver scallops are like 40 times the price of regular scallops.  That’s because they are diver scallops, which means that divers pluck them from the sea by hand, as opposed to farmed scallops which are dredged up with a big net.  They are the best, biggest, tenderest, tastiest scallops a person can eat, and in this recipe they’re prepared so simply it’s worth it to spend the money to get something perfect.  Also- if you don’t like scallops, or you think you don’t, you’re wrong.  Scallops are like clouds with a very delicate sea flavor.  We served 3 scallops per person, which is more than enough.  They were about the size of golfballs.

Scallops

1/4 cup olive oil

salt and pepper (liberal amounts)

cayenne pepper (small amount)

Get your oil hot in a nonstick saute pan, on medium heat.  Salt, pepper and cayenne both sides of your scallops.  When the oil is hot, place scallops in the pan in one layer, not touching each other.  If you have to do this in several stages, do that, just don’t crowd the scallops or they will not sear properly.  Tongs are the best tool for turning scallops, they are a meaty fish but they are still flaky like fish, using a spatula will sometimes result in broken scallops. Let them cook 3-4 minutes, not moving them around.  After 3-4 minutes, when you can see some nice browning happening on the underside of the scallops, flip them over and cook them a further 3-4 minutes to achieve the same browning on the opposite side.  When they’re brown on both sides, remove them from the pan and plate them immediately.

Note- scallops are DELICIOUS raw.  If you’ve never had raw scallop in a sushi restaurant, do so immediately.  I prefer raw scallops to cooked, actually.  My point is, it’s best to serve scallops rare- just make sure they’re nice and brown on the outsides.

Roasted Tomato Drizzle

This is the easiest thing on the face of the earth.  Seriously.  Make it and put it on anything, but in this meal, the acidity of the tomato and balsamic compliments the richness of the leeks and the polenta.

1 pint cherry tomatoes

3 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

Roast the tomatoes, olive oil and salt and pepper in an oven safe pan for 20-30 minutes, on 350. Roast the tomatoes until they burst and some are slightly charred. Remove them from the oven, let them cool, and toss them in your food processor with the balsamic (make sure to scrape all the drippings off the pan, there is a lot of flavor in there).  Serve however you want.

Pre- food processor stage, these are also the roasted tomatoes I (Sue) used on the vegan pizza, in fact I use them in a lot of things.  If you are like me and don’t love raw tomatoe,s (except the heirloom ones, I can eat those like candy) this is a great way to maintain a fresh flavor, while still taking away that “raw” taste. Keep in mind that you can roast them as long or as little as you like.

These pictures aren’t perfect…but we also spent the ENTIRE day in the kitchen, and we were really hungry.

We also were trying to plate quickly for 6 people….

- Co-written by Cat and Sue (can you tell?)