Saving Christmas Dinner

Well, the pork was dry. Was it the fault of the recipe? My new oven? The roasting pan I used? Me? Secretly I blame the recipe. How could browning, then cooking for 1 hour slices of pork loin be any good? Why did I believe it? The chocolate/red wine sauce was good but no amount of liquid in the pan could keep that pork moist after an hour of cooking. So, Nancy Harmon Jenkins, you've lost my trust as an expert on Italian cooking and Italian culture no matter how many cookbooks you've published! I'll not be giving out your Maiale Cotto in Vino Rosso con Cioccolato recipe, no matter how intriguing it sounds.

On the other hand, my Christmas Dinner sides were good. So I'm happy to share the recipes with you. There were three: a simple Polenta from Marcella Hazan (she's never wrong); a Broccoli Pecorino Gratinata from a recent Bon Appetit but originally from Michael Chiarello (who cooks just the way I like to cook--and eat); and the best, Scapece Di Zucca (Marinated Butternut Squash) from Mario Batali Holiday Food cookbook. The three sides work well together and if there's a vegetarian in your midst, he or she won't feel like something is missing from the meal. First, here's the polenta recipe:

Basic Polenta
If, like me, you love the homey, satisfying goodness of corn you'll love polenta. It's my new favorite side dish. As long as you get the proportions right and have patience with the simple preparation, it will be delicious. If you can find coarse-grain corn meal (like the type from the Wayside Inn Grist Mill which I wrote about in this blog on Oct. 17, 2009, Art Imitating Life?), the final result will be a bit more flavorful and chewy; but the finely-milled stuff (almost like corn flour, but not quite that powdery) you can get everywhere will do nicely also.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon salt
2 cups cornmeal, coarse-grained or regular

1) Bring 6 & 1/2 cups water to a boil in a large pot.
2) Add the salt, turn the heat down to medium low so that the water is just shimmering, and add the cornmeal in a very thin stream, stirring with a long-handled wooden spoon. Never stop stirring and keep the water at a slow, steady simmer.
3) Continue stirring for about 20 minutes after all the cornmeal has been added. Add grated cheese if you like (or herbs, etc.). The polenta is done when it tears away from the sides of the pot as you stir. You can taste it and see if it tastes cooked or still like raw cornmeal.
4) At this point, I usually serve it, straight from the pot onto plates as a side dish, or under the main meat/fish/vegetable course. The polenta mixes well with a lot of sauces and gravies and cooking juices. If you mean to serve the polenta fried, or cold or in a different presentation, pour out the hot polenta onto a board or plate and let it cool in the shape you prefer. You can then cut it up into various shapes for further preparations.

The recipes for marinated butternut squash and broccoli gratinata will be next--stay tuned...

Happy 2010!