Creamy Marscapone Polenta

If I could eat this meal everyday I would!! This is total comfort food to me and I love how flavorful it is. It's finally grilling season and one of the first things I like to cook outdoors is Italian sausage. This time it was sausage with fennel, cheese and garlic, a favorite of mine that went into a pot of sauce--but I swiped a few for our lunch yesterday. With carmelized onions, roasted red peppers, fennel and black olives and served it over a bowl of creamy marscapone polenta--pure comfort!




Creamy Marscapone Polenta
Adapted from Emeril Lagasse

* 2 cups water
* 2 cups milk
* 1 cup yellow cornmeal
* 2 ounces Marscapone cheese@ room temperature
* 1/4 c light cream
* sea salt
* white pepper

In a saucepan over medium heat, bring the water and milk to a light boil. Slowly stir in the polenta. Cook, stirring constantly, for 15 minutes. Stir in the marscapone cheese. Stir in enough of the cream for a smooth and creamy texture. Season with sea salt and white pepper. Remove from the heat and serve immediately.

Sausage,Onion,Fennel & Peppers Topping

grilled Italian sausage
roasted red peppers, sliced
1/2 fennel bulb, sliced thin
3 onions, sliced thin
dried oregano, thyme, rosemary
8 kalamata olives, cut in half
marinara sauce
grated parmesan cheese
fresh parsley, minced

In a medium skillet saute onions, fennel in 2 TBLS olive oil. Once golden, add a teaspoon of sugar and toss well. Add the olives and red peppers, cooking until they go limp. Add seasoning and herbs and cook a few minutes more. Add the previously grilled sausage, turn off the heat and keep covered. Once the polenta is ready spoon it out into a bowl topping it with a ladle of marinara sauce and then lastly the sausage, peppers and onions mixture. Sprinkle generously with grated parmesan and minced fresh parsley. Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Salmon Pie

There are so many different versions of this pie out there, but we always enjoyed a version my brother often made. His called for a typical buttery flaky crust, just like my Mom's crust, but I decided to use sweet potatoes and lighten this up a bit. I'm a big fresh sockeye fan here, and serve it weekly and though we seldom eat anything out of a can, this dish was surprisingly tasty, affordable and heart healthy too. Canned salmon is loaded with vitamins, minerals, and healthy Omega 3 fatty acids.

While it’s costing a tad more than it used to, actually a lot more, but hey, what isn't these days? It is still trumping tuna for price where I shop. I’m talking about canned salmon. It’s still within the realm of affordable, can be stocked up on and stored without a freezer, and believe it or not, is remarkably versatile. Canned salmon is pretty much on par with fresh salmon nutritionally, and it costs much less. An affordable option? Alaskan salmon will run you only $4.19 for a 13-ounce can. At least that's what I just paid for some.

And take this to heart-- An Italian study showed that people who eat fresh or canned salmon twice a week were 30 percent less likely to have had heart attacks than those who ate fish less than once per week.

Sweet Potato Salmon Pie

3 cups mashed potatoes
1 onion, chopped
1/4 green pepper, diced small
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 - 13 oz cans Sockeye salmon- drained, skinned and I remove any large bones
2 scallions, minced
white pepper
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced
olive oil
dry herbal blend- thyme, parsley, rosemary & savory
smoked paprika

Clean the salmon and add it to the mashed potatoes. Add onions, garlic, peppers, scallions and seasoning.

Peel and slice sweet potatoes and toss in a bowl with a drizzle of olive oil and the herb blend. Toss the slices well to coat.

In a two quart baker put the salmon mixture, and layer the sweet potato slices in a circular pattern around the top of the pie. Drizzle just a bit of olive oil over all and sprinkle on a bit of paprika. Pop into a 400 degree oven for ten minutes. Then lower oven to 350 degrees and continue baking until just golden brown on top. Enjoy!