I may not be a believer, but I do love it when the stars align to point me toward something wonderful. In this case, it was the convergence within hours of a tweet by Mario Batali, a visit to a native heirloom grain website, a recipe from David Tanis in the NY Times and a yearning for home cooked comfort that led me to this marvelously spicy and heart warming dinner.
Mario Batali, who generously gives advice to those who preface it with @mariobitali, had this to say on Twitter yesterday –
Which led me to Anson Mills website, where I spent a half hour reading about and yearning for traditional grains. I almost placed an order online for their Rustic Polenta Integrale, but was deterred by the minimum order and $16 shipping charge, which I was bemoaning to Mr TBTAM that evening when he pulled out that day’s paper to show me an entire page devoted to cooking with polenta.
That was it. Well, that and the chilly temperatures and tomorrow’s coming storm. I knew I had to have polenta for dinner.
And while I did not have artisinal grain, I did have some Bel Aria Bramata Oro Polenta (Did I get it from Eataly? I forget…), which made for a delicious porridge that did not require too long a cook, firmed up beautifully in less than a half hour, sliced with an oiled pizza cutter cleanly and easily and grilled like a dream in our cast iron skillet.
Mr TBTAM made the spicy tomato sauce (I recommend cutting the red pepper to 1/4 tsp) and fried the eggs as only he can. And we had a new favorite dinner.
Dinner recipe here. Basic polenta recipe here.
And if anyone knows where I can lay my hands on some Anson Mills Polenta here in NYC, do let me know.
