Sunday Roasts

Cooking a "Sunday Roast" here in England is still something that seems to bring most Britains back into their kitchens. (Most of the rest of the week they seem to rely on microwavable meals or take-away... we've been so busy it hasn't been much better!) Since I would probably get evil looks from Hank if I through a large hunk of meat in the oven and called it dinner, I've had to get a bit more experimental for Sunday dinners.

Last weekend it was mushroom risotto with some dried porcinis I'd picked up in Italy, seasoned with my new obsession - white truffle oil. Just a teaspoon of the stuff adds such lovely aroma to dishes. Yum! This weekend I was missing the grilled polenta with mushroom dish from Mio Vicino back home, so I tried to recreate it here. First, I learned that there ARE differences in cornmeal - stone ground cooks up much firmer and can actually be grilled. The regular fine ground stuff I use for cornbread (which was all I had in the house) never really fully solidified. I wound up searing it in a pan, which worked out much better than on the grill. The sauce was really pretty tasty over the twice-cooked polenta squares - I chose to use low fat creme fraiche (like less-sour sour cream) instead of mascarpone like they use at the restaurant... It was good, but I have to say that fat sure is tasty!