March was the month for doctor appointments and checkups. Some things went south such as.....Doug was stricken with Bell's Palsy and has been dealing with partial paralysis, I had an out patient procedure and they gave me some amnesiac drugs - my memory is horrid right now. Aja got herself a bladder infection. But March is over and I say good riddance!
On to a better month and let me get my blogging mojo back! Two things good things I would like to share today - the first is an announcement that both this blog and my book blog are featured at Carole's Chatter this month. Thank you, Carole, I feel honored!
The second thing I want to share is this yummy meal. It goes a treat with freshly baked bread. It's called Cheesy Skillet Polenta and Eggplant Bake and I found the recipe from America's Test Kitchens.
Once you cook the eggplant mixture it's set aside and you use the same pan for the polenta. Here you can see it's almost ready, cheese has been liberally heaped on.
Here is another snap so you can see the layers and textures. It's a one-pan meal so it doesn't get any easier for clean-up. Yesss!
While this was a delicious meal to enjoy on the back porch with salad, fresh bread and a bottle of Dreaming Tree Chardonnay......it was light enough that we may have a piece of fish with it next time. Definitely keeping this recipe around for a quick supper.
Cheesy Skillet Polenta and Eggplant Bake
Ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil
1 pound eggplant, cut into 3/4 inch pieces
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
salt and pepper
3 1/2 cups water
1 cup instant polenta
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
4 oz Fontina cheese, shredded
1/3 cup chopped basil
Directions
Heat oil in 12-inch skillet then add eggplant and cook, without stirring, until it begins to brown. About 4 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook, stirring occasionally until tender. Stir in garlic and cook about 1 minute.
Add tomatoes and simmer until thickened, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, transfer to a bowl. Set aside.
Add water to now empty skillet and bring to a boil. Gradually whisk in Polenta and some more salt. Cook over medium heat, whisking until very thick, about 5 minutes.
Take off the heat and stir in Parmesan. Spread Polenta evenly in skillet and partially up the sides. Pour the eggplant mixture over Polenta. Now top with fontina.
Linking up with Beth Fish's Weekend Cooking Series. Happy April to you all!
Your recipe offers some great flavor combinations. Eggplant is always a good start. I'm not really that familiar with polenta, though.
ReplyDeletebest... mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Congrats on the feature!
ReplyDeleteI love, love, love polenta and ATK, so yeah, I have to make this. We like Dreaming Tree wines too. YUMMMMMM. I'm kinda jealous of that eating outside comment. We're a month away from that ... at least.
Looks delicious! I'm going to print it and try it :)
ReplyDeleteEggplant is another vegetable I'm weird about. I just can't get my head around the texture. Recipes like this always tempt me to give it another chance. This looks delicious! I hope you're feeling better. I've been lucky health-wise and haven't had to have much surgery except for oral and I think that's done differently. I was sick as a dog and out of it for a day or two but thankfully no memory issues. I can imagine that's frustrating. J worked with several guys who came down with Bell's Palsy kind of all at once. It was the weirdest thing. I hope Doug is feeling better and that April is a way better month!
ReplyDeleteSorry Tina, but my husband would see eggplant and run a mile!
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about the health stuff you guys have been going through but glad to hear it seems to be getting better with the new month. hang in there!
ReplyDeleteThis looks like a dinner I would love. I have made a few different polenta dishes and I love the addition of the eggplant with the tomato sauce and cheese. Yum! ;-)
I do hope this is a better month for you. That Polenta bake sounds so good, and I've saved it for making soon.
ReplyDeleteTina, I'm not very experienced with polenta or eggplant - this looks delish. Have a great week (and month). Cheers
ReplyDeleteSounds delicious - I am trying really hard to do at least 2 days a week vegetarian and so far so good. Lots of vegetable ragusa, the odd slice of goat's cheese, a few veggie sausages and I'm really enjoying it.
ReplyDelete