March 19, 2011
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Appetizer
Grilled Polenta with Mushroom Sauce
Main Course
Chicken and Fettuccine with Pesto
Fontina Cheese, Pepper and Olive Salad
Garlic Bread
Dessert
Rocky Road Brownies
Grilled Polenta with Mushroom Sauce
Polenta
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups yellow corn meal – Bob’s Red Mill medium Coarse (Jewel’s organic and health food aisle)
¾ Cup freshly grated parmesan
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter cut into pieces
Bring water, olive oil and salt to a boil.
Slowly whisk corn meal into water and bring back to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium low and stirring frequently until polenta is thick and stiff and clears sides of pan, about 30 minutes. Do not walk away.
Turn off heat.
Stir in cheese and butter and transfer to greased 9 by 13 pan. Allow to cool completely. May be prepared in advance and refrigerated.
When cool, slice into 16 thick pieces. Just before serving, brush lightly with olive oil. Grill both sides quickly until light brown to heat, on a grill or on a fry pan.
Mushroom Sauce
2 shallots, minced
2 small onions, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
4 cups chopped mushrooms (12 oz.)
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried
1/2 cup Marsala wine
4 cups beef broth
4 Tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup tomato paste
2 Tablespoons minced fresh parsley
In a 12” skillet, heat olive oil until shimmering. Add shallots and onion on medium high. Cook for three minutes.
Add mushrooms and thyme. Cook until tender, about 5 minutes.
Add wine and reduce to about half, 4 tablespoons. Reserve.
In a separate bowl, whisk cornstarch with 4 tablespoons of broth, dissolving completely. Whisk in remaining broth. In a separate pan, bring to a simmer over low heat and simmer 5 minutes, stirring constantly until sauce is clear. Whisk in tomato paste. Add reserved mushroom mixture. Season with salt and finely ground pepper if necessary. May be prepared in advance to this point and reheated.
Stir in parsley and serve over just grilled polenta.
Put extra sauce in a gravy boat on the table.
Garlic Bread
1 One pound loaf of Italian bread (wide loaf)
2 sticks butter
8 teaspoons finely minced garlic
Paprika
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Slice bread in half open face.
Put butter and garlic in a skillet. Stirring constantly, melt over low heat until garlic sizzles. Continue to cook and stir until garlic is soft, but not brown.
Brush butter and garlic mixture on bread. Spread any left-over garlic from the pan onto bread evenly. Sprinkle lightly with paprika to add color. Sprinkle lightly with parmesan cheese. Complete to this point and bring to host’s home.
Place open on cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Slice into small pieces to serve.
Fontina Cheese, Pepper and Olive Salad
2 green peppers
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
12 oz. Fontina cheese, diced
2/3 cup whole green olives, medium
2/3 cup black olives, medium pitted
1 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
Pinch of salt
2/3 teaspoon pepper
1/3 teaspoon oregano
1/3 cup olive oil
4 Teaspoons wine vinegar
2 Tablespoon grated Romano or Parmesan cheese. (Steal 2T from grated cheese for chicken.)
Core and cut peppers into approximately ¾ inch pieces. Mix together peppers, Fontina cheese, green olives, black olives, and garlic. Season with salt, pepper and oregano.
Combine oil and vinegar together. Prepare to this point at home.
At host’s home, shake dressing and gently drizzle some on salad. Toss gently. Repeat until salad is well coated. All of the dressing may not be needed.
Serve on separate plate with dinner. Sprinkle with Romano/Parmesan cheese.
Grilled Chicken and Fettuccini with Macadamia Nut Pesto
1 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided. (Plus olive oil for cooking the chicken and noodles.)
2 cups packed fresh Basil leaves with stems removed. Claude will pick up the Basil on Friday and distribute to the hosts.
4 cloves garlic
2 cups finely chopped macadamia nuts, two cups whole. Best price is at Trader Joe’s. 10 oz package and you will have some left over
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
32 sundried tomatoes, 1 - 3 oz. package
2 ½ to 3 lbs. of boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 1/2 lb. fettuccine
2 teaspoon salt
Freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
Mince garlic in food processor or blender. Add 2/3 cup oil and basil and puree.
Add nuts and 1/2 C Parmesan cheese. Process.
Add 2/3 cup oil and process. Reserve pesto sauce. May be made up to one week in advance and refrigerated.
Before guests arrive:
Preheat oven to 125 degrees.
Soak sundried tomatoes in boiling water for 20 minutes with heat off. Drain, chop and put into oven proof covered dish. Place into oven to keep warm.
Heat grill until very hot. Brush chicken with olive oil and grill until cooked through, 3-4 minutes per side. (145 degrees internal temperature) Cool slightly and slice into thin strips. Put into oven proof covered dish. Place into oven to keep warm.
30 minutes before quests arrive, in a large pot, minimum of 8 quart, add 6 quarts minimum of water. If you have a larger pot, use more water. Cover and bring to a boil. Turn off heat. This will shorten prep time after guests arrive.
After the guests arrive:
15 minutes before you plan to cook the pasta, remove chicken and tomatoes from oven. Preheat oven to 450 degrees for the garlic bread.
Put bread in oven when you start cooking the pasta.
While the pasta and garlic bread are cooking, prepare the separate pepper salad plates
Add 2 teaspoons of olive oil and 2 teaspoons of salt to the water and return to a boil. Add pasta, stir and cook until tender, but firm, about 8-10 minutes. Drain. Toss with pesto, then chicken and tomatoes in a very large bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Put pasta on plates, sprinkle with cheese. Serve immediately.
Rocky Road Brownies
1 1/2 sticks butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
2/3 cups cocoa
2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped walnuts, divided in half
1/3 heaping cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 1/2 quart premium ice cream
1 small pack strawberries for garnish
Preheat oven to 350.
Whisk together butter, sugar, vanilla and salt to combine well.
Whisk in eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
Sift together cocoa and flour to remove all lumps. Whisk in.
Stir in 1/2 cup chopped walnuts.
Pour into greased and floured 8x8 pan. Bake for 20 minutes.
Sprinkle chocolate chips and rest of walnuts on top and bake until brownies are dry on top and soft but no longer liquid, up to 15 minutes more.
Sprinkle marshmallows on top and bake for 3 to 5 minutes until marshmallows are golden brown.
Allow to cool and cut into 8 bars. Serve with premium ice cream and sliced strawberries.
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