Polenta Casserole with Sauteed Mushrooms, Blue Cheese, and Walnuts (MBR)

POLENTA

• 3 cups water
• 2 1/2 cups whole milk
• Salt
• 1 1/2 cups instant polenta
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 1 teaspoon)
• Ground black pepper

TOPPING

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 8 portobello mushroom caps, wiped clean and slice 1/4 inch thick
• 1 large red onion, halved and sliced thin
• Salt
• 6 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 2 tablespoons)
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves
• 1/4 ounce dried porcini mushrooms, rinsed and rehydrated, with soaking liquid reserved
• Ground black pepper
• 5 ounces Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled (1 1/4 cups)
• 3/4 cups walnuts, chopped coarse
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves

Mise en place.

Bring water, milk, and 2 teaspoons of salt to a simmer in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium high heat.  Very slowly pour polenta into liquid, stirring constantly.  Reduce heat to lowest possible setting, cover, and stirring occasionally until soft and smooth.

Cook piles of portobello and white mushrooms, onion, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in the oil over high heat until most of the mushrooms have exuded their liquid and browned.

Add garlic, thyme and porcini with reserved liquid.  Cook until most of liquid has evaporated and season to taste.

Layer polenta, mushrooms, blue cheese, and walnuts.  Bake in 400 degree over for 20 minutes.  Then let cool for ten minutes.

I remain un-wowed by the dish although I like these things separately, they just didn't seem to meld properly.

Rustic Braised Chicken with Mushrooms (PCP)

• 6 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried
• 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/4 pounds cremini mushrooms, trimmed and halved if small or quartered if large
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1/4 ounce dried porcini, rinsed and minced [Typically, dried mushrooms are rehydrated in hot water, but I guess that's unnecessary with a pressure cooker.]
• 4 (12-ounce) bone-in split chicken breasts trimmed [Argh, I wish they had also said to leave the skin on.]
• Salt and pepper
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 1/2 tablespoons water
• 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley.

Mise en place.

I was debating whether or not to do actually do this blog entry since apparently I kept forgetting to take photos at the end, but here we go.

Browning the bacon.

Pour off all but one tablespoon of the bacon fat and soften the onions in that.

Stir in tomato paste,  garlic, thyme, and pepper flakes and cook until fragrant.

And then I decide to keep forgetting to photograph anything else that night:
Deglaze with wine.  Stir in broth, mushrooms and tomatoes.  Season chicken with salt and pepper and lay on top of vegetables.
Cook at high pressure for 15 minutes and then quick release pressure.

Before seasoning, create slurry with cornstarch and water and whisk in.

Forgot to take photographs prior to any of the servings besides this last splash of leftovers.
The flavors were pretty bold however the chicken was dried out.  This could've been attributed to the fact that I had removed the skin from the chicken, but I guess we may never know since I rarely re-cook recipes.

Served over a mess of fried rice that my mother had given me towards a housewarming party that was eventually just tossed.