Polenta With Spicy Sausage And Red Pepper Relish Food

POLENTA WITH SAUSAGE AND PEPPERS

Steps:

• Bring 6 cups of water to a simmer and add the polenta. Cook over low heat, stirring often, 45 minutes. Stir in the butter, Parmesan and olive oil and keep warm.
• Add the tomatoes, sausage, garlic, peppers, onion and crushed red pepper to a large cast-iron pot and simmer, 30 minutes. Serve sauce over polenta, topped with some ricotta and basil.

SOFT POLENTA WITH ROASTED RED PEPPERS

Steps:

• In a large heavy saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and saute, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 6 minutes, or until softened. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes more, until its aroma is released.
• Add the chicken stock, water, and salt to the pan and increase the heat to medium high. When the liquid is simmering, gradually sprinkle the polenta over in a very slow, thin stream, whisking constantly in the same direction until all the grains are incorporated and no lumps remain. Reduce the heat to very low. Switch to a wooden paddle and stir thoroughly every few minutes for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan and the grains of polenta have softened. Stir in the butter, thyme, pepper, and grated Manchego and remove from the heat. Spoon some polenta into each of 6 warmed shallow soup bowls and top with some of the roasted peppers and chopped cilantro.

HOAGIES WITH QUICK PEPPER RELISH

Steps:

• For the pepper relish: Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the Fresno chiles, garlic, jalapenos, bell peppers and onion and sauté for to 4 minutes to soften. Add the vinegar, honey and mustard seeds. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 10 minutes.
• For the sandwiches: While the relish cooks, grease a griddle with the butter and place it over medium-high heat. When the griddle is hot, add the sausage pieces cut-side down and cook until well browned and crisp, about 3 minutes. Flip and place 2 pieces of provolone onto each sausage piece. Cook until the cheese has melted completely, another 2 to 3 minutes. Remove to a plate.
• Build the sandwiches by spreading the mayonnaise on the bottoms of each bun and laying on a piece of lettuce. Top each with a cheese-covered sausage piece and a generous portion of the pepper relish. Replace the top half of the buns and serve.

MINI CORN DOGS WITH SWEET AND SPICY PEPPER RELISH

Steps:

• In a small bowl combine ketchup and pickled peppers. Mix well and set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine egg, corn muffin mix, garlic powder, onion powder and milk. In a separate shallow dish add flour. Insert wooden skewers half way into cocktail franks.
• Heat oil to 375 degrees F in a deep-fryer. Dredge each cocktail frank in flour, dust off excess then dip into cornmeal batter. Fry 2 to 3 corn dogs at a time for about 1 to 2 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve warm with the relish.

SAUSAGE AND PEPPERS WITH FRIED POLENTA

Steps:

• First make the polenta. Bring the chicken stock to a boil, add the salt and gently whisk in the cornmeal. Reduce the heat to low and cook until the cornmeal thickens, stirring frequently, about 15-20 minutes. (Note: The exact ratio of stock to cornmeal you will need will vary depending on the coarseness of the cornmeal.
• If you are worried, start with 3 cups of stock and keep the other cup hot in a small saucepan and add until you have the consistency you desire.) Remove from the heat and add the butter, stir well until melted. Lightly oil a baking dish and transfer the hot polenta to the baking dish. Spread evenly, the polenta should be 1/2-3/4 inch thick. Refrigerate uncovered until firm, about 2 hours.
• When the polenta is firm transfer it to a cutting board. Slice the polenta into the desired sizes. I like to use a round pastry cutter to create round slices of polenta, which looks nice but inevitably leads to waste - or what I like to call chef's treats. Cutting triangles would probably be just as visually appealing and less wasteful.
• Slice the onion and peppers thin and then saute over medium heat in a couple tablespoons of olive oil, about 25 minutes. The peppers and onions should be soft and caramelized.
• While the onions and peppers are cooking, slice the sausage links into 1 inch pieces and cook over medium-high heat, until well browned on all sides. When the sausage is almost completely cooked through, transfer it to the pan with the peppers and onions, including most of the sausage fat that has rendered in the pan (try to reserve about a tablespoon in the pan), toss well and reduce the heat to keep warm while frying the polenta slices.
• In the saute pan that the sausage was cooked in, fry the polenta slices on medium-high heat until lightly golden and crispy, about 4-5 minutes per side. If there isn't enough sausage fat to fry all of the slices use olive oil to finish frying.
• Serve the sausage and peppers over the polenta slices.