Day 3 - Mushrooms

I forgot to take pictures tonight as Cafe Davis moved back inside the house. I spent the few days prior trying to figure out how in the world I was going to fit a bunch of people in my house now that we no longer have a dining room. The dining room/sun room switcheroo is a great way to provide better play space for the kiddo and family time for us, but it doesn't do much for entertaining. My solution was to move around all of the living room furniture and to set up folding tables smack in the middle of the living room. And since hindsight's 20/20, I can confidently look back and say that the set-up, although unconventional, worked just fine.

This particular night I set way too many chairs at the table because the weather outside was FRIGHTFUL. We still had some great guests who were willing to brave the icy elements, however, and enjoyed a really great evening with Chase Milner and Rebecca Heselmeyer, John and Erica Cavanaugh, and Justin Grandinetti. The fact that we lost a number of guests due to various weather and sickness-related issues, however, meant that I had a surplus of mushrooms on hand. Lots of fungus among us, if you will. We did our best, though, and got to chow down on some hearty fare on a chilly night while at the same time having great conversations about a really wide array of topics, including hearty congratulations for Chase and Rebecca's newly announced engagement!

The menu was another (mostly) veggie-friendly night, with French onion soup stuffed mushrooms, creamed mushrooms on chive butter toast, polenta with wild mushroom sauce, and green beans with wild mushrooms. I love polenta, and I'm calling out that recipe, which originally hailed from Cooking Light, as my fave for the evening:

Polenta with Wild Mushroom Sauce

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 2 polenta slices, 1/3 cup mushroom sauce, 1 1/2 teaspoons parmesan cheese)

• 1 1/3 cups yellow cornmeal
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups water
• Vegetable cooking spray 
• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 thyme sprigs
• 1 rosemary sprig
• 6 1/2 cups thinly sliced shiitake mushroom caps (about 1 pound mushrooms)
• 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
• 1/3 cup dry white wine 
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 3 tablespoons (3/4 ounce) fresh grated Parmesan cheese 
• Thyme sprigs (optional)

1. Place the cornmeal and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large saucepan. Gradually add water, stirring constantly with a wire whisk. Bring to a boil, and reduce heat to medium. Cook 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Spoon the polenta into an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray, spreading evenly. Press heavy-duty plastic wrap onto surface of polenta, and chill 2 hours or until firm.
2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, thyme sprigs, and rosemary sprig; cook 3 minutes or just until garlic begins to brown. Stir in mushrooms and next 5 ingredients (mushrooms through pepper); bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Discard the thyme and rosemary sprigs. Add parsley; cook, uncovered, 5 minutes. Remove from heat; set aside, and keep warm.
3. Invert polenta onto a cutting board; cut crosswise into 12 slices. Place slices on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Broil 5 minutes on each side or until golden brown.
4. Arrange 2 polenta slices on each of 6 individual serving plates. Top each with about 1/3 cup of mushroom sauce and 1 1/2 teaspoons of Parmesan cheese. Garnish with thyme sprigs, if desired.