Make Ahead Meals: Creamy Chicken with Soft Polenta

I have been looking forward to this post for a while!  This chicken recipe is by far my favorite thing that I make from this collection.  The ingredients work together flawlessly and it comes together surprisingly quickly.  I had never worked with polenta before this and had only eaten it once or twice so I was very curious as to how this would go.  Polenta may actually be the easiest starch I have ever worked with.  It takes three minutes to make and as long as you don't have an attention span problem and can focus on it for three minutes, it is very easy to make.  If you do wander away from it, it can become lumpy, so dedicate those three minutes and you will be glad you did.
This recipe is not for the calorie faint of heart as it does involve heavy cream and is just all over luxurious.  As always you can alter this recipe to your heart's desire.  I love mushrooms but not everyone does, so you could substitute some other element in for the mushrooms or skip them all together.  I also really love the roasted butternut squash in this dish but keep in mind that it does sweeten it along with the heavy cream, so if you don't like to mix sweet and savory, you may want to omit or sub them as well.  It also calls for peas which I'm not a huge fan of but I have found that frozen peas lately are getting a lot better, so the choice is yours.  The end of the recipe calls for fontina to be added to the polenta but it doesn't give a measurement or even mention it in the ingredient list so I have used any number of cheeses in varying amounts in it's place.  Really whatever grate-able cheese you like will be very nice and you can put in as much as you want as long as you keep stirring until smooth.  I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as our family does!

Pulled Pork and Slaw Sandwiches

Back to a text only blog for a while as I catch up on all of the cooking I have done this year!  What can I say about pulled pork sandwiches that hasn't already been said?  Pulled pork may be the sandwich of the gods and this coming from a girl that has a lukewarm relationship with pork.  My father referred to me as his Jewish princess for years because of my distaste for pork.  The odyssey that is my evolving feelings for pork could fill a blog on its own.
Anyway, for those of you who grew up under a rock or perhaps just further from the Southland than I did, here's what pulled pork is.  It's the result of a slow, low, delicious roasting process.  In this case, I prepared a huge pork shoulder as detailed in building blocks blog for pork.  You can season the pork many ways during this process and just about all of them are good.  The shoulder is fatty, which makes it deliciously juicy.  After hours of slow cooking the pork in the oven, it will become fork tender and then after even more time, it will fall apart.  You always want to make sure you catch it in that sweet spot before it becomes dry.  Dry pork can of course be saved with a luscious barbeque sauce, but let's not rely on the sauce to do all the work.
Now that you have your wonderfully slow roasted pork shredded to perfection, it is time to make some sandwiches!  We never wait til this recipe comes up in the rotation.  We make it the day of or the day after the roast comes out of the oven because it's just that good!  Honestly, in this case, we never refer to the Rachael Ray recipe but just wing it on our own.  The recipe looks excellent though, so feel free to dive in.  And if you're in a pinch for time, or just don't feel like making your own sauce, grab your favorite bottled barbeque and go nuts.  There are some great brands out there!
Oddly enough, I have never been a "slaw" fan either but I have learned to stop worrying and love the slaw. (bonus points if you caught that esoteric reference)  It adds a fun crunch and clean flavor that I enjoy.  I often cheat and make it a no mayo slaw because I much prefer vinegar to mayonnaise.  If you just can't bear to have the slaw on the sandwich, as a certain Bean I know can't, then feel free to slap it along side the sandwich and enjoy!  Or make your own tasty side.  Maybe some mac and cheese or a pasta salad...?  Oh and if you are going to skip that crunchy slaw as a topping I recommend toasting and buttering the bun!  Yum!
I guess I had more to say about the humble and delectable pulled pork sandwich than I thought!  What do you like with your pulled pork?  Are you a slaw on top or slaw on the side or none of the above?

Veggie Flatbreads with Hummus

Talk about a quick and easy recipe!  Veggie Flatbreads with Hummus came together basically in the time it took to heat the oven.  Fortunately we have a toaster oven so that's pretty quick!  We loved the hummus on the naan bread.  What great concept.  We aren't huge fans of fennel but it worked just fine on the flatbread.  This is a great recipe that you can have a lot of fun with.  We made one flatbread following the directions and then a second one using stuff we had in the fridge.  It all came out great and this will definitely become one of our go to recipes for something quick, easy and fun to make!