Mediterranean Night

After band rehearsal on Monday, I texted Rob and asked the simple question: "what's for dinner?" It turns out, at 10:00 pm, that's a harder question to answer than I would have thought. Originally, I had the idea of making some of that awesome sweet and sour red cabbage () with pan-fried brats instead of pork chops. I went to the store with that in mind. Rob, however, was thinking Mediterranean. After many text messages, and a hungry shopping trip later, we arrived on a plan ... or so we thought ... pasta, olives, bleu cheese, spinach, maybe some tomatoes or sun-dried tomatoes and a drizzle of olive oil. Simple. What we came up with was a bit different, but delicious nonetheless.

Polenta topped with Tomatoes, Olives, Mushrooms and Spinach
by Erin and Rob

4 oz mushrooms (white or crimini)
1 (6 oz) bag prewashed baby spinach
4-5 fat green olives (I have no idea what kind they are.. think Martini olives, but from the olive bar, not a jar)
1 Tbsp. capers
1 can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
3 Italian sausages
A splash of beer for cooking the sausages

1/2 c. polenta
1.5 c. water
3-4 Tbsp. grated parmesan or asiago cheese
Freshly ground pepper to taste

In a 10-inch skillet, heat about a teaspoon or two of olive oil. Add the sausages (I cooked the whole package of 5), and cook until the bottoms are nicely browned. Flip the sausages and brown the other side. Once both sides are browned, pour in about 3-4 oz of beer and put the lid on. Cook, turning occasionally, until the sausages are done. Meanwhile, wash and slice the mushrooms. Cut the olives in half and slice into half moons. When the sausages are done, remove them from the skillet and set aside to cool. Pour out all but 2 Tbsp of fat/beer from the pan and add the mushrooms. When the mushrooms are browned to your liking, pour in the can of tomatoes and their juice, scraping the bottom of the pan to get all of the good browned bits from the bottom. Add the olives and the capers and simmer for few minutes. Meanwhile, bring the polenta water to a boil in a small sauce pan. Once the water is boiling, pour in the polenta and stir a bit to make sure there aren't any clumps. Simmer until nearly done (I love how polenta burbles like the mud pots at Yellowstone!), then add the cheese and pepper and stir to combine. Slice the cooled sausages and toss in with the tomato sauce. Once the polenta is nearly done, add handfuls of the spinach to the pan, cover and wilt, working in batches if necessary to ensure all of the spinach is incorporated. Remove the lid and simmer until the desired sauce consistency is reached.

Spoon some polenta onto your plate and top with the tomato mixture. Serves 2 hungry people, or serves 2 normal people and leaves enough leftovers for the next dish.

Eggs in Piperade - Mediterranean style
by Erin

Leftovers from the recipe above
2 eggs
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400F. Coat two 2-cup ramekins with cooking spray. If you have some leftover polenta, break it up and put about 1/4"-1/2" of polenta crumbles at the bottom. Spoon in the tomato sauce until the ramekin is about 3/4 full (or leave about 1/2-inch headspace). Make a well in the tomato sauce and crack in an egg. Add salt and pepper to taste, and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the egg is set. Serves 2.