polenta and sausage casserole

We haven't tried this recipe, but it includes lots of ingredients we usually have on hand, so it should be a good go-to in a pinch.

Polenta Layered with Cabbage and Sausages

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil
6 sweet italian sausages
2 pounds savory cabbage, thinly sliced (about 15 cups)
2 cups beef stock or canned beef broth
2 cups coarsely chopped peeled tomatoes
2 cups uncooked polenta (prepare as directed)

Directions:
Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add sweet Italian sausages; sauté sausages until golden brown on all sides. Add thinly sliced cabbage; sauté until cabbage is wilted, about 10 minutes. Add 2 cups beef stock and chopped tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 40 minutes to blend flavors. Remove sausages.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spoon half of Basic Polenta into 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Top with half of cabbage and half of cooking liquid. Spoon remaing polenta atop cabbage. Arrage Italian sausages atop polenta. Spoon remaining cabbage and cooking liquid over sausages. Bake unitl flavors blend, about 30 minutes.

Courtesy of Epicurious.com

blintzes (for breakfast or dinner)

This gluten-free recipe for blintzes works well as a manicotti-style wrapper for a delicious dinner as well.

3 large eggs, beaten
1/3 cup potato starch
2/3-1 cup water
butter
cottage cheese

Beat eggs, potato starch and water until mixed. Heat butter in a non-stick pan and use 1/3 measuring cup to ladle batter into the hot pan. When the top of the blintz is cooked through, flip and let heat for a few seconds before removing to plate. Makes approximately 4 blintzes.

For breakfast blintzes, add California style cottage cheese and jam to the center of each blintz and fold into a square.

For dinner blintzes, add chive cottage cheese and cover in spaghetti sauce and parmesan cheese.

steak au poivre-ish

We do a lot of steak in our house, so we're always looking for new ways to prepare it. Since it's been way too hot to grill we've been looking for ways to spice up our steaks indoors. And spending all day watching the Cooking Channel makes me want to try new things, so a Steak Au Poivre recipe by Aida Mollenkamp looked like it would hit the spot. The surprise though wasn't really in the recipe - it was in the cut of steak she used. I'd never tried a blade steak before, and the giant line of gristle running through it didn't seem appealing, but I do try to be true to a recipe the first time through. I needed to ask the butcher for the cut as it wasn't on display, and at a cheap $6.99 a pound I figured it couldn't be that good, especially since it turned out to be a chuck blade steak, but I was determined to stick to the recipe. And boy am I'm glad I did. Sort of.

The steak turned out perfectly. The sauce, not so much. And the steak was the easy part, so I'm already thinking up ways to use this steak preparation with other ingredients. Maybe a mushroom sauce? So I've put just the steak part of the recipe below. Maybe once I find the perfect sauce for the steak I'll add it here as well.

Steak au Poivre-ish

Prep Time:10 min, Cook Time:15 min, 2 servings

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
2 blade (aka flat iron) steaks, gristle removed
Salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Directions:
Put peppercorns in a small resalable plastic bag and hit with a rolling pin until coarsely crushed. Pat the steaks dry with paper towels and season well with salt. Dip 1 side of each steak into the peppercorns and press to help adhere.

Heat the butter and oil in a 10-inch heavy-bottomed frying pan over medium-heat until just smoking.

Add the steaks, peppercorn side up to the hot pan and cook, undisturbed, about 3 to 4 minutes. Flip and cook, pressing the steaks down in the pan so that the peppercorns adhere, about 4 to 5 minutes for medium-rare. Remove to a cutting board and let rest at least 5 minutes.

Original recipe courtesy Aida Mollenkamp

And because I don't love pepper, I just used salt on mine (completely forgetting any pepper whatsoever), and it was still delicious. The key was in the timing. Letting the steaks cook undisturbed for 3 minutes, flipping and then cooking for another 4 made for the perfect medium rare. I can't wait to try them again!