Cookin' with Polla

Polla (my wife), is on a roll. Two days, two excellent recipies. I photographed both of them.

Last night we had Italain sausage with polenta and tomato sauce. Tonight she made berry cobbler with fresh rasperries and blackberries from her brothers blackberry bushes.

Here are the recipies:

Italian Sausage with Polenta and Tomato Sauce:

1 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, cut into large dice
1 (28 oz.) can unsalted chopped tomatoes
4 spicy Italian sausages (about 1 lb.) removed from casings and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 cup instant polenta
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne powder (careful, if your sausage is already spicy, think twice about this one)

In a large saute pan, heat 1/2 Tbs. of the olive oil over medium-low hat. Add the onion and saute, stirring occasionally, until soft and slightly golden, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1/2 tsp. olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and brown for 3-4 minutes (try to leave the sausage in large chunks). Remove with a slotted spoon, then add the sausage, salt, pepper and cayenne to the tomato sauce and let it simmer until fully cooked, about 5 minutes, while you prepare the polenta.

Bring 3 1/2 cups water to a boil. Add the polenta to the boiling water all at once and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.

Serve the polenta in shallow bowls, topped with the sausage and tomato sauce. Makes 4 servings.


Mixed Berry Cobbler:

Berry Filling -
4 cups assorted berries
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup sugar
2 Tbs. flour

Topping-
3/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 Tbs. sugar, plus 2 tsp.
2 Tbs. unsalted butter, chilled and cut into smal pieces
1/2 heavy cream

Preheat oven to 400 deg. Place berries and lemon juice in a small bowl. toss with sugar and flour. Set aside. In food processor with steel blade, process flour, salt, baking powder, sugar and butter until mixture resembles peas. Slowly add cream and process just until dough comes together. Fill two 12-oz. ovenproof bowls 3/4 full with berries. Dot fruit with dough in clumps or cut in shapes. Sprinkle with remaining sugar. Bake for 20 min. or until bubbly and golden brown. Serve with vanilla ice-cream. Yields 4 servings. (Polla said she doubled the recipie to arrive at the dish shown in the photograph)