August 25th, 2010
As much as I love my daily bowl of cinnamon toast crunch, I think I may have found a new favorite breakfast: polenta. Topped with fruit and nuts, it’s a filling breakfast that even oatmeal haters will adore.
Recipe
Breakfast polenta is prepared just as you would prepare polenta that is destined for a savory dish, except for the addition of vanilla extract at the end. Cooking it with a combination of milk and water increases richness; make it even more decadent by using whole milk or by replacing some of the water with milk. Be sure to stir it frequently to maintain a smooth consistency and avoid burning the bottom. The longer you let it simmer on the stove, the thicker the porridge will get.
Since I was stirring away at the stove anyway, I decided to get another burner going to make a cinnamon peach compote as a topping for my breakfast. Compotes are a great way to use up overripe fruit, and frozen fruit will work well too. Even though I chose a compote, you could put anything on top of this amazing polenta. The next time I make this (which I can assure you will be soon, maybe tomorrow), I’m thinking I’ll sprinkle my polenta with some toasted pecans, maple syrup, plenty of brown sugar and some sliced peaches. It’s also tempting to replace the vanilla with almond extract and top the bowl with a few fresh cherries sweetened with a drizzle of honey. Let me know what other flavor combinations you come up with!
This recipe can easily be halved, but why would you do that when you can enjoy leftovers the next day?
Breakfast Polenta with Peach Compote
Prep time + Cook time = 5 minutes + 30 minutes
Serves 6
Polenta Ingredients
1 cup polenta (not instant)
3 cups water
2 cups milk (I used 2%)
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
Peach Compote Ingredients
2 ripe peaches, chopped
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup water
1 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
Directions
1. Stir together the polenta and one cup of water in a small bowl.
2. Make the compote: Combine peaches, brown sugar, water, cinnamon and nutmeg in a small saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently, and reduce heat to medium. Simmer about 30 minutes, or until compote has broken down to the desired consistency.
3. Make the polenta: Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring the milk and the remaining 2 cups of water to a simmer. Slowly add the polenta and water mixture, whisking to prevent lumps. Reduce heat to low and stir frequently. Simmer about 30 minutes, or until polenta has thickened to the desired consistency. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract.
4. Serve the polenta topped with the compote and any other toppings such as toasted walnuts, Greek yogurt and more brown sugar to taste.
2 Comments | In: Breakfast | tags: brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, peaches, polenta, porridge. | #
April 27th, 2010
I took a few of these delvious cupcakes to the San Francisco National Food Bloggers’ Bake Sale weekend before last, where contributions from about 20 local food bloggers brought in $1,650 in donations for Share Our Strength (!!!).
The bake sale was held outside of Omnivore Books in San Francisco, which is perhaps the most awesome place ever. An hour flew by as I thumbed through cookbooks on every imaginable topic including local cuisines (I wanted a mammoth New Orleans cookbook like no other) and vintage publications that looked well-loved by 1950s housewives. I’m glad I had left my wallet in the car, or my credit card bill could have gotten ugly.
The highlight of the day was walking outside of the bookstore to see an adorable old man in a beret leaving the bake sale, carrying one of my cupcakes. I really wanted to take a picture, but that might have been a little creepy so I refrained (barely).
Recipe
You’re probably wondering how I can ramble on about this bake sale when I clearly need to explain these tomato soup spice cupcakes. Contrary to what you might think, they were delicious.
Generous quantities of allspice, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg were baked into a Campbell’s tomato soup laced batter. Since I made these cupcakes the night before the bake sale, I used oil in place of butter because I figured that would guarantee a nice moist cake in the morning.
The red-tinged cakes tasted somewhat like pumpkin bread or carrot cake. The sweet but slightly tangy cream cheese frosting was the perfect compliment, and I highly recommend topping each with some toasted walnuts. The tomato was barely detectable, if at all – I doubt anyone would have guessed there was a delvious mystery ingredient had I not disclosed it on the packaging.
Tomato Soup Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted from Mike’s Blog via Nancie McDermott’s Southern Cakes
Prep time + Bake time = 15 minutes + 20 minutes
Makes 20 cupcakes
Cake Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
One 10 3/4 oz can condensed Campbell’s Cream of Tomato soup
1/2 cup canola oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup water
Frosting Ingredients
One 8 0z block of cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Walnuts for garnish, toasted (optional)
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Place cupcake liners in cupcake pan.
2. Add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg to a large bowl. Stir with a fork to combine well.
3. Add tomato soup, oil, eggs and water to the bowl. Using a whisk or mixer on low speed, beat the ingredients into a smooth batter. Scrape down the sides with a spatula occasionally.
4. Distribute the batter among the cupcake liners, filling each about 2/3 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until the cakes are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
5. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then move cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.
6. Once the cupcakes are cooled, add the cream cheese and butter to a standing mixer (or a large bowl and use a hand mixer). Beat until evenly combined. Add powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, beating after each addition. Once desired consistency is reached, beat in vanilla extract.
7. Frost cupcakes. Garnish with toasted walnuts if desired.
2 Comments | In: Cake | tags: allspice, bake sale, cinnamon, cloves, cream cheese, nutmeg, Tomato soup. | #