Bacon Studded Polenta with Tomato Gravy - Ciao, Yawl!

Bacon Studded Polenta with Tomato Gravy~

Some of us were born to color outside the lines, inside the lines and sometimes draw our own lines.  Combining Italian Polenta with crispy bacon bits, then smothering it with a deep Southern Tomato Gravy is one of those meals where the lines between the countries get blurred.  What comes out of this marriage of "Ciao and Chow" is good country eating, no matter what country you're talking about.

And speaking of countries, this month the Lets Lunch Bunch (my virtual lunch buddies from all over the globe) are celebrating a very special debut of a new cookbook:

Cowgirl Chef: Texas Cooking with a French accent.

Ellise (Cowgirl Chef) is a true Texan who has been living, learning, teaching, growing and loving in Paris, France for the last few years.  Her story of how she embraced her authentic and true self, talents and dreams by meeting the challenge of a brand new environment is inspiring (and the recipes are down right "must-makes.")  Ellise is one of the original foodbloggers to start our unique monthly lunch meeting online several years ago.  I was there for the very first one and we all made our own versions of a BLT sandwich.  It's a great example of one of the good things that come from our tech-driven journey.

This month's challenge was to create and share a meal that represented our own past experiences and another country, too (ala: Texas and France.)  

Picking something Italian was a no-brainer for me.  I've been obsessed with all things Italian for many years and will be fortunate enough to be packing this week to visit our good friends in Cossignano, Italy and stay at their Organic Agriturismo (Fiorano.)  Paolo and Paola are part of the Slow Food Movement and are very active in Organic wines, foods and conservation. 

Agriturismo Fiorano in Le Marche

I speak a little Italian from years of studying and soaking it up, although it seems to be with a good ol' Southern twang no matter how hard I try to pretend.

My grandmothers in North Carolina made Tomato Gravy and poured it over biscuits, toast, rice and grits.  It's a poor man's marinara sauce and it's packed with tomato bits, bacon flavor and rich roux.

Polenta is ground corn meal and considered an Italian comfort food.  Depending on the region, it's served warm and loose like soupy grits, or thick and cut into sections or even baked.  If you've seen the pre-made tubes of something they call Polenta in grocery stores, please don't judge Polenta by that gross congealed yellow tube food product (smiling, but serious.)  

Making Polenta is as easy as rice. There are just a few tips for making it successfully:

1)  When the liquid begins to simmer, rain in the Polenta grains.  This means do NOT pour it all in (that makes it clump.)  Rain it in, sprinkling it gradually and stirring while it goes.

2)  Reduce heat and stir often so not to scorch the Polenta.

3)  Keep in mind, it's easy to add a little more liquid if it's too thick, but not so easy to make it thicker if you add too much liquid too quickly.

4)  Adding butter makes it a little bit looser, cheese will make it a bit thicker.

The liquid used in Polenta, like rice, can be water or stock, milk, or something in your imaginative recipe developing "coloring book."

When I made this Bacon Studded Polenta smothered in Tomato Gravy, I also ate almost the whole plate of it.  So, be careful. :D

Check below to see the many varied and delectable recipes of country fusion cooking from other Let's Lunch pals: 

Chery's Goin Pork Curry Tacos at Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan
Eleanor‘s  Wok Picadillo at Wok Star
Ellise‘s Salty Lime Sablés (Margarita Cookies) at Cowgirl Chef
Emma‘s Kimchi Bulgogi Nachos at Dreaming of Pots And Pans
Felicia‘s Mexican-Lebanese Hummus at Burnt-Out Baker
Grace‘s Taiwanese Fried Chicken at HapaMama
Jill‘s Southern Pimento-Stuffed Knishes at Eating My Words
Joe‘s Grilled KimCheese Sandwich at Joe Yonan
Karen‘s Ukrainian-German Cabbage Rolls at GeoFooding
Leigh‘s Venezuelan-Italian Cachapas Con Queso at Leigh Nannini
Linda‘s Project Runway Pelau: Rice & Beans Trinidad-Style at Spicebox Travels
Linda‘s Edible Salad Totes at Free Range Cookies
Lisa‘s Sunday Night Jewish-Chinese Brisket at Monday Morning Cooking Club
Lucy‘s Coconut Rice Pudding with Mango at A Cook And Her Books
Nancie‘s Chili-Cheese Biscuits with Avocado Butter at Nancie McDermott
Rashda‘s Mango Cobbler at Hot Curries & Cold Beer
Renee‘s Asian-Spiced Quick Pickles at My Kitchen And I
Steff‘s Chicken Fried Steak at The Kitchen Trials
Vivian‘s Funky Fusion Linguini at Vivian Pei
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Recipe: Bacon Studded Italian Polenta-

3-4 pieces of Bacon

1 cup Nonfat Milk

1 cup Water

2 Tbls. Butter

salt, pepper

1)  In a skillet, cook the bacon on Med. until crispy, remove and chop into small pieces. Pour off the fat/grease and save for the Tomato Gravy.  Save the bacon coated skillet for cooking the gravy in also.

2)  In a deep saucepan, bring the water, milk, salt and pepper to a low simmer, stirring so the milk doesn't curdle.

3)  Rain in the Polenta, stirring constantly until the Polenta is creamy.  

4)  Reduce the heat to low, stir often so it doesn't scorch.  Now is when to add a bit more liquid if needed. Stir in the bacon pieces now.  Cook and stir often for about 15 minutes.  The Polenta should be thick for this recipe.

5)  Stir in the butter and turn out into a buttered 8x8 baking pan. Leave to room temp or chill for later.

Press into a buttered baking dish

6)  Before serving, cut into squares and triangles and broil or fry for just a couple minutes until crisp on the outside. *It can also be used without this step.

Recipe:  Tomato Gravy

1/4 cup Bacon fat (use butter if there's not enough bacon fat)

1/4 cup Flour

2-3 Tomatoes (peeled, chopped)

2 cups Stock (veggie or chicken) warmed

salt/pepper

1) Using the same pan the bacon was cooked in, add the bacon fat/butter and the flour, salt and pepper.  Cook and whisk on Med. until light brown and a nice roux has been created.

 

2)  Add the chopped tomatoes and any reserved juice from chopping.  Lower heat to Low/Med and Whisk together.

3)  Slowly whisk in the warmed stock and continue cooking on Low for about 15-20 minutes.  If it's too thick, add a little water or more stock a little at a time.  Season to taste.

4)  Serve poured over the Polenta or biscuits, rice or scrambled eggs. Mmmmm.

Congrats to Cowgirl Chef!  Hope to see you on tour!

Hot Dog!

Hot dog, hot dog, hot diggety dog! If you've ever had a hot dog, you probably also have a place and particular memory about it, too. A lot of times these simple little "hand meals" include stories of where we were and why we were there.

My North Carolina Hot Dog
w/ mustard, chili and coleslaw

When my husband and I were dating, our first argument was over a hot dog. A Chicago Hot Dog to be exact. I was visiting his home town for the first time. It began with a simple statement (more like a question, really):

Me - "What does a Chicago Hot Dog have on it?"
Him - "Just regular stuff."
Me - "What's the regular stuff?"
Him - "Hot dog stuff, that's it."
Me - "But, what makes it different?"
Him - "It's not different, it's just a hot dog."
Me - "But it's a Chicago Hot Dog, so what makes it a Chicago Hot Dog?"
Him (laughing just a little too hard in my opinion ) "There's no such thing"
Me - "OF course there is, where I grew up in North Carolina the hot dogs have mustard, chili, and coleslaw, so what does--
Him - (interrupting me) "That's crazy, we just have real hot dogs"

You can imagine how that went over with me, right? After 17 years, we still laugh at our "hot dog argument". Now, even he agrees that hot dogs are very region specific and he takes great pride in his Chicago Vienna on a poppy seed bun with a tomato, pickle and pepper stacked on top.

Of course, living in a city as culturally mixed as Los Angeles, there are a number of famous and infamous hot dog stands that try to cover all the variances: Pinks being one of the best known.

However, if you want to really feed your hot dog hunger and include some of the best sweet potato fries along with it, I'd try The Slaw Dogs in Pasadena.



When I was there recently I overheard a mom talking to her two pre-teens about food choices and being open to new tastes. Shockingly, they were listening, too. On the table were hot dogs that included vegetables and when we spoke she told me this was their second time at The Slaw Dogs within it's first weeks of opening.

At this window front cafe you could get hypnotized by the choices on their menu board: Vienna All Beefs, Veggie, Sausages, Thai inspired, BBQ Picnic inspired, Classic with cheese, and a long list of customized toppings. You wouldn't think so many ingredients could be piled on a bun and balanced on top of a wiener, but it works. And the fresh, sometimes toasty bread holds up fairly well as long as you don't wait too long to eat it, which wasn't a problem with me or my husband.

The owner, and happily busy cook behind the kitchen window is Ray Byrne. You can tell this is his baby and he's loving it. The Slaw Dogs is the kind of casual, neighborly place that on your first visit feels like you've been hanging out there already.

Expanding even further into the hot dog world of sausages, you can't do better than Wurstkuche in downtown Los Angeles.

On weekends, this urban beer garden has hipsters and un-hipsters lined up outside its door to choose from an impressive lineup of sausages that range from the stalwart Bratwurst to Rattlesnake and Rabbit with Jalapeno peppers. Served on a soft, but hardy bun with Belgian Fries that include exquisite dipping sauces;

You can chase it all down with one of their "list as long as my arm" beers and ales. The wall is lined with draft spouts and the counter lined with non-alcoholic drinks in every flavor combo ever bottled.

Once you have your order placed and your number in hand, just walk back to a vast roofed Bavarian garden with community tables and a bar. While eating with my daughter's German-born fiance, I was assured that this place does a fine job of representing the flavors of his home town of Munich.

Then there's the good ol' hot dog you make at home - grilled, boiled, broiled or sauteed. I introduced my kids and hubby and his Chicago family to the hot dog of my youth in North Carolina; the mustard, chili, coleslaw goodness I spoke of in my argument.
Sometimes we have themed nights of "NC Hot Dogs", especially when we want to keep it fast, but delicious or want an easy "pick it up and take it outside" kinda meal. Our Hot Dog Nights became tradition on Halloween because it gave us something easy to fix before taking the kids out trick-or-treating and some of the neighbors would stop by for one before we all went out together. The chili recipe is one that my Grandfather used to make for family nights at the YMCA. The coleslaw recipe is like the ones made by Mom, aunts, Grandma and church folks. It always varied a little based on how much time they wanted to spend on chopping the cabbage. Sometimes it was chunky, sometimes very fine.

{Here is a picture of a hot dog from the Dog House in Durham, NC. Who knows what is inside that extremely pink link, or how much grease is holding that chili together and yet you'll have to trust me on how good it taste. I just wouldn't eat it very often. It's one of those "home for a visit, so why not" stops.}


At the house with my mom, or in Los Angeles with our family - we've tweaked the product to include organic, no-sulfite wieners, turkey dogs, sausages from our local butcher, lean ground sirloin for the chili and Farmer's Market cabbage and carrots for the slaw. I make the rolls with whole wheat flour dough prepped in the bread machine. A healthier version without sacrificing the "style", oh yeah.
RECIPES:

North Carolina Hot Dog Chili

1 onion chopped small
1 tsp. olive oil
1/2 lb. lean ground sirloin beef (grass fed, even better)
1 Tbls. Chipotle Chili Powder
1 Tbls. Paprika
dash of salt & pepper
1 Tbls. Tomato Paste
1/2 cup Tomato Ketchup
Water as needed

*In a large skillet, caramelize the onions in the olive oil on low/med heat for about 10 minutes. Stir often.
* Add the Ground Sirloin and brown, stirring to break up the meat and keep it crumbly
* When there is no more pink to the meat, add the Chili Powder, Paprika, salt and pepper to taste.
* When all mixed in, add the Tomato Paste and stir to combine. Cook this down for about 5 minutes to create a deep dark and flavorful base.
* Add the ketchup and just a bit of water, stir and cover with a lid.
* Reduce heat to low and keep to a bare simmer for about 30 minutes to 1 hour. Add water as needed to keep it from burning or getting too dry. Stir once in a while.
* Serve warm for hot dogs or it's also good with eggs.


North Carolina Hot Dog Cole Slaw

1/2 Head of cabbage cored and chopped small
1 carrot peeled, shredded or chopped fine
1/4 cup sour cream or yogurt
2 Tbls. minced onion (optional)
2 Tbls. Apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp. celery seed
1/4 tsp. sugar (optional)
salt/pepper to taste

* Mix all ingredients in a bowl, cover and let marinate in refrigerator for at least 2 hours.


Hot Dogs can evoke so many reactions, from the Shake Shack in NYC to Dodger Dogs in L.A., to the Red Hots in Chi-town.

Where is your favorite hot dog, and what makes it yours (and don't say it's just a regular hot dog) ?