Creamy Polenta and Mushrooms

When I saw Ann's (Thibeault's Table) mushrooms over polenta a few weeks ago, I knew that was something I would love.  I have had sauteed mushrooms before, and I have had polenta before but never combined as a main course.  Following Ann's techniques, I ended up with a meal that left me sighing over its memory for hours after.

For the creamy polenta, I used a ratio of 4:1 liquid to fine cornmeal.  Wanting the flavor of the polenta to still shine through, I used a base of half chicken stock, half water.  The liquid was brought to a simmer, lightly salted, and the cornmeal was whisked in in a steady stream.  Added too quickly, the polenta will clump up.  Once the polenta had thickened up, I whisked in a nob of butter.  The consistency was perfect.

To top the polenta, I used a mixture of baby Bellas and button mushrooms, sliced thickly and sauteed in butter.  Once in the pan, I left the mushrooms alone - no stirring for several minutes - to let them saute and caramelize.  At that point, I stirred them, seasoning with salt and pepper and finely sliced sage leaves.  To create a sauce, I added Marsala to the pan (about 1/4 cup), let that reduce to an almost syrup-y state, then stirred in about 1/4 cup of chicken stock and let that reduce a bit until it was nice and thick.  The sauce was also finished off with a small nob of butter.

This would make an excellent side dish to a roast beef or even a roasted chicken.  But it also made for an amazing meatless main dish.  Of course, for it to be truly vegetarian, a vegetable stock could be substituted for the chicken stock.  So delicious!  Thank you for the inspiration, Ann!


* * * * * * * * * *
Click on Foodie Friday logo to go to Designs by Gollum
Thank you once again to Michael for hosting Foodie Friday! Please join me in drooling over the dishes of all the other participants!!