Fried Polenta Bites with Butternut Squash Mascarpone Mousse and Crispy Speck

Ciao a tutti!! I am so sorry for not posting for a while, things have been hectic. Between a recent family vacation, preparing for culinary school in Italy at the end of next month, an active social life and my fabulous internship with Feast on History, I've been pretty busy. But that’s the way I like it!! As I mentioned, I’m an intern with an amazing company called Feast on History where I recently got to help develop recipes and cook for their Feast of the Seven Fishes which was HUGE SUCCESS!! The kitchen space they used was so beautiful; it actually inspired me to use it for my own upcoming event!!! For more than a year, I have been toying around with the idea of doing a supper club. But where to do it? I didn't want to do it in my own apartment and all of the spaces I found where way too big for what I needed.

When I saw this space, I felt like Goldilocks. Not too bag, not too small, it was just right. So, I will be inviting close friends to this first event to get some feedback...it will be a Masquerade Pop Up Dinner tied in with Halloween. The theme is good vs. evil, as is showcased in the menu. Sweet, light and luscious vs. rich, spicy and indulgent. Eventually my plan is for people to purchase a ticket for the event, but I want to do a few test runs and receive some feedback first. For those that interested in the underground dining scene, does this sound like something that might interest you in the future? PLEASE COMMENT AND LET ME KNOW! So, I would like to share with you one of my recipes that will be served at my Masquerade….Fried Polenta Bites with Butternut Squash Mascarpone Mousse and Crispy Speck…fried carbs  with a light, sweet mousse topped with a piece of smoky cured Italian meat…how good does that sound?

Fried Polenta Bites with Butternut Squash Mascarpone Mousse and Crispy Speck

Butternut Squash Mascarpone Mousse

1 Butternut Squash

1 tbsp. olive oil

¼ cup of mascarpone

2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. pepper

1 tbsp. dried rosemary

1 tbsp. crushed Aleppo chili

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with foil. Clean and cut your butternut squash in half. You will want to remove all of the seeds and “guts. ”Rub with olive oil and top with 1 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. pepper. Roast for 2-3 hours or until the butternut squash is tender. Scoop out the butternut squash and put it in a food processor (if you have a Vitamix, use the Vitamix, I swear by this thing!!). Process until smooth and creamy and no fibers remain. Add your mascarpone, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. pepper, dried rosemary and Aleppo chili. Puree until thoroughly combined and smooth. Put the butternut squash mascarpone mousse in a container to chill for 3 hours.

Fried Polenta

1 ½ cups of polenta

4 cups of water

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. dried rosemary

1 tbsp. crushed Aleppo chili

1 cup of neutral oil (canola, peanut)

1 cup of flour

Prepare 4 cups of water in a medium size deep pot over high heat. While waiting for the water, butter a casserole dish. When water is boiling, add your polenta and stir with a wooden spoon for five minutes. You want to get the polenta nice and smooth. Add salt, pepper, dried rosemary and Aleppo chili. Pour the polenta into the casserole dish and spread so it is even. Put it in the refrigerator to chill for two-three hours.

When the polenta is done “chilling”, take it out to fry. In a medium size pan over medium-high heat, heat your oil. Cut your polenta into 1 inch squares and lightly drench in the flour. Put in the oil and fry on each side for three minutes. Continue doing this with all of the polenta bites.

Fried Speck

6 slices of speck

1 tsp. olive oil

In a medium size pan over medium heat, add your olive oil. When it is hot, fry your speck very briefly, around 2-3 minutes. Take it out of the pan and allow to cool before breaking the speck into small pieces.

Assembling the bites:

Take one of the polenta squares and using a small ice cream scoop, scoop some of the butternut squash mascarpone onto it. Top with a small piece of fried speck. Buon Appetito!! 

Stuffed Calamari for The Feast of the Seven Fishes with Feast on History

Buongiorno mei amici!! Next up for The Feast of the Seven Fishes with Feast on History…Stuffed Calamari!! No Feast of the Seven Fishes would be complete without it. Like the other recipes, I wanted to keep it traditional with a bit of a twist. I made mine stuffed with mushrooms and ricotta. It’s a wonderful mix of flavors and textures and the tomato sauce is reduced with some white wine. For more information on the upcoming Feast of the Seven Fishes be sure to head over to Feast on History for information on purchasing tickets for the dinner. Enjoy!!

                                     

Stuffed Calamari

1 pound of calamari tubes (around 6 tubes)

1 tbsp. salt

1 tbsp. pepper

2 tbsp. crushed red pper

2 cloves of chopped garlic

2 cups of mushrooms, chopped

2 tbsp. Italian parsley

2 cups of bread crumbs

½ cup of ricotta cheese

¼ cup of parmigiana

White Wine Tomato Sauce

2 cups of diced canned tomatoes San Marzano tomatoes (in my opinion, they’re the best!)

1 tbsp. salt

1 tbsp. pepper

1 tbsp. crushed red pepper

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 cup of white wine

Begin by cleaning your calamari in cold water. Add olive oil to a medium size pan over medium heat. Add salt, pepper, crushed red pepper and garlic. Cook until slightly golden. Add the chopped mushrooms and cook until they are tender. Add the parsley and turn off the heat. Put the mushrooms in a medium size bowl and add the bread crumbs, ricotta and parmigiana.

Meanwhile, in another medium size pan, add the diced tomatoes, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper and olive oil. Add the white wine.

Stuff your calamari with the mushroom stuffing. I like to use a tiny spoon to really get in there and then I press down the stuffing with my thumb. Put the stuffed calamari in the sauce and cook until opaque and tender, around 15 minutes. Serve immediately. Buon Appetito!! 

Stuffed Clams with Feast on History

Ciao a tutti!! I am so excited to have started my recipe testing for The Feast of the Seven Fishes with Feast on History. For those that have not heard, I recently became an intern with Feast on History. A wonderful new company that specializes in wine and food events and allows the guests to experience food and history together. It’s hard work, but someone’s gotta do it!! Up first were the Stuffed Clams. I love stuffed clams and I wanted to keep them traditional with my own special twist…enter speck. Speck is a cured smoky Italian meat and when you fry it, it gets nice and crispy. I thought some speck would lend itself perfectly to the clams. I mean, parmigiana, clams, bread crumbs, white wine, you can’t go wrong. Be sure to stay tuned for some other tempting recipes and of course, if you want to experience them for yourself without doing as much of the work, be sure to come to our upcoming Feast of the Seven Fishes Dinner on August. 30^th. Mangia Bene!!

Stuffed Clams

For the liquid

1 pounds of clams (we used Manila Clams)

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 cloves of chopped garlic

2 tbsp. crushed red pepper

1 tbsp. salt

1 tbsp. salt

3 tbsp. chopped Italian parsley

1 cup of white wine

1 cup of water

For the stuffing

4 tbsp. olive oil

2 cloves of chopped garlic

1 tbsp. salt

1 tbsp. pepper

1 tbsp. crushed red pepper

6 slices of speck

1 cup of bread crumbs

2 tbsp. chopped Italian parsley

½ cup of parmigiana

½ cup of white wine

½ cup of the liquid from steaming the clams

Begin by cleaning and rinsing your clams in a large bowl with cold water. Get rid of any grit or sand. After rinsing them, begin preparing your steaming liquid. In a large pot, add your olive oil, garlic, red pepper, salt, pepper and chopped parsley. Cook briefly until the garlic is slightly golden. Add the white wine and water and bring to a boil. Put the clams in the liquid, cover them and lower the heat. Simmer gently until the clams have opened.

Once they opened, turn off the heat and let them cool in the pot while you prepare the stuffing. Do not throw out the liquid!

In a medium pan, add the olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper. Cook until the garlic is slightly golden.

Add the chopped speck and cook until it is crispy. You will notice that the speck will get darker as it gets crispier. Add the bread crumbs and parsley. Cook until the crumbs are slightly toasted. Add the parmigiana, wine and clam liquid. Turn off the heat. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with foil and drizzle with olive oil.

Now take your clams out of the shell and roughly chop them. Add the clams to the stuffing mix. Do not put the heat back on; you do not want to overcook the clams. Stuff the shells with the clam stuffing and put in the oven for 25 minutes. Enjoy immediately with a fine glass of white wine. Buon Appetito!!