Creamy Mushroom Polenta with Scallops

For this dinner I made a creamy, cheesy mushroom polenta topped with scallops and a garlic avocado puree.

Creamy Mushroom Polenta
1/2 cup yellow grits (not instant)
3 cups water
2 cups roughly chopped shiitake mushrooms
2 tbsp heavy cream
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
Salt & pepper to taste

Cook the shiitake mushrooms in a hot pan with a little bit of olive oil until they release and re-absorb their water.  While the mushrooms are

cooking, put the grits and water in a saute pot and bring to a boil before turning the heat to low and covering.  Whisk the polenta every 5-10 minutes to ensure it doesn't stick or burn.  Once the polenta has begun to thicken, add the mushrooms and the salt and pepper.  When the polenta has finished cooking, remove from heat, stir in the cream and cheese and serve!




I cooked the scallops in a very hot pan with butter in order to get a nice crusty and caramelized finish on the scallops which still allowing them to be cooked correctly.  I served them over the polenta and topped with an avocado puree.  Try it and enjoy!

Scallops with a spicy polenta

Anyone who has been reading this blog for a bit is surely starting to think that we have an infatuation with scallops ... my question back would be: why don't you?

That being said, sometimes just cooking some scallops over pasta gets a little boring, so for this dinner we were looking to spice it up.  I decided to whip up a batch of polenta and make that the flavor base for this dish by adding some heat to it.

Spicy Polenta
1 cup yellow corn grits (not instant)
6 cups water
1/4 cup of diced green chilies (canned, found in the Mexican food section of your grocer)
1 jalapeno
1/2 tsp garlic pepper
1 tbsp whole milk
2 tbsp grated asiago cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Bring water to a boil and add grits.  Turn down heat to a simmer and continue to stir grits with a whisk frequently (to keep from sticking and burning) for about 30 minutes.  While this is going on, drain the green chilis and dice the jalapeno (deseeded if you would like less heat).  After the 30 minutes add the chilies, jalapeno and garlic pepper and continue to stir occasionally to allow the polenta to thicken (about 15-20 minutes).  After the polenta has thickened, remove from heat, stir in the milk and cheese and any salt and pepper you want to add, serve and enjoy!