Sunday, May 30, 2010

Polenta bites & Wine desserts...

Yesterday turned out to be one of those EXTRA delicious days;)  hahahahhaha...we started off by heading to our local farmer's market and stocked up on some goodies at the Amish vendors.  I was able to pick some old fashioned oats, seasoned bread crumbs and mini chocolate chips on the cheap;)  Not to mention some GORGEOUS strawberries (sadly, the season is winding down) & lettuce ($1!) and some VERY smoked mozzarella from the Italian vendor (more on that in a bit;).....

Lunch yesterday turned into a duel of sorts;)  We used up the rest of the leftover turkey & cheese and foccacia bread to make turkey paninis.  BUT I smeared 1/2 of my sandwich with Roasted Garlic Mustard and 1/4 with pumpkin butter to battle it out for "who's the better turkey condiment"  ...(I know your waiting in suspense;)

And the winner still is...
You just can't beat that sweet/spicy mix with the turkey & cheese.  (although you were good competition Mustard! ;) hahhahahaha...

Dinner was one Scott had been looking forward to for AGES...so finally I put the proverbial foot down and said "Today is the day we are getting the Amish stuffed pork chops!"  And that we did;)

And since the grill was a LITTLE crowded with the Flinestone-sized pork chops and a pan of vegetables...

I worked on our OTHER side dish on the inside:)  I made up little 'Caprese' polenta bites!

I sliced up the polenta and threw them on our griddle.  Meanwhile, I cooked up some chopped tomato and some frozen basil (sadly, since our fresh basil was done-ski when I took it out of the fridge).  I also threw in about 3 heaping tablespoons of crushed garlic paste...hence the tomato's 'pinkish hue':) hahahhaha....

Once the tomatoes were soft and the polenta got a crispy crust on the bottom, I flipped them over and topped them with a spoonful of the garlictomato/basil mixture.... (never mind my mess on the side of the stove;)

Next I sliced up some of the fresh smoked mozzarella (and when I say smoked...the smell of this was BURSTING out of the plastic wrap!)...

And topped each polenta with a quarter slice of the mozzarella.  I tented the pan with a piece of aluminum foil (CAREFULLY!  Don't get too close or the cheese will stick!!)  and let the cheese melt until it was nice & ooey-gooey!

It was pretty much the perfect dinner:) 

And thankfully, those pork chops were worth the loooong wait:)  As Scott said "the Amish don't disappoint":) hahahhahahahahahha

And as usual, Penny joined us out on the porch for what turned into a PERFECT weather night!! :)  She looked like a statue;)  hahahahhaha.... 
We didn't even realize how long we were out there loungin;) By the time we looked up...it was time for dessert!

And dessert was quite magical, if I do say so myself;)  I wanted to use more of my delicious chocolate wine, so I ended up making a sort of tiramisu/strawberry shortcake hybrid;)  First I soaked some low-fat lady fingers & strawberries in the wine.  (only for about 10 minutes...I still like a little cookie crunch;)

And then layered it all up with some fat free cool whip.  Oh my....do I need to say this was good?  Cause it was;)
A delicious day indeed:)  Although we should be having another one today too!  I originally wanted to walk around New York today, but since the weather forecast jumped from low 70's to 90's...weeeee are making alternative plans;)  But they should be fun none-the-less!  And of COURSE, there will be some good eats mixed in;)

Enjoy your Sunday...even more so because: YOU HAVE OFF TOMORROW! (well, hopefully:)

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