Day 206: A+ for Plating!

Finally!  Plating that I can really be proud of!  And this dinner was as easy as it is beautiful!

It all started with a ham steak.  These come in packs of three at Costco and just need to be re-heated.  We usually do this on the grill, but have also chopped it up and cooked it in a skillet before adding it to an omelette or a frittata.  These steaks are perfect for work-night dinners as most of the work is done for you.  Plus, they are low in fat and therefore offer a good dose of lean protein.

Our side dish also had a good head start with a roll of polenta that we purchased at Trader Joe's.  For easy preparation, you just slice it up into discs and pan fry them in olive oil or butter.  But as much as I love polenta, I admit that it relies heavily on the flavors infused by other ingredients.  So, I made a delicious tomato-mushroom mixture to go with it.

Ingredients:

1 T olive oil

1 T butter

3 gloves garlic, pressed

1 T fresh thyme leaves

1 dozen large cremini or white button mushrooms

1/4 cup white wine

2 vine ripened tomatoes, chopped

S&P to taste

Heat olive oil and butter in a non-stick pan over medium-low heat.  Once hot, add garlic.

Saute garlic for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add thyme, mushrooms, and white wine and turn heat up to medium-high.  Cook, stirring frequently, until mushrooms have softened (approx. 5 minutes).

Add tomatoes and S&P and cook for another 3-5 minutes, until tomatoes are softened and mixture is to desired consistency.  Taste to make sure you have the desired amount of S&P.  Remove mixture, separating solids from liquids and set aside.

We added a little more oil to the pan to fry the polenta cakes.  Once they were browned on both sides, I stacked the mushroom & tomato mixture with the polenta cakes in alternating layers, starting and finishing with the mushroom/tomato.  You can then drizzle the stack with the liquid you set aside - if it's thin, consider reheating it and simmering it until it's thickened up.

I was really happy with the visual effect and by the way - it isn't just pretty, but tasty too.  I will definitely make this again next time we entertain.