Superbowl Sunday

It feels so good to get back into my tiny kitchen! I finally found time to make an actual dinner instead of dining on leftovers or takeout. Originally, I had planned to make snacky foods for the Superbowl, or a large pot of chili. However, I ended up making something easy and with few ingredients. Each part had to be made separately, which took some clever timing and planning, but it ended up tasting great! I listed the items in the order I prepared them.

Fontina Topped Polenta with Sauteed Chard and Caramelized Onions: Serves 4
1 Tbsp butter (plus a bit to grease your pan for the eggs, if desired)
3 Tbsp olive oil, divided, plus additional for brushing
1 large sweet onion, thinly sliced
1 large bunch Swiss chard, chopped with stems and leaves separated
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, rinsed
1 log prepared polenta, cut into 12 slices
4 oz fontina cheese, shredded
4 eggs, cooked either sunny-side up or over-easy (the runny yolk makes up for the lack of sauce)-cook right before serving!
salt and pepper, to taste

Onions:
Heat 1 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat (you may need additional oil if not using a nonstick pan). Add onions, cover, and cook 5-8 minutes, or until soft and moist. Remove lid and increase heat to medium. Cook onions, stirring frequently, until tender and brown. The whole process will take about 25 minutes. Season to taste with salt.

Tomatoes:
Toss tomatoes with 1 Tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper on a small baking sheet. Bake at 250 degrees for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until popped and tender. Remove from oven and place in bowl along with escaped liquid.

Swiss Chard:
In a skillet (I used the one from the onions when they were done), heat 1 Tbsp oil over medium-high heat. Add chard stems and cook 2-3 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1-2 minutes more. Add chard leaves along with 1 Tbsp water and a heavy pinch of salt and cook 5-8 minutes, or until tender. Readjust seasonings if necessary.

Polenta:
Brush polenta slices with olive oil. Place greased side down on a baking sheet. Brush other side with oil. Broil for about 3 minutes, or until slightly golden and crisp. Flip polenta slices and broil on other side. Top each slice with a bit of shredded fontina and heat under the broiler until melted.

To Assemble:
Place three rounds of polenta on a plate. Mound chard in the middle, sprinkle with caramelized onions and place 1 egg on top. Surround with tomatoes and a bit of the leftover tomato juices.


Each step is very basic and not terribly involved. Just plan ahead a bit. The onions and tomatoes could even be prepared in advance and reheated before serving. You could also probably crisp the polenta and then heat with the cheese before serving as well. Hope you enjoy this tasty meal! (By the way, I know that the picture would have been prettier with a sunny-side up egg, but I like mine over-easy!)

This is going to be a fast week with little cooking until the very end. We won't even be cooking in class on Wednesday! Hopefully I will find time to make you all something amazing!

Only in NY:
This morning, the woman next to me was drinking a cup of coffee while on the treadmill. The funny thing was that this was not a travel mug or to-go cup of coffee, but an actual mug of steaming joe. Needless to say, she never really ran for fear of spilling on herself.