Upside Down Polenta Recipes

Steps:

• 1. In a saucepan, cook sausage and onion until brown and tender; drain off excess fat. Stir in undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce, mushrooms, oregano, garlic powder, 1 teaspoon salt and dash pepper. Simmer, covered, for 5 minutes
• 2. Meanwhile, stir together flour, cornmeal, Parmesan cheese, sugar, baking powder and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Make well in center of dry ingredients; add milk, oil and egg, stirring until combined.
• 3. Spread batter in bottom of an ungreased 9 x 13-inch casserole dish. Spoon tomato mixture on top. Bake in 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. Sprinkle Cheddar cheese and parsley on top. Bake 5 minutes more. Serves 8.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat pan with nonstick spray and place on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Cook brown sugar, 1/4 cup butter, and 2 Tbsp. water in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved and mixture is smooth. Bring to a boil and cook, without stirring, 2 minutes (it should be slightly thickened). Pour caramel into prepared pan and let rest until set, about 5 minutes.
• Arrange orange slices in concentric circles in a single layer over caramel. (Start with larger slices around the outside, then use smaller ones as you work toward the center. Cut up leftover citrus to fill in the gaps.)
• Whisk flour, polenta, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Place granulated sugar and remaining 1/2 cup butter in a large bowl; scrape in vanilla seeds and save pod for another use. Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating to blend between additions; beat until mixture is very fluffy, about 3 minutes.
• Reduce mixer speed to low. Add dry ingredients in 3 additions alternating with buttermilk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with dry ingredients; mix just until batter is smooth. Scrape batter into prepared pan (be careful not to disturb orange slices) and smooth surface with an offset spatula.
• Bake cake until golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 50-65 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cake cool 10 minutes. Run a knife around edges of cake to loosen, then unmold. Invert cake onto rack and carefully remove bottom of pan. Let cool completely.
• Finely grate lemon omani and cardamom pods over cake and whipped cream, if desired. Serve cake with whipped cream alongside.

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine porcini mushrooms with boiling water. Let stand for 15 minutes. Pass soaking liquid through damp cheesecloth into a small bowl, and set aside. Finely chop porcini mushrooms, and set aside.
• Melt butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add garlic and shallot, and saute until tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Raise heat to medium high, and add button mushrooms; cook for 2 minutes. Add remaining mushrooms, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in flour, and cook 1 minute. Stir in red wine, using a wooden spoon to scrape up any cooked-on bits on bottom of pan. Allow the liquid to reduce for 1 minute. Stir in tomato paste and the reserved porcini liquid, and simmer for 2 minutes. Stir in heavy cream, parsley, and thyme; season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Combine 2 cups milk with 2 cups water in a large saucepan, and bring to a simmer. Add polenta, and cook, stirring, until thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, and stir in Parmesan, remaining 1 1/2 cups milk, and 1 teaspoon salt. Place egg yolks in a medium mixing bowl, and stir in 1 cup of the polenta mixture. Stir the egg-and-polenta mixture back into the polenta, and adjust seasoning with salt, if necessary.
• In a large mixing bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Stir half of the egg whites into the polenta, then gently fold in the remaining whites until completely incorporated. Set aside.
• Place the mushroom mixture in a shallow 2-quart casserole; heap polenta on top. Sprinkle with Parmesan, and place on a baking sheet. Bake until polenta is golden and mushroom filling bubbles, about 25 minutes.

Steps:

• For cake:
• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Combine 6 tablespoons sugar and 3 tablespoons water in 10-inch-diameter ovenproof skillet with 8-inch-diameter bottom and 2 1/2-inch-high sides.Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil without stirring until syrup is golden amber (not dark amber), occasionally brushing down sides of skillet with wet pastry brush and swirling skillet, about 4 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and whisk 2 tablespoons butter into caramel. Set aside.
• Cut off both rounded ends of each orange so that ends are even and flat. Using sharp knife, cut oranges into 1/16- to 1/8-inch-thick rounds. Remove and discard any seeds. Arrange orange slices, overlapping slightly, in concentric circles atop caramel in bottom of skillet.
• Whisk flour, polenta, baking powder, and coarse kosher salt in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat 3/4 cup sugar, remaining 6 tablespoons room-temperature butter, and vanilla in another medium bowl until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with milk in 2 additions, beating batter just until incorporated.
• Using clean dry beaters, beat egg whites in large bowl until soft peaks form. Add remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and beat until stiff but not dry. Fold 1/3 of egg whites into batter to lighten, then fold in remaining egg whites in 2 additions. Drop batter by large spoonfuls atop orange slices in skillet, then spread evenly.
• Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool cake in skillet 10 minutes. Run small knife around cake to loosen. Place platter atop skillet. Using oven mitts, hold platter and skillet firmly together and invert, allowing cake to settle onto platter. Rearrange any orange slices that may have become dislodged. Cool cake completely at room temperature.
• For whipped crème fraîche:
• Using electric mixer, beat chilled crème fraîche and 2 tablespoons sugar in medium bowl until mixture thickens.
• Cut cake into wedges and serve with dollop of whipped crème fraîche.
• Available at most supermarkets and at specialty foods stores.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan.
• In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 3 tablespoons (45 grams) butter. Add the brown sugar and lemon juice; stir until sugar melts, about 3 minutes. Scrape mixture into bottom of prepared pan.
• Grate 1/2 teaspoon zest from one of the oranges, then slice off the tops and bottoms of both oranges. Place oranges on a clean, flat surface, and slice away the rind and pith, top to bottom, following the curve of the fruit. Slice each orange crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick wheels; discard any seeds. Arrange orange wheels on top of brown sugar mixture in a single, tight layer.
• In a large bowl, whisk together orange zest, cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together remaining 2 sticks (225 grams) butter with granulated sugar. Beat in eggs, one a time, then beat in sour cream and vanilla. Fold in the dry mixture by hand.
• Scrape batter into pan over oranges. Transfer to oven and bake until cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center emerges clean, 40 to 50 minutes. Cool cake in pan 10 minutes, then run a knife along pan's edges to loosen it; invert onto a platter and cool completely before serving.