Ace's Adventures with. . . Leftover Polenta Loaf

Yesterday, I shared my first adventure cooking with cornmeal. Today, I will share some ideas for leftover Polenta Loaf.

I seem to have the same conversation repeatedly with folks who cook just for themselves: they hardly cook because it is only them. Of course, always at the ready to dispense cooking advice, I shared some of my thoughts for successful cooking for one. I have probably shared all these tips before but they are important enough to share again.

First, just do it! I have needed a little practice to get to this point but the food I cook now tastes better to me and is generally healthier than most restaurant food and anything prepared, unless it is Reser Macaroni Salad for $0.99 per pound (that has a special place in my heart).

Second, keep in mind you will have leftovers. The leftovers of some dishes are yummier than the original dish. Take Indian food for instance. Z.'s dal or chana masala (I have nothing to do with cooking Indian cuisine in our household because Z. is so incredibly good at it) tastes great when he makes it but tastes amazing the next day, too.

Third, make meals that freeze well. When I make soup, as soon as the soup is cool, I make sure to freeze a portion. I always have a yummy meal waiting for me when I am too lazy or unimaginative to cook. Leftover pizza freezes very well, too. When we go out for pizza, we try to freeze a few slices. Recipes that we freeze frequently besides soup are Indian food and marinara sauce. We make a pot of marinara sauce, when it is cool we portion it, and freeze. I find freezing my leftovers is freezer bags works the best, even liquids. Carefully, spoon the leftovers into the bag, squeeze out as much air as possible, and freeze it laying down flat. If they are flat, they stack very nicely.

Fourth, get creative with the leftovers. Create dishes where you can transform the leftovers into a completely new dish. Get creative!

The first time I cooked my Polenta Loaf on the stove-top, I was not pleased with how golden I was able to get it; I wanted something a little crustier. I think I was impatient. When I tried frying the loaf a second time, I changed a few small details. Instead of taking the loaf directly from the refrigerator to the hot pan, I let it warm up a little first. I forgot to take it out, so after I made my slices, I microwaved the Polenta Loaf slices for about 25 seconds, enough until the refrigerator chill was removed. This time, I knew that it would take some time for the slices to develop a nice golden crust. I let them sit in the hot pan until they were nice and crusty, it probably took almost 15 minutes over medium heat. I have no idea if this is unusual and I am doing something wrong but that is how long my Polenta Loaf needed to get the crust I wanted.

The first night I had Polenta Loaf, I topped it with marinara sauce with red beans. I knew tomatoes were traditional with polenta so I thought this was a safe route.

My next adventure with Polenta Loaf involved adding a little smoked paprika to my sauce and topping everything with a little cheese. Basically, I had chili on top of my Polenta Loaf.

Z. came up with this third variation: Polenta Loaf Sloppy Joes. Okay, Mr. Bacon-Eating-Vegetarian had no idea what a Sloppy Joe was; he did inspire the idea. We were chatting about what I could top my Polenta Loaf with for that evening's dinner. Z. asked if bbq sauce would be good on top of Polenta Loaf. Sure, probably but what else am I going to have with it. I have ground turkey in the freezer! I can make sloppy joes using spiced up bbq sauce. I must say, this was very tasty.

Ideas for Polenta Loaf that I have not tried:

• Top the browned slices of Polenta Loaf like a pizza. To melt the cheese, place in an oven safe dish, and broil for a couple of minutes until melted and bubbly.
• When first cooking the cornmeal/polenta, before pouring the mixture into the loaf pan, mix in cheese.
• Instead of cutting the Polenta Loaf into slices, use a cookie cutter for fun shapes.
• Top with sauteed vegetables.
• Do not fry the Polenta Loaf slices; rather, turn into a baked dish by placing slices in a baking dish and topping it with your favorite toppings, and bake it.