Polenta vs Cornmeal

So yesterday Theresa and I were musing about polenta and cornmeal. What is the difference? At first we thought, they must be two entirely different things. Polenta is polenta and not cornmeal. However, if you've watched Alton brown's polenta/grits episode, you'd realize that polenta and grits are, for all intents and purposes the same.

So why not grits and cornmeal?

After a little research on the most trustworthy of sources, we found a reference to cornmeal and polenta. The author said in essence polenta is nothing more than coarse ground cornmeal.

So this morning, we made our favorite cornmeal recipe, substituting polenta for cornmeal. The recipe was Alton Brown's Hoecakes recipe from his "Going Dutch" episode.

BIG MISTAKE! These, psuedo pancakes were awful. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but they were not good. They tasted a little too salty, a little too earthy, and a little too something else.

I am going to get to the bottom of this mystery. If anyone has any tips on what the difference between cornmeal and polenta is exactly, please let me know.

Los Cabos--Delicious Peruvian Buffet

Since there isn't much open for lunch downtown, we wandered into uncharted territory today. I'm happy we did because we stumbled on Los Cabos.

Los Cabos is a friendly and delicious introduction to Peruvian food. They had a buffet with a wide variety of items to try. The food ranged from white fish with red, white and yellow sauces to cebeche to carne seca. Normally I shy away from seafood in buffets, but they were busy enough to keep it fresh. The waiter was friendly and even brought us a couple of beef skewers to try something off of the buffet.

The atmosphere was comfortable. The stuffed animal alpaca was a fun touch.

If I had to complain about anything, I would say the price was a little steep at $15 and the non-buffet item we ordered was a little slow. To be fair, the weekday buffet is only $8.95 and it was main attraction.

All in all, I recommend Los Cabos as a fine introduction to Peruvian food. If you go, don't miss the carne seca. It was my favorite.

Garbage Disposal

It's 4:30pm on Thanksgiving, guests arriving any minute for 5:00pm dinner and our friend Rob 's torso is buried in the sink cabinet, playing Operation with the pipes.

We averted an absolute disaster because we're lucky (and because Rob is handy). I shouldn't say "we," I should say "I." What caused the sink to back-up? I put sweet potato peels in the garbage disposal.

Which raises the question of what can and can't be put in the garbage disposal? And from our research, there are differing answers. One web site states that peels are ok but egg shells are not, while a fellow blogger sites the reverse.

There are some items I wouldn't dream of putting in the disposal (anything that gets larger when put in water, like rice). Are there rules for what should (and shouldn't) put in a disposal?

Scoring Contraband

We've found a resource for raw goat's milk and it's less than 30 minutes from home! Our "contribution" supports a youngster's 4-H efforts, as she learns how to manage a profitable business.

As I write, we're pressing off the whey and turning it into goat milk cheddar. The recipe recommends aging it for 4-12 weeks. Patience, grasshopper.

The Clean Plater by Ogden Nash (mmm.. food poetry)

The Clean Plater

Some singers sing of ladies' eyes,
And some of ladies lips,
Refined ones praise their ladylike ways,
And course ones hymn their hips.
The Oxford Book of English Verse
Is lush with lyrics tender;
A poet, I guess, is more or less
Preoccupied with gender.
Yet I, though custom call me crude,
Prefer to sing in praise of food.
Food,
Yes, food,
Just any old kind of food.

Pheasant is pleasant, of course,
And terrapin, too, is tasty,
Lobster I freely endorse,
In pate or patty or pasty.
But there's nothing the matter with butter,
And nothing the matter with jam,
And the warmest greetings I utter
To the ham and the yam and the clam.
For they're food,
All food,
And I think very fondly of food.
Through I'm broody at times
When bothered by rhymes,
I brood
On food.

Some painters paint the sapphire sea,
And some the gathering storm.
Others portray young lambs at play,
But most, the female form.
“Twas trite in that primeval dawn
When painting got its start,
That a lady with her garments on
Is Life, but is she Art?
By undraped nymphs
I am not wooed;
I'd rather painters painted food.
Food,
Just food,
Just any old kind of food.

Go purloin a sirloin, my pet,
If you'd win a devotion incredible;
And asparagus tips vinaigrette,
Or anything else that is edible.
Bring salad or sausage or scrapple,
A berry or even a beet.
Bring an oyster, an egg, or an apple,
As long as it's something to eat.
If it's food,
It's food;
Never mind what kind of food.
When I ponder my mind
I consistently find
It is glued
On food.

Ogden Nash

Ketsup, Catsup, Ketchup, Ketsup

Not only it's spelling a source of confusion, but catsup is also seriously questioned as a legitimate sauce: I have a European-born friend that denounces this smooth, soothing sauce as being, "stereotypically American" and tasting vile. Jason finds it generally unnecessary and sometimes disgusting. Why the conflict?

For me, it enhances the experience of eating many of my favorite foods, including eggs and cheeseburgers. It's cool, smooth, and juxtaposed to the texture of many of the foods it's eaten with. When something is dry, it lends a tasty and moist remedy.

And for me (Jason here), I think that too many people have suffered through meals prepared by bad cooks and have a knee jerk reaction to smother everything in "old red". Ketchup has it's place, but save it for your Aunt Edna's tasteless boiled chicken.

What's your opinion?

Ratatouille

What do you do with three enormous zuccinis? Make ratatouille.