August 27, 2010

What Should I Make?!?

I love getting calls from friends with questions regarding cooking and menu planning. The other day Deirdre text me a question I've gotten many times: "I'm having vegetarians to dinner, what should I make?!" Going Mexican is an easy solution--a bean burrito with roasted vegetables, avocado and all of the fixings, omitting cheese for any vegan guests. Any ethnic dish, like a vegetable curry, is a great alternative to the run-of-the-mill eggplant, portobello mushroom, or garden burger solution; I've heard many vegetarians admit to getting sick of these options. A couple of nights ago, we had a vegetarian couple to dinner and I came up with these grilled polenta pizzas. I made basic polenta and spread it into a 9x13 to chill in the fridge. For dinner, I cut my polenta into triangles, placed them on the grill, gave them a flip and loaded them up with my veggie toppings. A few minutes for the cheese to melt, and, voila, dinner is served. I also sauteed a few tofu 'croutons' for our salad: nice and crispy. I want to continue coming up with new vegetarian dishes to enjoy on 'Meatless Mondays' this fall!
The Menu

caesar salad with crispy tofu croutons

grilled polenta pizzas
pesto, caramelized onions, cherry tomatoes, goat cheese
chunky tomato sauce, basil, mozzarella

spumoni ice cream

5 comments:

Erin (Blue Egg Kitchen) said...

Ingenious! My love for polenta has grown on two accounts: one, I now cook it slowly on low heat for many hours, which makes it more sweet and tender, and two, it's so versatile. You can serve while warm and soft (and pour it on a big wooden polenta board, top with whatever sauce, and have a generous chunk of hard cheese for grating) or or while firm. I've baked and fried firm polenta before, but have not done grilled, particularly grilled pizzas. Love. By the way, when I opened your post, I saw your first photo and thought it perfectly encapsulates summer eating.

sarahyoga said...

how do you get the tofu crispy?

Anonymous said...

Goat cheese is one of my favorite cheeses and I think it always adds that extra touch to a colorful dish. Your pizza looks amazing and sooo tasty! The polenta crust is interesting, definitely something to try, my husband tries to cut large amounts of wheat from his diet so I will try this.
I found you through the blue egg kitchen and I will definitely be back to check out your other recipes and adventures!

Annie Campbell said...

Sarah, so happy you are reading the blog! This is the recipe I used for the salad and the croutons: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/caesar-salad-with-crispy-tofu-croutons
I actually used firm tofu and think the key is to get all six sides of your cubes of tofu to hit the pan. Hope you like!

Deirdre Zahl said...

Looks so good! Yes, Annie is my go to menu hotline! And it's always amazing and always manageable, not like trying to maneuver a Martha recipe!

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