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If I didn’t have other cookbooks to keep it pinned between, my Fanny Farmer cookbook would completely fall to pieces. It’s true. Just about every page within its sad, decrepit cover has become unglued. And the spine has given up entirely. On a few occasions I’ve almost thrown it into the recycling. But every time I voice these intentions, my wife pleads for its survival. “We can’t throw that out! It’s been with us for so long,” she says. “Just look at the griddle cake recipe.”

Following her instructions, I flip to our favorite page in the manuscript. Page 551, to be exact. And there, splattered on nearly every word of the recipe, are countless spots of dried up griddle cake batter. Every one of them a dot in our relationship. Every one of them a thin speck of our time together. They were happy mornings, all of them, because I can’t remember an unhappy morning where griddlecakes were involved.

That recipe is just one of dozens we’ve followed in that book. Some of them were good. Many of them were great. But a great many of them have been passed over entirely. We don’t skip them because we don’t believe they are any good, but because of the sheer volume of recipes in the book. There are hundreds. There are so many, that sometimes it’s overwhelming just to flip through them.

Every now and then, however, I’m driven to explore further into Fanny Farmer’s repertoire. There are many new discoveries with the turn of every page. One of them is this recipe for polenta with sausage. Even with the frustration of all the pages spilling out, it was a worthwhile endeavor. I’m sure it’ll be worthwhile for you as well…Trust me. Or if not me, trust my wife. She has a good sense of what things to keep around. I, for one, am thankful for that.


Last year, Wolff’s began carrying pork sausage from Canter Hill Farm. The folks at CHF offer a full range of pasture-raised, antibiotic-free, and chemical-free poultry, lamb, pork, and produce. But one of their finest, not to mention simplest, products is their Sweet Italian Pork Sausage. This sausage is made with only four ingredients: pork, salt, fennel, and pepper. And it only needs that many because the pork is that good. What their Heritage breed pigs don’t eat while they forage, the farm supplements with kitchen scraps and imperfect produce. This makes for a really dynamic, really flavorful sausage. Considering the mindfulness they bring to their husbandry, and the quality of their product, 8.99 a pound is a bargain. It’s my preferred sausage for all kinds of occasions. And I think Fanny would have approved as well…


Polenta with Sausage

Ingredients:

7 cups Water
Salt
2 cups coarsely ground Cornmeal
6 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 large Onion, chopped
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2 Italian Sausages, in 1/2 inch slices
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1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
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2 cups (your favorite) Italian Tomato Sauce
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1 tablespoon basil, sliced
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1/2 pound Cheddar cheese, cubed

Method:

1.)Bring the water to a boil with 1 tablespoon salt, and slowly stir in the cornmeal in a thin, steady stream.
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Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes, until polenta is stiff and leaves the sides of the pan.
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Spread in a baking dish to a depth of 1 1/2 to 2 inches.
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Keep warm in a 250 degree oven while making the sauce.

2.)For the sauce, heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a saucepan, add the onion, and cook over medium heat until soft. Add the sausages and cook another 3-4 minutes;
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stir in the mushrooms and cook 2 minutes more.
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Add the tomato sauce,
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basil, and salt to taste. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. If the sauce becomes too thick, add 1/2 cup water, stir, and continue to cook. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons oil and cook 10 minutes more.

3)Remove the polenta from the oven and dot with cubes of the cheese.
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Cut in squares and spoon the sauce over the top.
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Print

Polenta with Sausage

  • Author: Fanny Farmer
  • Prep Time: 45 mins
  • Cook Time: 20 mins
  • Total Time: 1 hour 5 mins
  • Yield: 6 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 7 cups Water
  • Salt
  • 2 cups coarsely ground Cornmeal
  • 6 tablespoons Olive Oil
  • 1 large Onion, chopped
  • 2 Italian Sausages, in 1/2 inch slices
  • 1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
  • 2 cups (your favorite) Italian Tomato Sauce
  • 1 tablespoon basil, sliced
  • 1/2 pound Cheddar cheese, cubed

Instructions

  1. Bring the water to a boil with 1 tablespoon salt, and slowly stir in the cornmeal in a thin, steady stream. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes, until polenta is stiff and leaves the sides of the pan. Spread in a baking dish to a depth of 1 1/2 to 2 inches. Keep warm in a 250 degree oven while making the sauce.
  2. For the sauce, heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a saucepan, add the onion, and cook over medium heat until soft. Add the sausages and cook another 3-4 minute; stir in the mushrooms and cook 2 minutes more. Add the tomato sauce, basil, and salt to taste. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. If the sauce becomes too thick, add 1/2 cup water, stir, and continue to cook. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons oil and cook 10 minutes more.
  3. Remove the polenta from the oven and dot with cubes of the cheese. Turn oven up to 350 degrees and bake the polenta and cheese until it is ho and the cheese is melted. Cut in squares and spoon the sauce over the top.

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