Cookin' Round the Clock

When I first started watching the Food Network I didn't care for Rachel Ray. I thought she was a little on the crazy side and that her recipes were too kitschy. But I kept watching anyway. After a while my annoyance with her somehow grew into tolerance and I can now say that I like Rachel Ray and all four of her television programs. I've tried a lot of her recipes from the show 30 Minute Meals, and most of them I've enjoyed. Her style of cooking has tons of flavor and she's all about using quality ingredients, which I respect.

One of the wedding gifts we received was Rachel Ray's book Cooking 'Round the Clock. Tonight I made a "Good & Good-For-You Gut-Buster" recipe from the book--Grilled Polenta and Smoked Mozzarella Caprese. Rachel qualifies many of her meals as good for you, even when they're full of cheese, meat, white bread and fat. A relative term I suppose.

Anyway. Since the recipe calls for the polenta to be sauteed in two tablespoons of butter and a tablespoon of evoo (extra virgin olive oil for the uninitiated) until crisp I'm not sure from where the term grilled is derived. Regardless the recipe is good. Simply: fried polenta topped with cheese, basil, sun-dried tomatoes and a chunky tomato sauce. I don't like smoked cheeses, or smoked anything really so that component wasn't the best, but I would make it again with a fresh mozzarella.

(Too hungry to take a pic, sorry.)