Polenta Cakes, Lamb-Basil Sausage, sauteed red bell pepper-arugula salad

YES! I finally got to cook yesterday :D Twas fun!

I've been eyeballing polenta for a while ever since I had some at a restaurant called The Tractor Room. They have a lot of game-y meats, if you're in La Jolla or SD, I recommend checking it out if you want to be a bit more adventurous with food. They have bison, buffalo, rabbit, lamb, pheasant, etc. I definitely want to go again.

Also, this past Thursday, I stopped by Bristol Farms randomly with one of my friends after dinner and decided to buy some lamb and basil sausage, gosh I love it. Whenever I want lamb, and to get it in a cheaper form, I usually get it at Bristol. 3.99/lb, which I don't think is too bad at all.

So I decided to put these two together to make a meal!

The polenta, I based it off of Anne Burrell's recipe on Food Network for hard polenta cakes. But I decided to make it edible for my roommate who is allergic to gluten and dairy. So instead of milk, I used a cup of soy milk. And as I was pouring the soy milk in, I thought to myself, I wonder what happens if soy milk is boiled...Well, as it was boiling it almost looked like it was splitting and getting really grainy/gritty. Didn't look very pleasant.

Problem #2. I wanted to toss a little red wine in there, for some added flavor. And I forgot to taste the wine, good thing I only poured a bit and then realized the bottle had been sitting there for a REALLY LONG TIME. I tasted it, UGH vinegar, disgusting! And I don't really know what I was thinking, I should have just tossed it all and started over, BUT, I kept going. (I don't like wasting food okay?)

Note: Oh and I didn't add in marscarpone cheese nor any sage. Also, I didn't add enough salt either. The recipe says to add enough salt just before the point of oversalting, I just added maybe a tablespoon or so. And my final product wasn't as smooth or creamy as I would have liked.

I had some arugula and a red bell pepper so I added those on the side for some color and a bit flavor. I felt like it went well with the polenta cake which actually wasn't very flavorful. (see above). And I totally overcooked my lamb sausage to death. Sad times, it was super dry.

Hmm, as I finish typing this post, there weren't very good things about this dish. I think I'm going to need to make it again. I definitely, definitely have to try the polenta again and maybe without the adjustments. (Sorry roomie!)

I have a couple posts coming up: my daring cooks challenge-fish ceviche and a sweet potato mash + some chicken. Will be up soon!