Happy New Year!

Mr. M and I had a quiet New Year's Day dinner at home. We had some beautiful grilled ribeyes, an arugula salad, and some decadent creamy polenta. We lubricated this meal with a bottle of 2005 Ca di Pian, La Spinetta (Piedmont) Barbera. What a way to start off the new year. No diets for us!

Spicy Creamy Polenta (modified from Paula Deen's Rosemary Polenta recipe)

1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes (more or less as desired)
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
2 cups half-and-half
2 cups milk
2 cups cornmeal
1/2 cup good grated Parmesan


Heat the butter and olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, rosemary, salt, and pepper and saute for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock, half-and-half, and milk and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and slowly sprinkle the cornmeal into the hot milk while stirring constantly with a whisk. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 10-15 minutes, until thickened and bubbly. Off the heat, stir in the Parmesan. Serve immediately.