Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Cook Up With Dzintra!





Summer seems to be whizzing by, but for our friends in the S.H., a fresh, new Spring is right around the corner....


Dear Dzintra, in Australia, has a luscious new Donna Hay cook up...
do take a look!
We are cooking from the Fall issue...







Of course, the recipes are all cozy and rich...
 I decided to go outside of my comfort zone 
and try my hand at cooking polenta...
Have you ever cooked it? Do you love it? 
I will say, this is a time sensitive dish! If you want to retain the creaminess, you must eat it immediately, for polenta solidifies quickly.
The recipe called for luscious sauteed portobello mushrooms, as well as bagna cauda. I figured that even if I messed up with the polenta, the latter two components would save the day.

:)


 
 Polenta with Bagna Cauda and Mushrooms



It was yummy, creamy, garlicky, and totally satisfying...


And for dessert:



Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

 (seems as if I had a color theme going!)



I went a bit too thick with the chocolate...just need to keep that in mind for next time!

Yum. So easy to make.
 Store bought can't compare... 


What have you been cooking up lately?


Wishing you all a beautiful week!!!
xoxo



 

23 comments:

  1. YOU ARE IMPRESSIVE! How you manage to cook such intricate recipes, I'm blown away! Now I will need to look up "bagna goda" (I cant even spell it!) I love polenta, but I like the sort that does solidify into a treat that you can cut like bread. But yours looks so delicious, like a porridge! And you made those PB cups yourself? Ruben would scream if he saw these! teehee

    ENJOY YOUR DAY! Anita

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh, you have all my favorites here....mushrooms and peanut butter cups! The Polenta looks delicious, and I've never tried this before. It looks like a creamy soup. I just cook the basics usually, and really must try something different.

    Have a wonderful day,

    Love,
    ~Sheri

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Irina,

    Oh yum! your food looks so great and I want to take a bite of the chocolate peanut butter cups.
    Always good to find some recipes that you enjoy.
    Hope your week is going well
    hugs
    Carolyn

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh dearest Irina how yummy does that polenta look! I discovered this through Donna' s magazine...I especially love the polenta chips! I will have to re-visit the magazine now and look upon those dishes! Funny how you miss some recipes even though they have been looked at! Thank you so much for cooking with me...I love that idea. This weekend I shall try to plan the next cook up! Bon Appetit to you...Love Dzintra xo

    ReplyDelete
  5. Dear Irina,

    Thank you for visiting and I can say the same back - it has been great to discover your blog and I appreciate having your blog friendship. Glad you had a little taste of our NZ apples.
    They are really nice at the moment when they are fresh from the tree.

    happy weekend
    hugs
    Carolyn

    ReplyDelete
  6. BAGNA CAUDA....warmed olive oil...OK, now I can see the language playing its magic here; "bagna" (bath) "cauda" (warm) - from the Latin from which other words come: caulderon, caldo, chaud.....love it! And that sounds outrageously delicious! Now I've never had anchovies! NEVER! I love fish, but I've never had the opportunity to eat these.....and the PB cups? HAAAAAAAAA, the MISTER would devour, I mean, DEVOUR those! If you have any extra, I'll pick one up for him when you make another batch! LOVE YOU MY FRIEND! Anita

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hello dear Irina. That chocolate peanut butter cup look s scrumptious! I will be cocking up a storm soon. I haven't tried polenta before, your recipe looks perfect with portobello mushroom with it.

    Enjoy the rest of summer .

    Hugs,

    Aida

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hello, my friend :)
    Happy August!! What a yummy way to kick off this month. My mouth is watering. Mmmmmmm!!! I will share this post with Tom as he is the cook in the house. I can only make the basics. And I mean the very, very basics.
    Cheers,
    Loi

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh YUMMMMM! I want it all dear Irina.... What a delicious post.
    Yes, time is flying by, I have not been visiting as much lately either... Thank you so much for taking time out to wander over and leave such a sweet note for Spencer.

    Thank you for the cool breeze!
    Love and blessings,
    Penny

    ReplyDelete
  10. The polenta with its yummy ingredients would not sit and solidify if I had been there. We would have gobbled it so quickly that it would have burned our mouths! The dessert? You are a temptress, ma chère!

    Bises,
    Genie

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hello Irina,polenta is certainly wonderful food and I know from experience that folks either like it or hate it.Our family has an Italian connections so a lot of traditional dishes are still being cooked.We serve the hot polenta on a platter topped with tomato sauce,spicy Italian sausage(or wild mushrooms)and grated pecorino cheese.Friends from Northern Italy pour it onto a board then eat it cold with cheese,although I have to say that his doesn't appeal to me!

    Well done you,your dishes all look amazing......
    Have a lovely week,
    Rubyxx

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thank you for visiting and your warm comment. It is so nice to discover your lovely blogs.
    This is such a delicious and inspiring post!
    Have a nice week.

    ReplyDelete
  13. looks so good...... never to thick with chocolate LOL

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi Cutie. You hit all my favourite food groups with those recipes, and I love the Donna Hay illustrations to get you in the cooking mood and mode. Thanks for visiting Zendoll while I was away... now it's my turn to play catchup. Have a blessed weekend! xo

    ReplyDelete
  15. those peanut butter cups look amazing!

    http://this-plus-that.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  16. Oh Irina look at all these lovely comments about your lovely meal.....we could all virtually share it...Warm Hugs to you, Dzintra xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  17. I had to come back for a look and virtual taste of what looks like a "lava cake" - miam-miam! My friend's husband makes these to such perfection that I know that I will never order one in a restaurant. It would only pale by comparison. I am glad that my husband does not make these because I would be as big as a house!

    Bises,
    Genie

    ReplyDelete
  18. Oh my goodness! You are not helping my hunger right now! Hahahaha...the magazine cover is drool worthy and that peanut butter cup is calling my name. Yummmmm....

    Thank you so much for stopping by. We are doing well and adjusting to life as a family of 4. Santino has been such an easy baby so far.

    Love,
    Heidi

    ReplyDelete
  19. Irina, I must tell you that you can never get to thick with chocolate - at least for my taste! Your meal looks delicious. It's too early in the morning for me to be wanting to eat Polenta, but you sure made it sound and look good. laurie

    ReplyDelete
  20. Oh yummy polenta with mushrooms looks good(:)
    Love the roses too
    Hugs..p

    ReplyDelete
  21. I could almost smell it. Yummy. I'll take a small sampling of each. :)
    xoxo's

    ReplyDelete
  22. Thank you so much for visiting dear Irina, your comment warmed my heart.
    blessings,
    Penny

    ReplyDelete
  23. My dearest friend, every comment of yours on my blog is like a warm hug to me! As I can see, you not only have mastered using your camera, but you also have succeed at your cooking challenges! Well, this is just impressive! The peanut butter cups look delicious and I am willing to try the polenta. Yes, my husband and I had quite an adventure! But as much as we would love to drive from Canada to west USA, we are not yet ready to do that. We flew to Vegas and then we rented a car to drive to the Grand Canyon, San Diego and Los Angeles. It was my first time visiting those places...a lot of impressions! Sending you love and warm wishes for wonderful last days of summer!

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...