Saddle of Rabbit with Herb Polenta

Once again, we got to have a meal without buying any groceries - imagine that!  I've only been to the store once all week.  I always tell people, if there's a natural disaster (or the zombie apocalypse), come to my parents house, where there is enough food to feed an army!  We were going to have this rabbit last night, but it was still frozen, so we had some store-bought ravioli that were in the fridge with butter and sage.  By tonight, the bunnies were thawed, so we made them.  Well, mostly my mom did the rabbit, and I did the polenta.  When I was in Italy one time, about 8 years ago maybe, I bought a copper polenta pot that has a stirrer attachment.  I had to buy a converter, since Italy is on a different electrical current, but it works beautifully.  Unfortunately, that is at my house. Here, I had to stir the polenta by hand.  This is how Italian women get their muscles.  Not for the weak, but so worth the effort.  According to my mom, this is a special polenta, although I have no idea what brand it is, as it was in a glass jar in her fridge.  No, you don't have to keep polenta in the fridge, but she does.  I think it is because she is afraid of bugs getting into it - you'd have to ask her.  And I'm sure she'll comment after I post this.

For the rabbit:

3 saddles of rabbit
3-4 tbsp butter
1 sprig rosemary
salt
pepper
marsala
white wine

• Preheat the oven to 380 convection (about 395 regular)
• Place the rabbit in a baking dish.  Sprinkle the rabbit with salt and pepper, dot with butter, and put some of the rosemary on each piece.

Rabbit ready to go into the oven

• Pour some marsala (about 1/2 cup - mom, correct me if this is wrong... we don't really measure) and white wine (same amount) over and around the rabbit.
• Cook for about 45 minutes, until rabbit is done and nicely browned.

For the polenta:

1 cup polenta

4 cups water or stock

salt

1 sprig thyme

1 sprig rosemary

3-4 cloves garlic

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano

• Heat the water or stock in a pot till boiling.  Add some salt (start with about 1 tbsp).  Make a whirlpool in the water with a whisk and slowly stir in the polenta (this is so that you don't get any lumps).  Switch to a wooden spoon and stir.  As it comes back to a boil, turn the heat down so that you have a constant very low simmer - you should see some bubbles come up, but not too many.  It will begin to thicken after just a few minutes.  Continue to stir.  And stir.  And stir.  You may stir slowly, but you want to keep the polenta moving at least a bit.  Taste it and adjust the salt if needed.

The polenta at the beginning

• Meanwhile, add the herbs, smashed garlic, and cream to a small pan and heat slowly.

herbs and garlic, ready for cream

• After you have been stirring for about 35 minutes, taste for doneness.  It should be smooth and creamy.  At this point, remove from heat and strain the cream into the polenta, discarding the herbs and garlic.  Add the cheese and stir together.

Finished polenta

Serve immediately.  Any leftovers can be turned into a number of delicious dishes.  I like to spread it out into a thin layer, refrigerate, and then fry wedges in a pan.  Or, as mom just suggested since we have a lot left, use it for a polenta lasagna.  I will post that recipe when we make it.  Basically, I take thin layers of cooked polenta and alternate it with tomato sauce and meat sauce, and top it with parm.  Another great winter meal!

Crackers

Parmigiano Rosemary Crackers

I have recently discovered the joy of making crackers at home.  Worried that I was eating too much processed food and too many salty snacks, I set out to find a recipe for homemade crackers.  I found one that tasted good, but was missing that crunch of a store bought cracker.  Then I found these on a blog - I could not believe how easy they were, and how crispy they turn out - just like a real cracker!  I've made some slight adjustments, and have tried several versions with different things added.  For the ones I made last night, I added some grated parmigiano reggiano, chopped fresh rosemary, and cracked black pepper to the dry ingredients.  For a Spanish themed dinner, I made some sprinkled with Spanish Pimenton before baking.  They are sooooo yummy!  Here's the basic recipe - I usually cut it in half because it really makes a lot.

1 1/2 cups semolina flour
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp kosher salt
1 cup warm water
1/3 cup olive oil

Whisk together the flour and salt (and any other dry ingredients you want to add for flavoring) in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.  Add the water and olive oil.  Mix at medium speed for about 7 minutes (or knead by hand if you don't have a stand mixer).  Dough should not be sticky, but not too dry either.  It will feel a bit like a pizza dough.  Divide the dough into 8 balls, coat each ball lightly with olive oil, cover, and let rest for about an hour.

Heat oven to 450.  Flour a cutting board or other surface (I simply use my granite counter top).  Take one of the dough balls and flatten out into a disc.  Run through a pasta machine on setting number 1 (if you don't have a pasta machine, you can just roll out the dough, but try to get it as thin as you can - about 1/16 of an inch).  Continue to pass through the pasta machine until you get to number 3 or 4.  I have a great pasta attachment for my stand mixer - makes the rolling much easier than a manual machine because it leaves both hands free to handle the dough.  Once you have a very thin sheet, add any additional toppings you wish to add (I usually use a flaked sea salt), prick all over with a fork to prevent puffing up of the dough, cut into squares, rectangles, or whatever shapes you want.  I use a ravioli cutter to give them a fun edge, but you can just use a knife, a pizza cutter, whatever.  Carefully transfer to a floured baking sheet, or a baking sheet lined with a Silpat liner.  Bake for about 8-10 minutes.  Watch them carefully, as they can go from golden to burnt very quickly.  When they are a beautiful golden brown, remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack.  They will cool down very quickly - usually by the time your next batch is done baking.