Italian Sausage with Grilled Cheddar Polenta, and a Giveaway

After posting my vegetarian spaghetti carbonara, now I feel so guilty...Not!...but I should be, for posting sausage of all things, but not just any sausage, this is homemade, by my favorite Italian meat market, Mario's that's been around forever...about 30 years, with the same owners, now the owner's daughter in charge. This is the sausage, hot, and mild, that I bought for New Year's and still had another 2 lbs left over. I invited a friend over for dinner last night, and she was appalled and I could tell just the sound of her voice saying..."sausage?"...and then, silence!

Oh, my! I committed the "Cardinal Sin"...yes, I said "sausage, Italian sausage"...in her mind, since she doesn't eat sausage, thinking I was making these "dinky little breakfast sausages"...or, as she said...is it "Jimmy Dean sausage patties?"...no silly homemade Italian sausage. Enough said, just come on over, and "stop complaining, already!" I recently, or actually the other day, browsing through my followers blogs,

I found a blog, which had the most delicious Hungarian polenta, well in Hungarian, it's called "puliszka", which I thought looked so delicious, and more tempting was the amazing meat stuffed with sauer kraut, and topped with Hungarian bacon. Wow!...just looking at the photo made my cholesterol, go high, but I had to make a polenta dish which I have not made in a few years.
Lucky for me, I had everything on hand, and did not have to buy a thing.
Do check out Gesztenye
which in English mean Chestnuts she also has another blog too, all about truffles, or as she calls them bon-bons.
Another talented, and creative food blogger, from a different country, Hungary, my mother's birth country!

Marshmallow Frosting

 

This frosting always puts smiles on every one's faces, The kids line up to take spoonfuls of it, and licking the bowl and beater. I remember when my children were the same ages as my grandchildren, and we're talking over 30 years ago This was the first frosting that I learned how to make, besides the famous chocolate frosting, with egg, and butter in the cream. This particular frosting is also referred to the 7 minute frosting, and is made with pure egg whites, and only one cup of sugar. Zero fat. This is the consistency that is required, thick, and fluff, and ohhh so good. Your family will want to spoon some out from the bowl, lick the beaters, and the bowl like mine does. It actually resembles marshmallow fluff, but this is so much better, lighter, and less sweet than the one you buy in the jar. Recipe follows
.

Marshmallow Frosting...or 7 minutes

1 cup of granulated  white sugar only...not powdered
4 egg whites

1/3 cup of water

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 teaspoon vanilla

In a medium saucepan, bring the 1/3 cup of water, the sugar, and the cream of tartar, and bring it to a boil, until you see thick clear bubbles, which should only take about 5 minutes. Be careful not to boil even 1 second longer, soon as it comes to a rapid bubble, because it will turn amber, and than you would have to quickly make a different recipe, and add heavy cream, which would be "caramel sauce"

In a metal bowl, add all the egg whites, and beat the egg whites first until it turns white, and starts to get a little thick. Now, add the sugar syrup only drop fulls at a time counting down the 7 minutes. After about 5 minutes of constantly beating, add the vanilla, and beat another 2 minutes, maybe 3 more. You have enough to 2 nine inch round cakes. I would have had enough for my cakes on the side but I was way to generous with the grandchildren liberally spooning it out from the bowl. It really is contagious. I have given and actually showed how to make this frosting to neighbors, friends, even relatives in Italy, and Hungary. You can also add a drop of food coloring for a different effect. Be careful not to add juice instead of the fruit coloring, that will thin out the consistency.

 

I was going to post my simple version of an easy carrot cake which I made for my granddaughter's 9th birthday yesterday...instead, I decided to re-post my marshmallow frosting recipe that was from several months ago before I joined Foodbuzz, and made friends with so many wonderful people from all over the world.

One particular person, who became such a nice friend is a lovely young lady, called Joanna (Jo) from chicgorgeous whom I tagged last week and was such a good sport to answer the questions I posted, and came up with her own, and tagged 8 other bloggers. First, and foremost, you should check out her beautiful blog...not just because she linked to me, but because of the beautiful Pink Velvet cupcakes she made in honor of "Breast Awareness Month."

We all have someone in our family, relative, or friend, who died from this terrible disease, or a mother, sister, aunt, cousin, or a friend, that is a survivor of breast cancer. Sad to say, I lost my mother, my aunt, years ago, but happy to say that my younger sister is a "breast cancer survivor for the 5th year. I would love to scan a photo of my sweet sister if I could, but my scanner does not work at this time. I do not have anything "pink" at this time to post, but please DO check Joanna's blog at: chicgorgeous