Recipe: Creamy Polenta & Crispy Mushrooms Paired with Pinot Noir

Here's Made In Hospitality & Partnership Lead Jenna Seco's recipe for Creamy Polenta & Crispy Mushrooms you can make in a Made In Saucier. This recipe pairs extremely well with a pinot noir — Winestyr sommelier Will Whelan prefers the 2016 Mariah Vineyard Pinot Noir by Waits-Mast Family Cellars!

After more than eight years as an award-winning sports journalist, Will pivoted to the wine industry and never looked back. Now a certified sommelier and the Executive Vice President of Wine at Winestyr, he has one goal in mind: connect the best winemakers in the country directly with engaged and passionate wine drinkers. Originally from Boulder, Colorado, Will has traveled coast to coast as a cellar rat, retail shop buyer, sommelier, wine director, and distributor sales rep. When he's not popping corks, you're likely to find him seeking out life changing tacos, cheering on the Colorado Buffaloes, and waxing poetic over the virtues of antique stemware.

Winestyr gives you unprecedented access to hundreds of America's best small wineries. By cutting out traditional wholesalers and retailers and building real relationships with the people who make these amazing wines, our flagship wine club delivers authentic wines at the best possible prices to our nationwide membership.

Creamy Polenta & Crispy Mushrooms

Ingredients

• 1 cup polenta
• 4 cups water
• 6 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 6 oz grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• Mixed mushrooms
• Fresh thyme
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• Salt
• Pepper
• Olive oil
• Maldon salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325F.
2. Using your Made In Saucier or Saucepan, bring 4 cups of water to a simmer over medium high heat. Add a large pinch of salt and 2 Tbsp of butter, whisking until fully combined. Slowly stream in the polenta, whisking constantly to make sure there are no lumps. Once fully incorporated, bring the mixture to a boil, immediately cover, and transfer to your oven.
3. Bake the polenta until tender, about 25 minutes.
4. When your polenta has 10 minutes left, heat up your frying pan (stainless or carbon steel) over medium-high heat with neutral oil. Once the pan is just about to smoke, throw your mushrooms in the pan and don’t touch them.
5. After about 2-3 minutes, season with salt and pepper, flip your mushrooms, and lower your heat. Add 2 Tbsp of butter, thinly sliced garlic, and fresh thyme, and baste the mushrooms with butter.
6. Once you pull the polenta out of the oven, whisk in ⅔ of your parmesan cheese and 2 Tbsp of butter. Season with salt and pepper.
7. Scoop your polenta into individual bowls, top with remaining parmesan cheese, and add a serving of your crispy mushrooms. Finish with Maldon salt and thyme.

Notes:

You can substitute chicken stock for water.

You can use milk and water; just make sure your ratio is 4 parts liquid to 1 part polenta.

2016 Mariah Vineyard Pinot Noir by Waits-Mast Family Cellars

Sitting at 2,400 feet above sea level in the remote west of Mendocino's cool climate coastal region, Mariah Vineyard offers a true expression of the noncontiguous Mendocino Ridge appellation. Waits-Mast pays tribute to that perfumed style with a wine of intense aromatics and a ripe but refreshing berry fruit set on the front of the palate. This wine is ready to drink now or anytime within the next five years.