Easy Creamy Parmesan Polenta

Back when I used to waitress on Mulberry Street in Little Italy, NYC my boss and I would order dinner from one of the nearby restaurants.  (I know what you're thinking - you were waitressing why didn't you eat the food there - it's because in the evenings we would only serve coffee and cake otherwise we would not go down the block for a meal). We'd usually eat the same things. One of the dishes we'd order was polenta or as what my boss used to reference as peasant's food that was now a delicacy.  It's pretty simple, tasty and hearty so if it was good enough to fill the bellies of Italian peasants it's good enough for me.  If you like mashed potatoes this is like the Italian cousin of it.  It's creamy, garlicky and cheesy.  Perfect. I actually think it may be easier to make than mashed potatoes!

And to go with the common thread of this week I nabbed this recipe from none other than Ina Garten.

Whipped Feta & Tomato Crostini

Tonight I am heading to wine club with some of my best girlfriends hosted by my friend Rose.  With wine you always need cheese, so I'll be bringing these whipped feta & tomato crostini. I prepared all of the components last night.  Chris taste-tested for me & confirmed that he "would order it again." So I packed everything up to-go.  I hope the girls like it.

Click through my recipe I adapted from Ina Garten's Tomato Crostini with Whipped Feta Recipe.

Lobster Mac & Cheese

To kick off the new year I had a tough decision to make, what to do with a bunch of leftover lobster meat.  That's right for the first time in O'Hara history there was leftover lobster at our house. Perhaps a bit of background would help.

Chris loves lobster. Usually when something is this 'loved' there are no leftovers.

He's been cooking lobster for me ever since we were dating - I know I'm a very lucky girl.  Every New Years Eve ShopRite seems to have lobster on sale for ridiculous prices. This year Christ got it for $2.99/lb.  Since it was offered at such an incredible price Chris decided the more the merrier, only thing was that it was just the two of us spending some quality time on the couch to ring in the new year. 

After Chris cooked & cracked open all of our fresh lobster I think both of our eyes got bigger as we stared at the pile of lobster meat.  Fear not, we ate as much as we possibly could & then wrapped up the rest for the next day.

I was determined to find something to use the lobster with. Pinterest had a ton of things. Then I was flipping through the pages of the Barefoot Contessa's Foolproof cookbook Chris's mom gave me for Christmas (thank you Mary!) & it was right there, staring me in the face: Ina Garten's Lobster Mac & Cheese.  I promised the resolutions I had mentally made that I would start soon, but for now it was game on with the lobster mac & cheese.

Click through for the full recipe & oodles of photos.

Butternut Squash & Pumpkin Soup

I'm no stranger to the Food Network & have spent much couch time taking in the recipes from (my mother-in-law's fave) the Barefoot Contessa.  After watching her make this soup, I needed to make it.  I jazzed it up with some of my own garnishes.  Click through for easy ways to make a new take on a homemade crouton (hint: it's made from corn bread!) & a simple way to make sage fancy.

Oh & a super huge HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Dulcie! Love you little lady! Hope this is the best year yet! XO