First Timer: The Diary of an Untrained Cook: Night Two: POLENTA!!

Today was my second attempt at cooking a home cooked meal. To be honest, it went 1,000 times better than the last time I slaved over the stove.
I had my Great Aunt, Great Uncle, and two Cousins over for dinner and we had some amazing conversation. We had a great time talking about The Kardashians, family drama, and my future at college.

For Dinner I made 5 dishes:

1) Creamy Polenta with Mixed Mushrooms
This dish was a huge hit. Cooking polenta is definitely a challenge. I didn't realize that it bubbled so much when cooking. The polenta popped all over my kitchen stove and made a huge mess. I went to the farmers market with my Dad this morning. We picked up some fresh Morel mushrooms that added a smokey flavor to the polenta. While I was cooking down the polenta, I made a mixed mushroom sauce with a little Mascarpone cheese which made it extra creamy and a little salty. The dish was gone in 3 minutes and I am going to be making this dish again in the future.

2) Brussel Sprouts with Balsamic and Pancetta
OMFG! These Brussel sprouts were the best dish of the night. Not only were they my favorite thing to eat, but they were also my favorite thing to make. I cooked down the Brussels and Pancetta with aged Balsamic to give them a nice glazed texture. It made the Brussel Sprouts taste like candy! Next I toasted some home made bread crumbs with thyme in the oven. The bread crumbs and sprouts went together perfectly. I think the key to the success of this recipe was the long cook time on the brussels. I let them sit in the balsamic reduction for 1/2 hour on low heat. This let the sprouts absorb all the flavor, and allowed the pancetta extra time to get crispy.

3) Lemon Chicken Skewers (Grilled)
My Mom and Dad both pitched in and helped me make this entire meal, but my mom really stepped up and took over the responsibility of the chicken. She is a wiz of the grill and cooked the skewers to PERFECTION. My little cousins gobbled up the chicken and my dad loved taking a bite of Brussel sprouts and chicken at the same time. While this was the most simple dish to make, it was a huge hit and a nice balance to the two heavy side dishes.

4) Avocado and Corn Summer Salad
I take it back, this salad was the most simple dish of the meal. My aunt said it was the most delicious salad she has ever had and I think the key ingredient was the dressing. Although the corn and avocado were fresh, the lemon and garlic dressing added a nice zesty punch to the baby spinach. My mom stole my recipe for the salad and said she is going to make it for her friends birthday potluck.

5) Blueberry and Mascarpone Treats
I actually made this recipe up myself. I wanted to have a light dessert to end our heavy meal. I mixed Mascarpone cheese with vanilla extract and sugar to resemble a sort of whip cream. I spread this cheese mixture on top of Cinnamon Graham Crackers and topped the whole thing off with fresh blueberries and agave. This dessert took me 5 minutes to make and I really enjoyed creating my own original recipe!

After dinner I asked each guest what their favorite dish was, this is what they said:
Mom - "The Brussel Sprouts! They were a unique take on the preparation that I would have never thought of."
My Older Cousin - "The Chicken was my favorite. It was salty, lemony, and had delicious seasoning."
My Uncle - "The Polenta was incredible. The mushrooms were awesome and they melted in my mouth. I also loved the Brussels because they were unique and perfectly sweet."
My Younger Cousin- My younger cousin is super picky so he just ate bread.
Dad- "The Brussel Sprouts were my favorite. The flavors came together because they were cooked for a long time. I really think that technique made the flavors soak into the sprouts."
My Aunt- "The Salad by far! The corn was perfectly grilled and complimented the fresh avocado. I'm stealing that dressing recipe by the way."

The best part of the night was not the food, but the incredible company of my family. This has already been such a great way to learn about the people I love and spend more time with them. I am grateful for the memories that we create at every meal.