Abbi's Polenta Casserole

Recipes come from any number of places: grandmothers, experimentation or sometimes a food star's cookbook. For Abbi's Polenta Casserole recipe, it started out as a Rachael Ray creation that's been tweaked to make it Abbi Browning's own.

"She calls for stewed tomatoes. I like the chopped tomatoes better. Another difference is that I use the mild canned chiles where Rachael calls for the hotter jalapeños. Two other changes I've made is that she calls for frozen corn, but I like using canned corn better, and I use caramelized onions," Abbi explained.

A dental hygienist at River Oaks Dental in Yuba City, Abbi says she's not the cook in her family — she puts that honor on her husband, Daniel — so having a few dishes she can call her own (meatloaf and a balsamic vinegar salad are the other two) is a joy for her.

"Everybody loves my polenta casserole. When my mother heard I was making two batches (for this story), she said she was coming over. I make it when Daniel's family comes over. I make it when my family comes over. It's very easy, very quick, and you have enough to last you a couple of days."

She added that it's one of those dishes that tastes better the second day.

The list of ingredients starts with packaged polenta and includes canned corn, canned chilies, zucchini, small yellow squash, onion, tomatoes, cheese and seasonings.

Abbi said the polenta can be found in grocery store's refrigerated section in 16-ounce packages. She isn't picky about the type of cheese, because she said she's found that both Monterey Jack or cheddar work well in the recipe.

One thing about this recipe is that it takes a lot of chopping.

The onion, zucchini as well as the squash all have to cut into small pieces. Luckily, the canned ingredients come ready to pour into the mix.

Preparation is simple.

After chopping the onion, sauté it in a pan coated with melted butter and sprinkle with pepper. While that's cooking, chop the other vegetables and set them aside until the onions have caramelized.

Abbi said that when the onions are caramelized to your satisfaction, add them to the vegetables along with a little olive oil and a couple of pinches of salt, then cook about 10 minutes.

Garlic is a favorite of hers, and while she uses about 2 teaspoons, she advises readers to use as much — or as little — as they like.

"While the ingredients are cooking up on the stove, I'm cutting the polenta into quarter-inch disks. I cut them that thickness so you don't get too much polenta in one bite."

She advises that before cutting into the polenta package to hold it over the sink, poke a hole in it and let the water drain out. She said it's easier to do that then to have a watery mess on the counter.

Her next step is to prepare the casserole dish.

She first coats the dish with olive oil, making sure both the bottom and the sides are well covered.

Next, Abbi covers the bottom of the pan with the polenta slices. On top of that she puts half of the cooked vegetables followed by about a cup of the grated cheese.

She then puts in a second layer of polenta, vegetables and cheese.

Abbi finished the dish by baking it in a 500-degree oven for about eight to 10 minutes to brown the cheese and warm the polenta.

As she took the dish out of the oven, Abbi said, "My family will be eating well tonight."

• ABBI'S POLENTA CASSEROLE

Yield: Six to eight servings

Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter

1 small to medium onion, chopped

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided use

1 can sweet corn (14 ounces)

1 can (14 ounces) chopped tomatoes

3 tablespoons garlic, chopped

2 small cans (4 ounces each) mild fire-roasted chiles

2 small to medium zucchini, diced

1 small to medium yellow squash, diced

Salt and pepper, to taste

2 teaspoons dark chili powder

2 tubes prepared polenta (16 ounces each)

2 cups (10 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese

Putting it together

In a large skillet, sauté onion in butter until carmelized while chopping the remaining vegetables. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, corn, tomatoes, garlic, chilies, zucchini and yellow squash to the pan; season with salt, pepper and chili powder and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes.

Cut one tube of polenta into 1/4-inch disks. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil into a shallow baking dish or casserole dish. Spread the oil around with a pastry brush to evenly coat the bottom and sides of the dish. Line the bottom of the dish with the disks of polenta. Slice the second tube of polenta into 1/4-inch disks. Reserve.

Transfer half of the vegetable mixture to the baking dish. Top with 1 cup shredded cheese. Place the remaining polenta disks on top of the cheese. Add the rest of the vegetables and top with the remaining cheese. Bake in 500-degree oven for about eight to 10 minutes to brown the cheese and warm polenta.

• • •

Abbi has lived in Lincoln for the past three years with her husband, Daniel, and their two dogs: a sweet Doberman and a Boston terrier.

After graduating from Rocklin High School in 1998, she attended Western Career College where she studied to be a dental hygienist.

Abbi is happy working in Yuba City. "I have a friend there who works for Dr. Savage and Dr. Hughes (at River Oaks Dental), and she told me about her position and how much she likes working there. So when an opening came about, I just took it. I like it there, too, and I just want to stay where I'm at."

Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter John Hollis at 741-2400 or jhollis@appealdemocrat.com