Polenta Lasagna & Salmon Crostini - 2/2/2008

I've been cooking! I swear! I've been traveling around the country for graduate school interviews, so my time for cooking has been unfortunately re-prioritized. I did manage to make this creation last weekend and now have the time to show it off.



I wanted a quick and easy appetizer while I waited for my main course to finish. I cut up a baguette into slices, rubbed them with a little olive oil and baked them at 350 degrees F for about 5-10 minutes to make them crisp. After taking them out of the oven, I smeared them with herbed goat cheese, placed some smoked salmon on top and sprinkled it with dried dill. They tasted pretty good and were very easy.



My mom has made a small casserole using polenta, some veggies and tomato sauce. I decided to take her idea and expand upon it. I bought the pre-made polenta that you can get in the produce/vegetarian section of the grocery store. I cut it into slices to act as the noodles of a lasagna. I also sliced up some zucchini and eggplant on my mandaline (to make sure they were even) then baked them in the oven with some olive oil and salt for about 15 minutes. Now the layering: tomato sauce, shingled polenta, sliced zucchini, mozzarella, sauce, polenta, sliced chicken sausage, mozzarella, sauce, polenta, eggplant, sauce, mozzarella. I baked this creation for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees F until it was nice and bubbly. Serving this creation was rather difficult with all of the sliced polenta, but it tasted delicious. It may be better to make as individual lasagnas, but if your guests are not looking for something pretty, this is a good choice.