Upside Down Polenta Casserole Recipes

BLUEBERRY POLENTA UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and line base and sides of a 9-inch-square cake pan with baking parchment, and grease the parchment. Sprinkle 1/3 cup sugar over base of pan, and cover evenly with blueberries.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs, 1 cup sugar and orange zest. Whisk until pale and thick. Add orange juice and oil, and whisk until blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together polenta, flour, baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture to egg mixture, whisking until smooth. Pour into prepared pan.
• Bake for about 45 to 55 minutes, until golden brown and springy to the touch, and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool cake on a rack for about 5 minutes. Carefully invert cake onto a serving plate, and slowly peel off parchment paper. Serve warm or at room temperature.

MEXICAN POLENTA CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 3-quart glass casserole. Break up 1 tube polenta in the casserole and press evenly so it covers the bottom of the dish.
• Slice remaining 1 tube polenta into enough thin slices to cover the top of the casserole; set aside.
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until glistening. Add onion and bell pepper and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds.
• Lower heat to medium and stir in turkey, chili powder, cumin, and cayenne pepper. Cook and stir until turkey is browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes. Add black beans, drained tomatoes, and salsa and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered and stirring occasionally, 15 to 20 minutes.
• While turkey mixture is simmering, bake polenta crust in the preheated oven until firm, 7 to 10 minutes.
• Remove polenta crust from the oven and sprinkle with 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese. Top with turkey mixture and lay sliced polenta on top.
• Return to the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining 2 cups Monterey Jack and bake until bubbly, about 10 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with chopped tomato and cilantro.

UPSIDE DOWN POLENTA

Steps:

• 1. In a saucepan, cook sausage and onion until brown and tender; drain off excess fat. Stir in undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce, mushrooms, oregano, garlic powder, 1 teaspoon salt and dash pepper. Simmer, covered, for 5 minutes
• 2. Meanwhile, stir together flour, cornmeal, Parmesan cheese, sugar, baking powder and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Make well in center of dry ingredients; add milk, oil and egg, stirring until combined.
• 3. Spread batter in bottom of an ungreased 9 x 13-inch casserole dish. Spoon tomato mixture on top. Bake in 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. Sprinkle Cheddar cheese and parsley on top. Bake 5 minutes more. Serves 8.

MUSHROOM AND POLENTA POTPIE

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine porcini mushrooms with boiling water. Let stand for 15 minutes. Pass soaking liquid through damp cheesecloth into a small bowl, and set aside. Finely chop porcini mushrooms, and set aside.
• Melt butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add garlic and shallot, and saute until tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Raise heat to medium high, and add button mushrooms; cook for 2 minutes. Add remaining mushrooms, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in flour, and cook 1 minute. Stir in red wine, using a wooden spoon to scrape up any cooked-on bits on bottom of pan. Allow the liquid to reduce for 1 minute. Stir in tomato paste and the reserved porcini liquid, and simmer for 2 minutes. Stir in heavy cream, parsley, and thyme; season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Combine 2 cups milk with 2 cups water in a large saucepan, and bring to a simmer. Add polenta, and cook, stirring, until thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, and stir in Parmesan, remaining 1 1/2 cups milk, and 1 teaspoon salt. Place egg yolks in a medium mixing bowl, and stir in 1 cup of the polenta mixture. Stir the egg-and-polenta mixture back into the polenta, and adjust seasoning with salt, if necessary.
• In a large mixing bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Stir half of the egg whites into the polenta, then gently fold in the remaining whites until completely incorporated. Set aside.
• Place the mushroom mixture in a shallow 2-quart casserole; heap polenta on top. Sprinkle with Parmesan, and place on a baking sheet. Bake until polenta is golden and mushroom filling bubbles, about 25 minutes.

UPSIDE-DOWN POLENTA CASSEROLE

Steps:

• In saucepan cook sausage and onion till meat is brown and onion is tender; drain off excess fat. Stir in undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce, mushrooms, the 1 teaspoon slat, the oregano, garlic powder, and pepper. Bring to boiling. Simmer, covered, for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, stir together flour, cornmeal, Parmesan cheese, sugar, baking powder, and the 3/4 teaspoon salt; make a well in center of dry ingredients. Add milk, cooking oil, and egg, stirring till combined. Spread batter in bottom of an ungreased 13x9x2-inch baking dish. Spoon tomato mixture on top. Bake in 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. Sprinkle cheddar cheese and parsley atop. Bake 5 minutes more.

PINEAPPLE UPSIDE-DOWN CORNMEAL CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a microwave-proof dish, bring the milk to a boil. Remove the milk from the microwave and add the cornmeal. Stir and let soak at room temperature for 30 minutes. Set aside.
• Melt the butter in a 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, add the brown sugar and stir until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and carefully place 1 slice of pineapple in the center of the pan. Place the other 5 slices around the center slice in a circle. Place the cherries in the centers of the pineapple slices and sprinkle the nuts evenly over the fruit. Drizzle pineapple juice over top.
• Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
• In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the sugar to the eggs and whisk to combine. Add the canola oil and whisk. Add the cornmeal and milk mixture to the egg mixture and whisk to combine. Add this to the flour and stir just until combined. Pour the batter over the fruit in the skillet and bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 30 minutes in the skillet. Set a platter on top of the skillet and carefully invert the cake. Serve.

PEACH COBBLER UPSIDE-DOWN POUND CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a fluted tube pan (such as Bundt®).
• Combine peaches, water, white sugar, brown sugar, butter, vodka, cinnamon, vanilla extract, almond extract, and nutmeg in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook down until filling has a cobbler-like texture, about 25 minutes.
• Mix brown sugar and butter for topping together in a bowl and spread evenly in the prepared cake pan. Combine sliced peaches and cinnamon and arrange neatly on top of brown sugar and butter mixture.
• Combine eggs, butter, buttermilk, sour cream, shortening, almond extract, and vanilla extract in a bowl and mix very well.
• Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, and baking powder in another bowl. Mix into wet ingredients until combined. Pour 1/2 of the batter into the prepared cake pan. Pour filling on top; pour remaining cake batter on top.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Continue baking until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Invert onto a cake plate and let cool.