As soon as I saw this recipe in my December issue of Gourmet, I got this really odd sensation, kind of like one of those premonition-dream things Patricia Arquette as Allison Dubois gets on Medium - I knew that I was going to make some kind of rendition of that dish. Sausage, mushrooms, marinara…what’s not to love? My wife ate it all week long. I will have to put this into the normal rotation. I spruced my version of this up with the addition of red pepper flakes and I used a combination of hot and sweet Italian sausages.

It is great for a weeknight quick dish. You have to love the dishes that can be whipped together in 45 minutes to an hour with minimal preparation or fuss.

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Here is the ingredient list from the original recipe by Andrea Albin. I made note of my embellishments.

2 pounds precooked polenta (in a tube), cut into 4 (1/2-inch-thick) rounds
- I used one cup of instant polenta and two cups chicken broth
1/3 cup grated parmesan
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casing removed
- I mixed hot and sweet sausage
1/2 pound mixed sliced fresh wild mushrooms
- I used shitake, oyster and reconstituted chanterelles and porcinis
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 1/2 cups bottled marinara sauce
- I made a quick marinara using a 28oz an of San Marzano tomatoes with fresh parsley, basil, oregano, garlic, and 1/2 medium onion diced
- additional 1/2 medium onion, diced, added to sausage

Start the sauce with sweated onions and five cloves minced garlic. Cook the onions until just soft, about 5 minutes, then add garlic, cook for another 2-3 minutes until you can smell the garlic, then add the tomatoes, fresh herbs, and red wine.

Onions and Garlic

Tomatoes and Fresh Herbs

Cover the sauce, lower heat to medium low and simmer for 30 minutes. Meanwhile make the polenta.

Bring the stock to a boil and stir in cornmeal. Contine to stir until the cornmeal is bubbly and thick; in this case it took about 2 minutes. The pour into a pan, add a dusting of parmesan cheese and refrigerate until set, about 25 minutes.

Now the sausage and the shrooms! Saute the sausage and onion over medium high heat, breaking up the sausage, until browned, about 8 minutes. Add salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste.

Add the mushrooms and saute until soft.

Check the sauce and adjust seasoning. Usually a good bit of salt is needed and maybe a little sugar.

At this point remove the polenta from the fridge and preheat the broiler. Begin adding the sauce to the sausage/shroom mixture and stirring to combine.

Cut the polenta into wedges and place under the broiler until brown and slightly crisp on top.

Top with more parmesan cheese!