by Therese de Grace

When one mentions the title Mother in Law instantly most people are filled with a mixed bag of emotions, as lady luck would have it I have a pretty nice one, this is not the case for my best friend Missy. You see my pal married a Mammone, a certified Italian Mamma’s boy and his mother is spawned from Satan herself, the only redeeming quality this piranha has is that she is a fantastic cook.   

When I think of the level of crazy this woman has succumbed to for sick love of her son I want to run out and find the nearest shack and tie my tubes in one of those sailor style knots for fear that I could become this F*&%ed up over my child.   As a half breed second generation Italian I warned Missy about the Mammone syndrome and I let her know that if SPC (Squashed Pop Can, she looks like one I swear) was my mother in law I would run screaming in a zig zag pattern for my life. 

For example, at age 35 Mammone still gets his underwear purchased for him by his mother.  She buys him Honest Ed style extra wide pocket briefs and she love talking to Missy about how wide this pocket is (insert barfing noises here). 

Missy begs me on occasion to go over to her in-laws place which we lovingly call Rancho Depresso where we drink homemade wine and I try to block out the fact that I speak Italian so I don’t punch SPC in the face for making comments about my Anglo friend.  The only redeeming quality is that this bitch can cook and she shares her recipes, unfortunately she is not as generous with her son. 

Soft Polenta with a Mushroom Ragout 

You will require the following ingredients:

For the Polenta:

4 cups of chicken stock (you can use organic bouillon)

1 clove of crushed garlic

¼ cup of polenta/cornmeal

Salt and pepper to taste

1/3 of a pound of butter

½ a cup of parmesan cheese (plus extra to sprinkle)

½ a cup of mascarpone cheese

Pinch of nutmeg

Pinch of ground chili flakes 

For the Ragout: 

1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil

1 finely minced small white onion

1 clove of crushed garlic

3 cups of sliced assorted mushrooms

1 cup of white wine

1 bunch of torn basil (put some aside for garnish)

1 cup of heavy cream 

Method:

In a wide rimmed pot add your chicken stock, garlic, salt and pepper and bring to a boil.  Slowly pour in your cornmeal whisking the whole time, reduce heat and add butter, nutmeg and chili’s and allow to simmer  for 40 minutes stirring often.   You will know the polenta is ready when it starts to pull away from the pan, finish with parmesan and mascarpone cheese.   

While your polenta is cooking heat your oil in a sauce pan, add the onion and sauté until golden brown.  Add mushrooms and cook until soft, deglaze with white wine and allow liquid to evaporate, add your cream and torn basil, cook over medium heat for about 25 minutes spoon mixture over polenta and serve immediately sprinkled with parmesan shards.