Polenta fritta

Well I didn't buy it, but since it has been a weird schedule with Spring Break... I decided that I could just review a food that I ate that I had never had before.

For our 6 month anniversary, Rusty and I went to Prego's ( a nice Italian restaurant in Burlington). In addition to bread to nibble on they also gave us little cubes of polenta fritta. I had heard of polenta before but I had never tried it or seen it fried into little cubes.

Essentially polenta is a dish made of boiled yellow or white cornmeal. Originally polenta was thought of as a "peasant food" or food for the poor, but today it is viewed of as more of a gourmet food. It takes a while.. an hour or more.. to  cook the polenta (requires constant attention and stirring).

After the polenta is cooked it can be further prepared by being fried (balls, cubes, sticks, etc.)

So we were served this mystery food. I have to say that it didn't look to terribly appetizing.. it almost looked old and crusty. On the first bite I did not really like it because I did not think it had much flavor, but on the second bite I really appreciated the subtle taste.

I would eat it again.. but i don't know if I would order it if it wasn't free!

Ritz Muchables Pretzel Thins: Spicy Chipotle Cheddar

Ritz is one of about 20 + brands that are owned by Nabisco (other brands include Oreo, Honey Maid, Chips Ahoy, Wheat Thins, Triscuits, Barnum's Animal Crackers, SnackWells,etc.)....and Nabisco is a subsidiary of Kraft Foods!

Nabisco was originally known as National Biscuit Company..wow pretty cool..i had no idea where the name originated. The Nabisco factory in Chicago is a 1,800,000-square-foot facility and claims to be the largest bakery in the world!

The idea behind the pretzel thins is that there is a tiny Ritz cracker that is enclosed inside of a pretzel! There are three flavors...Butter, Cheesy Sour Cream and Onion, and most recently (so recent that is isn't on their website..concerns me a little) Spicy Chipotle Cheddar.

What I realized about these snacks is that they are very thin.. hence the name. I also think the name is a bit misleading because it isn't really very pretzel-like... the pretzel layer is very thin.. so it is more like a crunchy cracker. Despite this inconsistency, I did enjoy these pretzel thins, but the flavor did not quite live up to what I was expecting...they weren't as spicy as I would have liked them to be.

Buy again..maybe

Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti squash has a variety of different names including "vegetable squash, noodle squash, and spaghetti marrow" etc. and it can also vary in terms of appearance (yellow, orange, or white). In the USA, I have only ever seen it be yellow.. but who knows!.

The reason that it is called spaghetti squash is that when you cook the squash the flesh/meat on the inside falls away into spaghetti like strands! SO COOL

I have seen chefs use this squash on TV all the time.. and I just have to try it for myself to see if it actually works.. and what it tastes like. It is often used as a low- carb substitute for pasta.

So I decided to give it a try.. still a bit skeptical that it would actually look like spaghetti! I cut it in half, baked it in the oven for 30+ minutes, and removed the halves. I then proceeded to scrape the inside with a fork and low and behold.. it came out just like short spaghetti noodles! The squash has a slight crunch to it, but was great alone.. or with some sauted peppers, onion, and some spaghetti sauce!

TRY THIS :-)