Back for Foodie Friday with a Giveaway and a Guest Post!!!

Happy Friday All!

I am SO happy to be back for this week's Foodie Friday. I've missed my favorite party!

This is a VERY special Friday for us. This is our first week back to blogging after my surgery and it's been spectacular. We have a fabulous giveaway to celebrate (click on the giveaway link under our header to enter!) AND we're doing our very first guest post! How cool is that!?!

I was so honored to be asked to do a guest post on one of my absolute favorite blogs, More Than a Mountfull . Our post will be up Thursday evening, so be sure to check back!

Dennis is just the BEST- passionate about food, the girls he works with, and I am honored to call him friend. Please head on over to read about Autumn harvest foods in Italy and enjoy our recipes for Torrone and Chestnut Pasta. 

Dennis also has some great giveaways to celebrate his Blogaversary, so be sure to leave a comment to enter!

I'm still a bit limited in the kitchen due to having to work one handed (my left arm has decided to bail on me temporarily), but my wonderful husband and Allie have stepped up to the plate and have helped tremendously.

Poor Irish Mr Bramasole (who is the world's PICKIEST and plainest eater) has had to learn the ins and outs of cooking curries, risottos, and how to roll out pastry dough. 

I think I'll keep him.

When I was growing up and we spent our summers in Italy, polenta was on the table every day in some form or another. Soft and cheesy, or grilled, or battered and fried so the outside was crispy and the inside creamy. 

Now that we live in NC, it's no wonder I love grits! One of our earliest posts was about my introduction to grits

The uses for polenta are endless. This is a dessert that my Nonna liked to make in the Fall. We'd sit on the terrace and eat warm bowls topped with ladles of cream. Enjoy!

(sorry about the terrible picture. "Someone" borrowed my camera and I had to use the kids'!)

Sweet Autumn Polenta 

2 sticks butter

2 2/3 cups confectioner's sugar

1 whole egg and 6 egg yolks

1 TBLSP dark rum (or any liqueur of your choice)

1 1/3 cups of almond meal or VERY finely ground almonds

1 3/4 cups of polenta (yellow cornmeal)

1 cup flour sifted with 2 tsp of baking powder

1 tsp vanilla

Melt the butter over low heat and allow to cool.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 1 1/2 or 2 quart souffle dish with baking spray. Beat the butter with the sugar (you can reserve a tablespoon or two of the sugar to sift on top later if you like) till blended and smooth. With the mixer going, add whole eggs one at a time then add the yolks. Keep beating and add the liqueur, almonds, flour mixture, cornmeal, and finally, the vanilla

Pour batter into souffle dish and bake for 45- 60 minutes minutes till top is crusty and golden brown and it's cooked through. Cover with a piece of foil if it starts to get too dark. Serve warm, spooning it into bowls and topping with cream or gelato!

Be sure to hop on over and visit us at Dennis' place!

And we'd love to have you as friends on Bramasole's Facebook page- we frequently post Bonus Recipes and we LOVE to hear from you!

As Always,

Buon Cibo, Buon Amici,

Pattie and Allie