So inspired by the food at the gateway market, I came up with an idea for an appetizer (which ended up being our dinner, tonight).
So I started off with George Formaro's Soft Cheese and Herb Polenta:
2 c chicken stock
1 c heavy cream
2 T butter
1 T chopped fresh herbs of your choice (I used red pepper flakes)
salt to taste
1/8 t cracked black pepper
1 t chopped fresh garlic
Bring the above to a boil
1 c polenta or stone ground corn grits
1/2 c Parmesan cheese
Slowly add polenta with a whisk, stirring constantly.
Turn heat to very low and cook about 20 minutes
Add Parmesan.
(They suggest to serve as aside or main dish topped with a rich meat ragu.)
While this is slowly cooking on low, Slice up the prosciutto in about 1/4" strips and seperate into their thin layers, and toss into a pan with a little olive oil and pan fry on just below medium, until the prosciutto is starting to get crispy. this won't take very long, since they slices are so thin.
Slice up a fine bread, and toast it (in the oven or a toaster).
On the toasted bread, spread the chevre, cover that in a portion of the polenta and then top it with a few pieces of the prosciutto.
It'll look something like this:
Crunchy, creamy, salty, meaty, spicy and cheesy....how good is that?