Oven-baked Polenta with Portobella Mushroom Sauce, Wild Rice and Zucchini Spears

This morning I was in the mood for mushrooms. Not just any mushrooms, but big, juicy portobellas. So I decided to recreate a dish inspired by a meal I had eaten at the Shoreline Diner in Guilford this summer.

One of the things I love most about my business is being able to experiment with food and sharing the end results with my clients. Today's entree is a typical example. I wanted a rich, hearty sauce that would complement the mushrooms and sit atop toasty polenta rounds without getting them too mushy. For a pleasing color contrast to the reddish brown sauce, I decided to do half moons of zucchini cut at a sharp angle, then sauteed lightly in olive oil and garlic with just a few sprinkles of sea salt to bring out the sweetness. A couple zings of fresh chopped parsley perked everything up just right. And since it's fall, I had to do some wild rice to emphasize the earthiness of the dish. I must say, this was divine.