I made a mostly make-ahead, simple dinner for Larry and Jay tonight. Rancho Gordo isn’t carrying borlotti beans right now, but I found some at the Italian grocery across the street, and cooked them up last night along with the tomato sauce. The beans and polenta are hearty and vegetarian, but we added sliced chicken Italian sausage to the top. The beans weren’t as tender and creamy as I’d like, but they were good. I ignored the recipe for the polenta and made it with milk. I don’t make polenta with water any more!

I made up a simple vinaigrette for the beets – I was craving them, and knew I wanted to make a salad with them as soon as I saw the rocket at Trader Joe’s. The lemon cream tart was also made yesterday. The filling is light and airy and really delicious. I used Meyer lemons. The irections say to whip up the filling and fill the pie, then serve. Really, the filling needs to set up in the pie in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving.

• Borlotti Beans in Tomato Sauce with Creamy Polenta (Heirloom Beans: Great Recipes for Dips and Spreads, Soups and Stews, Salads and Salsas, and Much More from Rancho Gordo, p. 147)
• Chicken Italian Sausage
• Roasted Baby Beet and Rocket Salad with Walnuts and Gorgonzola
• The Most Extraordinary Lemon Cream Tart (Baking: From My Home to Yours, p. 331)