With the timer set for 30 minutes...Mel sat and stared for about a minute and a half. Not quite sure how she was going to get started, she decided to thoroughly read the polenta package (since she'd never cooked with it before). Then she decided to first tackle the sausage - she took the hot sausage out of the packages pulled the meat out of the casing, and placed it into a hot sautee pan.
Adding some of the Pomegranate Juice, and a chopped onion, she set the sauté pan to cook the sausage.
At this point, I think Chef Mel determined her "Action Plan". Going into her cabinet, and looking for 4 specific Pyrex dishes, she started to cut the polenta lengthwise.
Once she was done with that, she decided to line her Pyrex baking dishes with Ragu sauce, then a layer of sliced polenta, then a layer of ricotta cheese.
After that, came the pomegranate infused onion and sausage sauté...
If you haven't figured it out by now, she's making personalized Lasagnas...VERY creative idea for repurposing the ingredient. **She later told us that she read the "lasagna" part off one of the polenta packages...she probably shouldn't have told us that - we would have thought it was her idea the whole time!!!** Here she is layering the last layer (some mozzarella cheese on the top).
After the lasagnas go in the oven (with about 12 minutes to spare), she turns her attention to the cucumber (an ingredient she hasn't touched as of yet). Carefully, methodically, and purposefully (so she can think of what the heck to do), she is peeling the cucumbers.
THEN A STROKE OF GENIUS!!! She decides to take the cucumbers (peeled and cubed), and throw them into the blender...at first they don't liquify...so she adds some Pomegranate juice and ice to make a perfectly blended Gazpacho shooter. After she poured the gazpacho into individual "shooter" glasses, she decided to top it with some Feta Cheese.