Polenta and the chamber of tastiness.

Lunch for today was similar to yesterday's. There was starch, there was cheese, there was the frozen peas, there was the sauteed onion. The big difference was the POLENTA. Polenta is peasant food originating in Italy. It's pretty much grits except not made with hominy. You can get large 5 lb bags of 'polenta' at large grocery stores for cheap, they are under the alias of 'Corn meal'. That's what it is folks. Corn meal. It's pretty much extremely cheap and equally extremely versatile. You can eat it runnier like a soup or thicker like a ...well...thick polenta. You can bake it, you can fry it and make tasty pseudo-mozzarella sticks (which I've totally done before, they are to die for). You can add anything you might add on top of a pizza to polenta: cheeses, tomatoes, olives, bell pepper, onion, garlic, mushrooms... and on, and on, and on. I think the only exception to this rule is pineapple, I have yet to see pineapple polenta. It might be gross. :\

Water on the boil in preparation to make an Om nom nom experience.

When I make polenta, I usually reckon the amount of water you use it close to how much polenta you'll get. I simmer the polenta for a couple minutes after I add the meal just to expand all the starches and make sure it's cooked properly. You know you've added too much meal if it gets SUPER thick and it's not glooping (this can be fixed by added more water). It totally gloops, watch out for that and keep stirring it. When you cook polenta, be sure to use a whisk when stirring in the meal to prevent lumps. Also be sure to keep a spatula close at hand to keep it from possibly sticking to the bottom of the pan.

At culinary school, a friend of mine made a three cheese polenta. He used Gorgonzola, Parmesan, and Romano cheeses. He also put in a couple dashes of heavy cream and butter for flavor. Needless to say, it was tasty but extremely ...uh...extreme. Such that you can only have so much of it and before you know it, you can't eat another bite of it.

I usually add a splash of heavy cream of half-n-half to mine to make it taste smoother. I had bought some Monterrey Jack with leek and morels at the store, so I thought that would be tasty. I also added a couple blobs of cream cheese (I am a huge fan of the savory usage of cream cheese!).

Like any other food, season polenta!

To top this wonderful corn-goo off, I sauteed some onions in butter with a little S&P, as well as some peas and french cut beans (from the freezer).

The natural subtle sweetness of the peas and the lightness of the beans matched well with the rich and heavy polenta mouth-feel.

Voila! Polenta is especially good eats if you live in colder climates or during winter. Piping hot polenta will definitely keep your belly warm for a while.

UPDATE: Aug. 10, 2010.
Re-heat/re-eat value:
The amounts of cheese and the thickness of the polenta I made is a definite variable when considering what to do with leftovers. Even the thinnest and runniest polenta will firm up when refrigerated. Polenta can be reheated any way you want, but know that it will not be the same consistency that occurs when eaten freshly made. I microwaved the leftovers later that day for dinner. It was a firm blob. I mashed it up a little and the texture resembled that of scrambled eggs. When heated up it regained some of it's creaminess. It still retained all of it's amazing flavor!