I love polenta!

Hmm...what your chip recipe probably needs is the dry, quick-cook cornmeal that polenta is made from. As for real polenta, the formula is pretty much 1 cup cornmeal to 3 cups water, and salt to taste. Bring the water to a boil, season with salt, stir it vigoursly to create a sort of cyclone, and gently drizzle the cornmeal into the center while stirring. Quick cooking polenta will be done in about 5 minutes, regular cornmeal in about 20. Key thing is that it starts coming away from the sides of the pan. Also, once all the cornmeal is incorporated, turn down the heat from the boil. Boiling polenta burns are nasty. Don't let that pot spit at you. This is, of course, a basic polenta. All sorts of things can be added to it, depending on your fancy. Personally, I like to pop it into a suitable container, let it set, then cut it up and grill it.

I have regular cornmeal! Thank you cavfancier. That doesn't sound too difficult.

I love grilled polenta too. There is another restaurant that I like that serves grilled polenta topped with a giant grilled portobello mushroom and topped with some kind of gravy. Yum.

Mangia!

On Saturday - I had Polenta with garlic and sundried tomatoes! It looked kinda like this only not that yellow.

Anything with garlic is a-ok in my book, husker!

The polenta chips call for first making the polenta then spreading it in a thin pan to cool and set. Then you cut it into strips and coat both sides with a bit of parmesean. Place under the broiler until toasty. Then quick fry until crunchy.

I know that's not the healthiest recipie but they really look delicious.

Yum! Husker, that looks good. My family loves Polenta, my kids were raised on it.

Boomerang, there is a brand in the PNW called Bob's Red Mill, it's out of Milwaukie, Oregon, if you know where that is. That company sells both regular corn meal and something they package as "Corn Grits also known as Polenta." Funny name! I always think of grits as white and this product is yellow, but I can attest that it is very delicious even though it is a quick-cooking type, taking only 5 minutes to cook. I have noticed that the longer you cook it slowly, the better. Luckily I've never burned it but I do suggest immediately soaking the pot when you're done unless you want to scrub it out.

There's a tavern in Tacoma that has a good kitchen called The Swiss. Several years ago I had a dinner there that included a side of savory ambrosia. I asked the chef about it and he said it was polenta that had been slowly cooked on top of the stove with three kinds of cheese: cream cheese, parmesan and, well, Swiss, of course. I have tried to recreate 3-cheese polenta many times, all delicious. It is also good with just one of those cheeses or with a sharp cheddar. I occasionally grill polenta, but my favorite is like this and there is rarely any left over. (My daughter prefers it without cheese, so we sometimes divide the batch.) This once-cooked polenta is good with chili, under mushrooms in a white sauce or a tomato sauce and also just as a side dish. I've used it also car camping and backpacking. It takes a while to cook if you're very high up in the mountains but is so wonderfully filling that it's worth it.

Thank you Pifka. I'll look for that brand, Milwaukie is just down the road a bit so I'm sure its easily available.

And thanks for all of the wonderful polenta ideas. Now that the weather has gotten cold (it snowed like crazy yesterday) these type of hearty recipies really sound doublely good.

Ooohh....those polenta chips. I've done that before. The parmesan-crisping in the oven is essential, as plain polenta sticks together in hot oil otherwise.

just started snowing like 30 minutes ago

Husker -- Lucky you! I think I love snow more than Polenta!

Are the chips as good as they look, cavfancier? One thing the recipie didn't say was whether I had to broil them on both sides or not. I was planning to and now that you say it sticks together I'm really thinking I'd better.

I make soup for dinner at least a couple of nights a week this time of year. I thought the polenta chips would make a great alternative to bread or crackers.

All this talk of polenta is really making me wish it wasn't pizza night. Pizza night is sacred - unless you want to deal with a really angry almost-three year old who can always tell when its Thursday.

The kind of snow we had here yesterday was those impossibly fat flakes. Against all of the green grass and trees it looked like a fairyland.

The first day I ever lived in Portland it snowed just like that and I took it as a sign that I had made a good move.

Yeah, boomer, I would recommend that they are broiled on both sides, to complete the seal.

OLIVE PASTE POLENTA
OLIVE PASTE POLENTA
Adapted by BumbleBeeBoogie

1 garlic clove, peeled
1 teaspoon chopped Italian parsley
1 tablespoon grated fresh Parmigiano Reggiano
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
5 tablespoon heavy cream
cayenne pepper to taste
1 cup (8 ounces) black olive paste
1/2 cup pitted black olives (gaeta), halved
polenta prepared with 3 cups of corn meal (recipe below)

Place the garlic, parsley, Parmigiano cheese, olive oil, cream, and cayenne pepper in a food processor; process until smooth. Add the olive paste and half of the olives; process until chunky (don't over-process).

Prepare polenta and, when cooked, pour into a greased 8-inch bread loaf pan. Refrigerate until firm. Turn polenta out of loaf pan. Cut into 1/4-inch slices.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Layer the polenta: spread each slice with olive paste. Stack three slices of polenta, and place all the stacks on a baking sheet. Top each with two halves of a black olive. Bake 30 minutes. Serve hot.

To make Polenta using the easy cold water method (more experienced polenta makers may use the hot water method):

12 cups cold water
1 tablespoon salt
3 cups coarse or medium-grind polenta (yellow or white corn meal)
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
6 tablespoons butter
6 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated

Pour 6 cups of cold water into a large heavy pot, add the salt, and stir in the corn meal. Place the pot over high heat, stirring as the mixture comes to a boil. (Bring the remaining 6 cups of water to a boil in a separate container.) Lower the heat and simmer,. Stirring every few minutes until the mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. Add 1 cup of the additional water and continue to cook the polenta over low heat until it is tender.

The polenta should be soft and creamy, without hard grains. Depending on the age and type of polenta, this will take from 15 to 60 minutes; add more water as necessary. Stir regularly from the bottom of the pot so that the thickened polenta does not scorch.

When the polenta is nearly ready, stir in the pepper and butter, followed by the cheese. Remove from the heat. Proceed as directed above to pour into the 8-inch bread loaf pan.

SWEET POTATO POLENTA
SWEET POTATO POLENTA
Adapted by BumbleBeeBoogie

2-1/2 pounds red garnet yams, peeled, cut in 1 inch dice
1-3/4 cups yellow or white polenta
5-1/2 cups vegetable stock
1 teaspoon salt
1 chipotle pepper, stemmed, seeded, finely chopped
3/4 cup yellow onion, peeled, chopped
1-1/2 teaspoon fresh garlic cloves, peeled, minced
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped, or 1/2 teaspoon dried
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
6 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 pint salsa of choice

Bring the stock, chipotle, salt to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the yams; simmer until tender.

Strain the yams, saving the broth. In a blender or food processor, puree the yams with 2 cups of the cooking liquid.

In a large saucepan, saute the onion, garlic, and rosemary in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil for 2 minutes. Add remaining cooking liquid and the yam puree. Bring the puree to a boil; whisk in the polenta in a steady stream. Reduce the heat; cook, stirring constantly with a long wooden spoon (to avoid your hand being burned from the polenta bubbling and spurting), for about 15 to 20 minutes until the polenta thickens and pulls away from the sides of pan. Remove from the heat. Stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil, honey, corn, and season with the salt, pepper.

Pour the polenta mixture into lightly oiled 13" X 9" pan. Refrigerate. When firm, cut into squares.

To reheat, place the uncut polenta in the pan in a 350 degree F. oven for 15 minutes, or reheat covered in a microwave oven for 1 minute. Serve topped with the salsa.

POLENTA WITH LEAKS AND SUN-DRIED TOMATOES
POLENTA WITH LEAKS AND SUN-DRIED TOMATOES
By BumbleBeeBoogie

1 cup polenta *
1 49-ounce canned chicken broth (low salt, if possible) or use home-made broth
2 leaks, finely chopped, white parts only
3 oz. sun-dried tomatoes (without oil), finely chopped
1/2 cup virgin olive oil
2 cups grated smoked gouda cheese *

In a large pot, saute the leeks and sun-dried tomatoes in the olive oil until leaks are transparent and tender. Add the chicken broth and heat to a rapid boil. Slowly add the polenta, stirring rapidly to avoid lumps. Continue stirring on high heat until polenta starts to thicken. Use a long-handled wooden spoon to protect your hands from spatter burns. Reduce heat to low, cover, stirring every 5 minutes, or as needed, for 45 minutes.

Turn off the heat. Add the grated cheese, stirring for 2 or 3 minutes until the cheese is thoroughly melted and combined with the polenta mixture.

You may serve the polenta soft and hot. Or you may pour into a baking dish. The size depends on how thick you want the polenta. Refrigerate for at least 1 to 2 hours. When cool and completely set, cut the polenta into serving pieces.

* If you are planning to grill polenta squares, increase the amount of polenta to 2 cups and reduce the amount of grated smoky gouda cheese to 1 cup.

Polenta reheats easily in a microwave oven. Easily serves 8 persons as a side dish. Also good to take to picnics or pot-lucks.

I'm making polenta for t-giving dinner. The traditional north italian style, according to my book AND my housemate, often has no butter or cheese! I'll make it this way and then make 2 dressings - one for heart healthy dad and one for the rest of us {grin}

BBB - funny thing - I was thinking of making some sort of crumbly sauce made with toasted almonds and green olives for the heart healthy version.....

LittleK
LittleK, my favorite recipe is the sun dried tomato one. I like to use smokey gouda cheese because it gives the polenta a slightly different smoky flavor. I make it thicker if I want to grill it.

BBB

smoky polenta would be good. And the leeks would be perfect with polenta too.