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Polenta: The Topic

post #1 of 9
9/2/07 at 7:19pm
Thread Starter 
So, being from the North and all, I never liked grits. Tasteless mush, personally. But today I tried making polenta.

What, can I say, this is going eating. I have some in the fridge now so I can make some polenta triangles, see how those come out.

Here is a link as to how to make the stuff, if anyone is interested:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=oxa8q6Z_-Z4

Any other polenta consumers out there?
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post #2 of 9
9/3/07 at 12:07pm
Being Swiss-Italian I usually had some poletna and stew once a week and I love it...dangerous too cook though.
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post #3 of 9
9/3/07 at 12:17pm
Love the stuff. Unfortunatley, I haven't been brave enough to cook with it in my own kitchen until recently. So far, I've only used the browning-in-a-pan-with-olive-oil method to cook squares. Anyone know of any other methods of cooking or preparation?

Long live the polenta!
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post #4 of 9
9/3/07 at 1:37pm
Thread Starter 
The stuff I got at the store cooked in literally, less then 10 minutes. 4 parts by volume of water to one part of polenta, also one bullion cube for the salt. Throw the corn meal into the boiling water and stir on one direction only, as per directions in the video.

Its as quick as a box of cheap raman to make.
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post #5 of 9
9/3/07 at 4:54pm
One of my favourite autumnal/winter comfort foods. Grilled with cinghiale (wild boar) it's magnificent. Just don't plan on doing much exercise for a good few hours afterwards.
Forza Polenta!
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post #6 of 9
9/3/07 at 9:27pm
Oh...my mom cooks it and usually gets a 3rd degree burn somewhere on her arm from the poping/boiling of the poletna.
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post #7 of 9
9/3/07 at 11:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ms244 View Post
Throw the corn meal into the boiling water and stir on one direction only, as per directions in the video.

Never made it myself, but there is restaurant I frequent that serves boiled polenta with tomato sauce and sausage. It is to die for and nothing better for lunch on a cold winter day.

So what's the reason for stirring in only one direction?
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post #8 of 9
9/3/07 at 11:48pm
Necessary polenta items: HEAVY-bottom saucepan & a splatter screen It should cook at a very low heat; barely moving really. Like real southern grits (that doesn't come in a package) they should cook for longer than half an hour. Stirring in one direction is simply a tradition... maybe someone knows some science behind it but I doubt you'd be able to tell the difference in a finished dish whether the cook stirred one way or both ways. It isn't like flour where you're activating gluten.
Quote:
So far, I've only used the browning-in-a-pan-with-olive-oil method to cook squares. Anyone know of any other methods of cooking or preparation?
If you get bored of savoury or have some left over in the morning, brown it in a fry pan with butter with a drop or two of olive oil and top with maple syrup when they're done (serve with some tasty breakfast ham).
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post #9 of 9
9/4/07 at 12:07am
My mom made it a lot. Usually with baccala (sp?). My dad loved it. We kids not so much. As an adult, I tried it in a restaurant w/o baccala. Very good. As with other things my mom cooked (gnocchi, risotto, etc) I simply learned she was not a good cook. Because all those things tasted far better as an adult when made by others. In fact, a GF in college came over with her friend and they made a fantastic lasagna dinner. Much better than my mom's. I asked a friend what he thought I should say when my mom found out my GF had made the lasagna. I knew she'd ask how it was. He said just tell the truth. I said that wouldn't work because she would be hurt to know she wasn't a good cook. He said that the true statement he was thinking was: "It just doesn't compare to yours, mom." And smile. I did. Of course, it worked. She beamed because she assumed I meant hers was superior. I remember asking that friend for a lot of advice.
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