Creamy Polenta

I’m a plain Jane when it comes to food.  Don’t get me wrong – I’m always up for trying new things, but really I prefer my food on the blander end of the epicurean spectrum.   Polenta meets these criteria and more - it is delicious plain, but easy to spice up for the more adventurous.  I have been making my own polenta for a while now and thought I had a pretty good recipe.  One day, I lost it and had to look on allrecipes.com (my favorite source for recipes).    Lo and behold, I discovered this fabulous recipe for “Cheesy Polenta” – yum!  It is the creamiest polenta I've ever had, including restaurant fare!

Now, you know me . . . I didn’t have all the ingredients I needed.   Here’s what I used when I made the recipe:

2 cups skim milk
2 cups water
1 ½ tsp kosher salt

1 cup yellow cornmeal

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

4 T. olive oil (I actually had butter, but I prefer olive oil)

A generous handful of Mexican-style shredded cheese 

Combine milk, water, and salt in a 2 qt sauce pan over medium-high heat, until it comes to a boil.  Gradually whisk in cornmeal.  Reduce heat to low, and cover.  Cook for 20 minutes, and stir every 3-4 minutes, to prevent sticking.  Stir in olive oil and pepper.  Remove from heat and stir in cheese.  Eat!

The first stage is the trickiest – I am just the teensiest bit of an impatient person and I frequently let my milk and water boil over because I’ve turned it up too high!  

Do whisk in your cornmeal - I've been lazy and just poured it in.  Otherwise, it gets all lumpy.

Hot tip – After the first couple stirrings, I sometimes add ¼ cup of water to the mixture to keep it kind of smooth and stirrable.  After it's bubbled and brewed for 20 minutes, I add my olive oil and pepper in one step and stir 'em in.

Then, I add the cheese (I think most shredded cheese would work well) and stir – I bet you could combine these last two steps, but I’d already deviated from the original recipe enough.  The least I can do is correctly follow the steps!

Sometimes, I pour it into four separate containers to chill, other times I put it all in one big one and then (after it chills) take slices out and pan fry them for 5-7 minutes on each side. 

This stuff is so delicious, I’ve made it three times since taking the pictures (I have a long lag time between photographing and posting – can you tell!??!).   



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