- 3 cups of stock
- 1 cup of polenta
- tbl of butter
- 1/4 cup cream
- 1/4 cup cheese (i used parm)
- salt and pepper to season
i realized last night that i post a lot of main dishes and very little sides. i still am not sure why, i guess i never really think about a side as something someone would be very interested in. you can literally create a whole dish around a side though. i know i have. so why not post some of the sides we are eating around here? here is one of my favorites, polenta.
i love polenta. believe it or not i just recently started eating it. i guess it was never on my list of foods i love until recently. it’s a great side dish and easier to make than mashed potatoes and much more filling then rice. and please, you add cheese, really. i love cheese. anything with cheese sounds wonderful to me.
i am pretty good at re-creating dishes. it’s just a gift. what can i tell you (wink wink). all jokes aside, for some reason i can eat a dish and go home and create it, it’s really been great for e because if we are out and he falls in love with something i can taste it, go home and make it for him. polenta was one of those dishes however i came home and thought, how the heck did they make it. surprisingly it’s really easy. just a few steps and with in minutes you have a creamy yummy side dish. below, you will find my recipe step by step. this recipe feeds about 4. so if your cooking for a whole crowd, more then 4 people, double the recipe.
this is not a recipe you would probably cook if you’re on a low fat diet, although you could use margarine instead of butter i guess and if you can find a fat free or low fat cream, it would work (do they even make that?). as you probably can tell from a lot of my recipes, i’m not afraid of butter or cream. i eat healthy on a regular basis, i’m really big on salads and soups, i eat things in moderation, so i go for it, i use the butter, i use the heavy cream, i deserve it. don’t be afraid of butter. but mind you, i’m not a nutritionist 
polenta
i have cooked polenta with water before, i prefer stock. it adds a richness to the polenta that water just can not. i always have veggie stock in the house, it’s really what i prefer to cook polenta in.
bring your stock to a boil and add your polenta. then lower your flame to simmer. mix often.
- with in minutes, your polenta will start to thicken, don’t forget to stir. it will bubble up and your polenta will start spurting everywhere. it’s messy and it burns. i find if i leave my spoon in the middle of the pot it doesn’t bubble as much.
- with in 5 minutes it will start to get creamy. now is when you want to add your butter, continue to stir.
- in another 3 minutes or so, add the cream and cheese. stir and incorporate for about 2 minutes. taste, season with salt and pepper. don’t be surprised if you want to add more cheese or more cream, don’t be afraid. i don’t like mine really cheesy.
- take off the heat and let sit covered for about 5 minutes.
