Hey Collegekid,
Dunno about hazelnut (sigh.... my favorite) but look around the stores for coconut gelato in a blue container with pictures of Italy on it. It's awesome.
The "in place of pasta" part is with sausage and tomato sauce in the winter... Mmmm. Or field mushrooms in a tomato sauce.
It's also delicious with gorgonzola, fontina, parmesan, and asiago thrown in.
I'm a polenta fan! I make polenta and spread it out on a jelly roll pan until it becomes firm. Using it as an appetizer during "happy hour", I use a small round cookie cutter to produce bite size pieces. The rounds can be topped with many things i.e. mushroom ragu sprinkled with romano cheese, goat cheese mixed with sundried tomatos etc. They are always a hit! In my opinion, polenta is a substitute for potatoes not pasta but I could be wrong! It's delicious any way you present it.
I had a really good polenta side dish in a Brazilian steakhouse/churrascaria. It was crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, really good balance for a whole bunch of meat. I think they fried it. Here's a good recipe I found (not the same thing but similar):
Polenta with Goat Cheese and Pine Nuts
Ingredients
1 log pre-cooked polenta
1/2 log goat cheese
1 handful pine nuts, toasted
Oil for frying
Directions
Slice polenta into circles about 1/2-inch thick. Place in fry pan with oil and cook for about 30 minutes, turning once. Make sure both sides are brown and crispy. Plate slices and crumble goat cheese on top. Add pine nuts and serve.
Hillary
Chew on That
@Madelyn - Polenta is kind of like tofu, in the sense that it doesn't have much intrinsic flavor and has to be fairly highly seasoned in order to be interesting. I've found it needs more salt and more cheese than I think it should in order to taste good...so, it's not surprising that your blue cheese polenta turned out well. You might try the mushroom ragu again but season the polenta with a LOT of freshly grated Parmesan or Romano.
where i am from, when we eat cooked corn flour cream is as a sweet variety for breakfast... or on a cornbread or fritters. So polenta has never appealed a great deal to me. I tried making the solid kind with a mushroom ragu, but the results were so-so. I guess I did not season the polenta enough for my taste.
But I tried the other day a savory polenta version made with half-and-half and blue cheese that was AMAZING!!! I am planning on serving this for company soon...
Madelyn
KarmaFreeCooking
count me in as a major polenta lover. i eat mine with sauteed garlic and parmesan, with a big salad on the side.
i used to make an elaborate casserole with sliced set polenta and a cream sauce mixed with tons of fresh and dried mushrooms, all topped with cheese and baked. it was delicious but the last time i made it i realized it was really too rich.
Chiarello did a "polenta party" on his show. He made a cauldron of bubbling, lava-like polenta and dumped it on a large cutting board set in the middle of his dinner guests. The guests sort of staked their claim to the area in front of them and then topped their portion with any of several concoctions he prepared for the event. It looked like a lot of fun and made for an interesting way to have polenta.
I love the stuff. It's Italian comfort food.
You can do lots with it. The Frugal Gourmet used to make plain polenta, pour it into a loaf pan and let it set. Fridge it overnight. Next morning, he'd slice it and throw it on a griddle, sizzling both sides until they were browned. Then serve with maple syrup. OMG.
A good way to cut your teeth on polenta is to make it with cheese - it makes a great side dish.
I will have to try some of the above, if it makes it that far. They sound delicious!
"Hi my name is cowprintrabbit and I'm a polenta-holic" I have to fix it just in time to serve it soft with the meal; if I make it ahead of time with the intention of cooling it to slice, I end up standing at the sink eating the whole pan...
Thanks for the tip Delfina!
I love polenta lasagna! It's always so satisfying. Layer cooked polenta, tomato sauce, and cheese in a oven safe dish and bake. You can add some sausage, onions and peppers to the sauce if you want to go over the top. I'm sure a google search can provide more specific recipes. It can be a little too heavy for the summer however.
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