Polenta

Polenta... We grew up on this! A very versatile recipe to use when you want something comforting. It really warms you up.... You can serve polenta with a variety of dishes. A good one is a tomato based sauce....chicken cacciatore. Somehow the tomato flavor goes extremely well with the polenta. A sausage dish goes great with it as well.....mmm, also good with sauteed mushrooms. We also eat it with feta cheese, butter and hard boiled eggs. Really, you can eat it any way you like it. There are lots of versions of doing a classic polenta, but this is how I do it. Hope you enjoy...

You will need:

4 cups cold water

1 cup corn meal

salt to taste

butter/cheese, optional

Directions:

1. In a saucepan add water , cornmeal and salt. Turn on heat to high. Stir with whisk to get rid of any lumps.

2. When mixture comes to a boil, cover with lid. Turn heat on med low.

3. Uncover every 3-5 minutes and stir polenta. I usually use the lid to protect myself from any splatters that may occur in the beginning stage.

4. Cover again and repeat lifting the lid and stirring for about 20 minutes. Splattering should subside as it gets thicker.

5. If you want the polenta to be a bit more hard and not as soft keep cooking for a bit longer until it thickens . Take off heat and stir in butter and/or cheese.... or omit like I did.