what can I do with polenta?

[hippiegranny]

I have a roll of polenta from Trader Joes and there are no recipe or food pairing suggestions on the package. Any ideas?

[Shakespeare]

1. maybe try....

This is one of my favorite dishes at our local Italian place - they make a baked polenta (and I'd assume you could spread that tube of polenta in a baking dish to approximate) topped with sauteed tomatoes, onions, peppers and Italian sausage.

A friend of mine also used to take slices of leftover polenta, "fry" them in a cast iron skillet until they were toasty, and top with maple syrup.

[kestrel91316]

4. I call that last thing cornmeal mush.........

and I don't buy it, I make it from yellow cornmeal. Then you pour it in a loaf pan to chill, slice it, and pan fry it. VERY tasty, and old-fashioned.

Polenta, I put meat sauce on it and mozzarella or Parmesan. Italian food!

[Callalily]

5. I too make mine

from scratch. I like to add chopped endive and Gruyere, then bake. Very good.

[Dora]

2. Somebody brought me a polenta chili casserole.

It was sliced polenta layered with chili/beans and onion. It was delish, if haunting. :blush:

[mike_c]

3. lots of recipes online....

Here's one link to a number of Italian recipes: http://italianfood.about.com/od/polentarecipes/a/aa030498_3.htm

[hippiegranny]

6. So here's what I made

First I pureed 2 cans of stewed Italian style tomatoes, then mixed them with spices and wine and let them simmer for a while. Then I sauteed garlic, onions, mushrooms, red pepper, zucchini and sweet Italian sausage. I sliced the polenta into 1/2 inch pieces.

I spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of a large baking dish and placed the sliced polenta on top of it. I topped the polenta with the sausage stir fry and then poured the remainder of the sauce over the top. The final layer was a mixture of mozzerella and parmesan reggiano. Then I baked it covered at 350 for about an hour.

I served it to company and they flipped out! It was perfect with some garlic bread and a green salad. We then went to see a symphony performance. After we got back I served mint ice cream over brownies and coffee.

Thanks for the ideas, everyone!

[NMDemDist2]

7. YUMMMY! well done granny! n/t

[GoneOffShore]

8. Gorgonzola & Walnuts

are always good with polenta.

Sorry, no recipes, but I'll check my Elisabeth David books and see what I can find.

[calico1]

9. I saw Giada de Laurentis do something

interesting with some polenta. It was polenta that had already been cooked and set. She cut it in small pieces (like brownies) and then fried the pieces and sprinkled them with parmesan cheese. I have not tried this recipe but it sounds delicious.