Instructions: 1. Slowly bring the milk to a boil in a medium-size heavy saucepan, the then gradually add the cornmeal. Whisk them together over medium-low heat until the polenta is smooth and thick, 5 minutes.

2. Using a bowl scraper, pour the mixture into a lightly buttered pie plate. Cool on a wire rack, and then refrigerate for 1 hour.

3. At this point, polenta may be sliced into wedges and either dusted with Parmesan cheese and baked, or lightly sauteed in butter.

Serves 6 to 8.

BERTS NOTES: "Cornmeal recipes abound in a clutch of surprising cuisines.

Italians, for example - who would never consider chomping corn on the cob - dote on a dish called polenta, which is basically nothing more than cornmeal mush carried to gastronomic heights.

"In northern Italy there is a great mystique about the shape of the pot in which polenta is stirred; a U-shaped copper pan is adjudged the ideal utensil. However, not being Italian, I merely use any heavy-bottomed saucepan. And for a creamier texture, I prefer milk to water." p122.

NOTES : So long as you have corn meal and not a mix (with sugar etc added), I believe you can use it to make polenta. Its the stirring (a little fat) that breaks down the starch and makes it creamy. Bert Greene puts polenta recipes in with his cornmeal recipes - same section without an intro to polenta (i mean, he doesnt treat it as something different)

Several books talk about fine, medium and coarse grain polenta. and Bert (slightly) prefers stone ground (Indian Head) over enriched-degerminated (Quaker). (other brands would be available now.)

color: yellow cornmeal contains more beta carotene than white cornmeal.

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