I like to grill the polenta then put black-beans and avocado on it. Sometimes a bit of sour cream. (TJ’s cuban black beans are good if you don’t want to make your own.) Making your own polenta is easy and o-so-good. I like it better than the stuff in the rolls. Are you saying you are interested in doing this too?

edit: Some people like to fry their polenta in a bit of butter and eat it with warm maple syrup.

If you buy the polenta already made, then one thing you could do with it is make a sort of chili lasagna. Make up your favorite chili recipe & then put half of it into a baking pan. Then cut up the polenta & layer it on top of the chili. Then add the rest of your chili on top of the polenta, sprinkle some cheese on top & bake it.

Haha, you guys have it covered. Tomato sauce or chili – that’s the way I normally eat it. With whatever is left over in the fridge.

When it’s in the pan, I normally throw in some mushrooms with it, or zucchini, and spaghetti squash goes well, in addition to a tomato or chili sauce. Spaghetti sauce I will use as well, if that’s what I have around.

If I’m feeling real frou frou, polenta, tomato sauce, squash, goatcheese, and to top it off kalamata olives. It’s usually how I eat up leftover polenta.

Saute mushrooms and top with mushrooms and goat cheese. Then put it back in the oven until the cheese melts.

@liminal : yes! I would totally be interested in doing that… I hear it’s much cheaper as well! Do share… ?

Yay! I adore polenta.

Alton Brown offers a good basic recipe. I use vegetable broth or bouillon instead of chicken stock. His method is a little less time intensive. I always made it on the stove top, which requires constant stirring, until I came across Brown’s process.

There are several different grinds of cornmeal. The italian grind is a little finer. It can be made using fine, medium or coarse grinds. The finer grind making a smooth texture and the coarser grinds making for a rougher texture.

A pan of this stuff can last along time and freezes well. In the summer time I grill it like patties and cover it with grilled veggies, nummy!

Polenta is very easy to make. You simply boil corn meal with water, place in a form, and let it cool. Then cut it. You can add anything you like to it for seasoning. I don’t personally care for it. It was a staple in American homes in the 1930s and 1940s. You can serve any vegetable or meat dish that has a sauce over the polenta.

Ok, I am also addicted to the roll polenta in the grocery store. I am a heart patient. I am also from the south. I love my breakfast with cheesy eggs and grits. I found that 2 slices of the polenta in the roll are only 70 calories. I saute’ those in some olive oil and place on the plate. Then in the same pan i put the southwestern style egg beaters (it’s real eggs you know). with about 2 oz of lowfat cheddar. I like mine soft scrambled, and I place them over the polenta. Top that with a few shakes of tabasco sauce, and you have a great southwester/southern breakfast! It’s only about 150 calories and it is very heart friendly.