Two-Corn Polenta

I hope you are not sick of corn yet, because it is quite evident, I am not. I stocked up at the market this week, because it is my last ditch attempt to hold on to summer.

Yes, I am getting desperate.

I still have two more ears in my fridge and if my husband gets his way, I will be cooking this dish every night until we go away. I can’t say I am against this idea. With a cheesy, mashed-potato-like consistency, this polenta is definitely a new house favorite.

Two-Corn Polenta
serves 4

1 T olive oil
2 T butter
1 large garlic cloves 1 med onion
4 ears corn, husked
3 c water
1/2 c cornmeal
2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1 c shredded asiago cheese
1/8 c fresh basil leaves, chopped

In a large saucepan, heat olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add garlic and onion and sauté 5-7 minutes, until onion is translucent. With a serrated knife, cut corn kernels off ear, directly into the pan. Stirring, sauté 3 minutes. Add water, cornmeal, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a low simmer. Cook, stirring often, 30 minutes. Turn off heat, and stir in asaigo and basil.

Polenta with Fontina, Parmesan and Thyme

Luckily my husband was able to find the cornmeal, during his grocery shopping extravaganza this week, as making polenta has been on my "to do" list for a quite some time. I will admit, in the past, I would take the easy way out and buy the log of polenta at Trader Joes, if I was preparing it for dinner. And while purchasing packaged polenta, is pretty much against everything I stand for, it really wasn't my laziness that kept me away from making it, it's just that I had no idea how it was actually supposed to taste. Really. We just don't do much polenta here in New England. So I had to do a bit of digging for the real thing. But, this is much tastier than the "packaged log" (as appetizing as anything in "log" form sounds), so farewell pre-packaged polenta. Thanks for the good times.

Polenta with Fontina, Parmesan and Thyme
adapted from Better Homes and Gardens . serves 4

1 1/2 c fontina cheese (6 oz), shredded
1/3 c parmesan cheese, grated
2 T fresh thyme leaves
1 c yellow cornmeal
1 c cold water
1 t salt
black pepper, to taste
2 scallions, chopped

In a medium bowl, stir together fontina, parmesan, and thyme. Set aside. In a medium saucepan bring 2 3/4 cups water to a boil. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, stir together cornmeal, cold water, and salt. Slowly add cornmeal mixture to boiling water, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to very low. Cook for 10 minutes, until mixture is very thick, stirring occasionally. Pour 1/3 of the polenta mixture to a greased square baking dish. Sprinkle with half of the cheese mixture. Repeat layers, ending with the polenta.

Cover with foil and chill in the refrigerator 1 hour, until firm. Bake polenta, uncovered at 350F, 40 minutes, until lightly browned. Season to taste with pepper and top with thyme leaves or scallions.