Made some polenta over the weekend based on the America’s Test Kitchen recipe.
That tip about adding a pinch of baking soda is KEY!
I made Polenta last week. I relied on the recipe in Best Soups and Stews, which involves making it in a double boiler and stirring, intermittently, for more than an hour. What I really wanted out of it was some leftovers to have with a fried egg. It was so creamy and delicious that I nearly didn’t have leftovers, but I did have enough to take a fried egg, top it, and puncture the beautiful orange runny yolk and have bites of it mixed with the wonderful creamy polenta. Yum!!
The recipe is pure simplicity. 4 cups boiling water, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 cup medium ground corn meal. You have the hot water in the top of a double boiler, gradually gradually add the corn meal. It seems impossibly liquid for a long time. I used a whisk until it started to get seriously thick and then switched to a wooden spoon. They prescribe 90 minutes “stirring for several seconds every 10 or 15 minutes”
The variation is to stir in 4 rablespoons of softened butter and 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese AFTER the cooking is done.
I personally think this is closer to what the “cucina povera” of Italy would have resembled, more than the versions with tricky ingredients. And I can tell you it came out great.
I have made “slow cooked grits” with milk that came out with a very similar texture, very very creamy. Normally I cook grits quickly and get a granular product. Making the effort to do it the long slow way has a similar reward.
FWIW the word “BM” never crossed my mind as I was cooking this. 
Using a technique such as the Test Kitchen one posted by Jeff, does anyone have any suggestions about how to make this in advance so I don’t spend my time making polenta instead of visiting with guests?
Chris
I love polenta, grew up on it. In Romania polenta was a popular substitute for bread, so it got a lot of use.
I like my polenta with cornmeal that is on the grainy side, so not very smooth. But no clumps so it has to be very well stirred. My favorite polenta consits of water, rough cornmeal, salt, and a lot of stirring.
Nothing wrong with the smooth one, just a matter of palate.
Polenta was used with everything from polenta and stew to polenta with cottage cheese and sour cream, or even hot polenta with cold milk.
This is the trick to great grits/polenta. Don’t use water. Thanks Mark and Alston through your grandmother. When people complain about the taste of grits and texture, I have to think they just used water to make them.
Au contraire, Dr. Don. I think they have used industrially-processed hybrid corn masquerading as grits. Stone ground flint corn has loads of flavor and a creamy texture when cooked with water.
1 part heavy cream and 1 part milk, but then how much cornmeal?
Merrill,
I’m probably in the 5 to 1 ratio… liquid to meal!! For me…
So if you really want to be dairy free…I have been introduced to another method by another southern cook. He uses half water half chicken broth. I have been playing around with it by taking one of my dairy products out and adding this but still leaving some dairy. It makes for exceptionally rich tasting grits.