¡Polenta! June 8, 2009
Oh, boy! Was this a party! I have never seen Claire gobble up anything like she gobbled up polenta. It was a sight. She had already eaten most of her dinner and I was making polenta to go with dinner for me and Aaron (BBQ chicken and asparagus – yes, she could have had that but we often dawdle when it comes to making dinner and Claire was a hungry bear!) and I decided to let her try it.
She’s only recently started using a spoon by herself and she loves that control. She really concentrates and gets into it. The picture above caught her in a rare moment of looking up from her food.
This was actually my first try at polenta. I’ve always been a little afraid of it the way I used to be afraid of risotto – I fear neither no more! Polenta is so easy as long as you’ve got a moment (actually many, many moments) to stir. It was a good thing Claire was already in her high chair because Aaron was manning the grill (another fear of mine). I used a recipe (from Bon Appetit) that was nice and creamy, which was perfect for Claire to eat. Easy to spoon or grab – and either way she was shoving it in her mouth.
Creamy Polenta
serves 6
Ingredients
2 cups whole milk
2 cups water
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt (Gasp! I used this before I gave it to Claire for taste. It’s not that much so I didn’t feel too badly about it.)
1 cup polenta (coarse cornmeal)*
Bring milk, water, and salt to boil in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Gradually whisk in polenta. Reduce heat to low; simmer until smooth and thick, stirring almost constantly, about 18 minutes.
*I used regular cornmeal and it worked out just fine – just only cook it for about half the time.