Polenta disaster-solved...or rather gave up on
Posted by nutdragon on Oct 15, 2007 · Member since Aug 2006 · 807 posts
This is what I did:
1) Sliced yesterday's cold yellow grits into rounds
2) Heated EVOO, added 6-7 sliced shitake mushrooms, browned for a minute
3) placed the rounds into pan
The polenta immediately fused with the bottom of the pan. I scraped what I could, effectively mixing in all of the oil. I have a giant polenta and mushroom mush that I keep scraping and mixing (I had not planned on all of the oil actually being part of dinner :P )
Any ideas on how to fix it? Am I destined for a greasy mess?
Oh, poop.
I'm sorry, I have no idea how to fix it, but I love your use of wording. "fused" I got such a great picture in my head.
I am sorry this is happening to you.
This is what I did:
1) Sliced yesterday's cold yellow grits into rounds
2) Heated EVOO, added 6-7 sliced shitake mushrooms, browned for a minute
3) placed the rounds into pan
The polenta immediately fused with the bottom of the pan. I scraped what I could, effectively mixing in all of the oil. I have a giant polenta and mushroom mush that I keep scraping and mixing (I had not planned on all of the oil actually being part of dinner :P )
Any ideas on how to fix it? Am I destined for a greasy mess?
Oh, poop.
mix your mush with tomato sauce, and fake meat n fake cheese if you like. Line a baking pan with parchment paper, and make a polenta casserole. I've resorted to this when my polenta cooking on the stove just wouldn't turn into polenta (just thick grits).
i love that if you look at the profile pics of all of you it looks like animals are discussing cooking tips.
that's one kitchen saavy cat!! ;)
Thanks guys. I'm about to pull a little out of the pan (we have to eat dinner, it's getting late here!); but I think I'll do the tomato casserole with the rest.
I smashed everything into one giant patty and tried to let it get a "crust." It's still too greasy for me, but there's plenty of other stuff to have with it. I'll let it drain on a towel.
Will, in all of his deary dearness, when I made him taste test a bit said "I would have never known you f*cked it up, if you hadn't told me."
love him.
i love that if you look at the profile pics of all of you it looks like animals are discussing cooking tips.
that's one kitchen saavy cat!! ;)
Why must we felines always teach you dogs how to do anything? Tsk, tsk...
(by the way, Lucy loves tomato, and would probably appreciate your dish too :))
Whatever you do, don't put it on a roasting pan and try to bake it. You get Polenta bricks. Rock solid on the outside. Unbearably rubbery on the inside. :-\ Not that I know from experience or anything....so now we know. Smush it flat into one big mess topped off with diced tomatoes eh?
Whatever you do, don't put it on a roasting pan and try to bake it. You get Polenta bricks. Rock solid on the outside. Unbearably rubbery on the inside.
Hmm... but that is how exactly I cook my polenta. ???
I put the corn meal mush in a loaf pan in the fridge overnight and the cut 1/2 inch slices and bake (maybe at 350?) and flip half way through... and eat it with maple syrup.
Really JH? How long do you bake it? 'Cause when I tried baking the rounds (made polenta night before and left in roll form in fridge overnight), I could barely choke them down.
Well, I just checked my recipe book (I'd never remember unless I wrote it down!)
And it says I broiled them 10 minutes on each side.
So broiled, no wonder I wasn't sure about the temp.
Doh.
Think I used a cooking spray last time I made it as well, though that part is not written down.
Aha! I can see how broiled would be good. Crunchy on the outside, smooth on the inside (vs. the brick/rubber combo). Okay, I can try that! I have an omni who swears she hates polenta, but whenever I make "corn casserole" or "corn pudding bread" she eats it right up :) I'll try this trick with "corn toast" and see what happens.
Making polenta is seriously hard!
The Chicago Diner made a really awesome polenta appetizer recently, it was on their specials menu. Maybe they'll share the recipe with you if you contact them. I never liked polenta before but was surprised by this. They're on myspace at http://www.myspace.com/chicagodiner
-Jamie
I appreciate the tips and advice; I can usually make a polenta dish that...well is edible. I was just so p*ssed that is went to hell so quickly. I love grits. I mean, how can you screw up grits that were good to begin with? Well, you put too much oil in a pan and you use the wrong pan and ...you get a greasy mess. Hmmph.
I didn't end up taking your tomato advise, Fauna, I just gave the left overs to the dogs (who loved it and me more than I could have imagined). See, Propinecone, it was the animals giving advise...it was they who wanted them to begin with. ;D
Maybe the pan or the oil wasn't hot enough?
Whatever you do, don't put it on a roasting pan and try to bake it. You get Polenta bricks. Rock solid on the outside. Unbearably rubbery on the inside.
Hmm... but that is how exactly I cook my polenta. ???
I put the corn meal mush in a loaf pan in the fridge overnight and the cut 1/2 inch slices and bake (maybe at 350?) and flip half way through... and eat it with maple syrup.
all the recipes that i saw, baked the polenta too... and THEN broiled it.. hmmm? ???
dink.... was the polenta able to fall from the spoon after you cooked it on the stove? it should be fairly loose when done on the stove, and it will harden when cooled.
and FYI... apparently, polenta is nearly impossible to f-up. i say APPARENTLY, b/c of the above examples. you can warm polenta up over a double boiler, in order to loosen it up and save it, this i read on some smarty pants website...
i just buy the tubes myself. ;D