If it’s a mushy, cheesy, kid-pleasing side dish you’re seeking, look no further.
Otherwise, meh. Not so much.
This was the second dish Zack selected and made with that scrumptious roasted chicken last week, and again, he did a stellar job. He stirred and stirred for ten minutes until all the stock was incorporated into the corn meal, and then he added the texture and flavor enhancers ““ cream cheese, rosemary, and parmesan. “It’s…a piece of cake (snap), Bren!”
While the kids loved it, I thought it was an almost-insulting accompaniment to the lovely entré. (I preferred the other ““ greener ““ side dish much more…we’ll get to that later this week.) The flavor was less-than-sophisticated, and the texture reminded me alarmingly of big breakfast-y bowls of Cream of Wheat from my childhood. David didn’t mind the flavor, but kept wishing the texture was firmer ““ baked polenta probably would’ve suited him. In fact I see that in the Family Style cookbook, there’s similar recipe for Rosemary Polenta that gets chilled, cut into squares, dusted with flour and sautéd. Perhaps that would be more interesting and appealing, should we ever decide to go down the polenta path again.
But if you’re lucky enough to have a squishable baby sitting in a high chair in yourkitchen (oh those adorable bygone days!), by all means spoon away. They’ll be in baby food heaven!