barefoot, you know what you're doing.

when i was in college, i did some of my best napping in front of the food network. it was pretty typical for my college roommates to find me after a long day of student teaching asleep on the couch while giada de laurentiis prepared some sort of spuh-GEE-tee dish or paula deen gnoshed on a stick of butter in the background. but when barefoot contessa (or just 'barefoot' as i like to call her) came on, i was wide awake. girl knows how to cook. while her methods might be a little pretentious and her ingredients a bit specialized at times, she knows how to get things done in the kitchen.

yesterday i made her creamy parmesan polenta recipe. i. love. cheesy. polenta. the best i've ever had is from black pearl in denver. go there now. it's worth the trip. in anticipation of the awesomeness that was to be barefoot's polenta, i documented the process for you. i'm helpful like that.

Ingredients:
4 cups chicken stock (barefoot says to make your own. i say, suck it, barefoot).

2 cloves minced garlic

1 cup yellow cornmeal, preferably stone-ground

1 tablespoon kosher salt *NOTE i thought this was way too salty. salt is one of my favorite foods, so that is saying something.* i'd use half.

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

1/2 cup creme fraiche. get real and use sour cream instead

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter

in a large saucepan over medium heat, add the chicken stock and garlic and bring to a boil. reduce the heat to a simmer and whisk in the cornmeal. make sure to whisk out any lumps.

switch cooking utensils to a wooden spoon and add the salt and pepper. bring to a simmer and stir constantly for about 10 minutes or until the mixture is thick.

turn off the heat and add the parmesan cheese, butter and sour cream. mix everything until combined and taste for seasoning. serve warm and garnish with additional paremsan cheese on top.
i paired the polenta with sundried tomato chicken sausage, but it would be great with steak, chicken, or pork chops. it would also be great paired with a spoon straight out of the pot. or with a funnel down the throat. you know, beer bong style. i'm guessing that's how barefoot does it.

eat up.