This recipe is delicious even if made ahead. Polenta holds really well and there are even tips in the recipe for making it ahead of time.

Has anybody tried substituting vegetable stock instead of chicken stock for this recipe?

I made this a long time ago and it was really good. I didn't actually have any chicken stock so I had to use veggie. My family thought it was delicious.

is there a reason for adding the cornmeal to boiled liquid vs. adding it to cold and bringing everything up to a boil, together? does it create a different texture? James Peterson's polenta recipe also starts out with the cornmeal in a cold liquid (and he also recommends another method where you bring everything to a simmer in an oven-proof pan on the stove top, first, and then sticking it in a 350ºF oven and baking for 35 minutes or so). that's how i've been doing it and it seems to work out for me, so far. and, to my mind, reduces the chance of clumpy polenta...but i could be wrong and just be kidding myself?

thank you

You can start with cold liquid. The advantage of bringing the liquid first to a boil is it allows any flavoring ingredients added to the liquid to infuse BEFORE adding the polenta. Also, not all cornmeals are the same, so adding the polenta AFTER it has come to the boil allows you to control the consistency. The oven method works well, but still requires occasional stirring to eliminate forming of a topical crust, which means opening an oven door once in a while.

Again, an example of more than one way to do things.

thanks for the breakdown. never would have thought consistency being affected by the method by which you use to cook the polenta.

Has anyone made ploenta rectangles, which are firm enough to grill over an open grill? I have had it in Australia and the presentation looks great.

There is a whole lesson on How to Make Polenta in the Cooking School. Here we discuss the ratios for making soft/firm polenta. Cheers!