Poll: should sarah emily attend polenta school?

I've discussed my polenta quest before here. so far, I haven't really discovered anything revolutionary, other than the polenta croutons I had at dinner this summer. now I've found the perfect solution to my dilemma - but I don't know if I should do it. The Cambridge Center for Adult Education is offering a winter course called, "The Possibilities of Polenta."

Discover the rich, delicious possibilities of a Northern Italian staple food — polenta. As versatile as pasta, there are several types of polenta (white and yellow, and coarse and fine). You will prepare and feast on polenta accompanied with three delicious toppings — a hearty sausage sauce, a delicate white sauce made with gorgonzola and marscarpone cheeses, and a tasty onion sauce. We’ll also try fried polenta. Learn how to use polenta as a side dish to entrees or as a meal in itself! Feel free to bring your own wine.

it's $56 for a 2.5 hour session. this seems like the opportunity I've been waiting for, except I'm not feeling as enthused as I think I should be. please help me make this decision. basically, if enough folks think it's worth my time to go, I'll do it. or if people think that going to a polenta class is stupid, I'll take that into account too. help please?

things to do with polenta

way simple, way yummy:

slice some basil and garlic polenta into rounds about 1/2" thick. place on a baking sheet. wash and slice a beet or two into rounds about the same thickness. maybe it's a big beet, in which case you can halve your beet rounds. put one beet piece on top of each polenta round. take some fresh basil and place a few leaves on top of your polenta-beet cakes. you can also use fresh oregano. (I did half and half.) drizzle olive oil on top of the whole mess.

bake in the oven for 40 minutes at 320 degrees. serve. also tastes great the next day.

a call for polenta recipes

my friends, I have a dilemma. I love polenta. I love all kinds of polenta. this is not the dilemma. the dilemma is that all the recipes I have for polenta involve making the polenta, not what to do with the polenta once it has already entered into existence. sometimes I cut rounds of polenta and grill tofu and basil and tomato on top of it. sometimes I cut rounds of polenta and saute it with salt and pepper. but that is it. that's all I've got. and that is what we call a dilemma.


please send polenta recipes. or suggestions. or encouragement. I just need to re-jump my imagination. I need a slap on the back of the head from the polenta fairy.