Simple Polenta

Bring the water to a boil. Mix together the cornmeal, salt, and cold water, and add to the boiling water, medium-high heat, while stirring. Stir frequently until thoroughly thickened, stir in the olive oil, then cover and cook over low heat 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Can be served immediately, soft, or poured onto an oiled plate and allowed to set; bake, broil, or saute to reheat. I usually triple this recipe and let it set in a 9"x12" pan. Serve with whatever sauce you fancy. (If you use butter instead of olive oil, you can also serve it sweet with maple syrup.) Cleaning the pan immediately is very difficult, but if you soak it overnight, the caked-on cornmeal mush comes right off. Don't make the mistake of mixing the cold water and cornmeal ahead of time, it will glop up. Do it just before you pour it into the boiling water. (Mixing with cold water prevents lumps.) I like very coarse cornmeal (sometimes sold as corn grits, but that's different from hominy grits); medium-coarse is more traditional. You can experiment with proportions of water and cornmeal--I wouldn't go thicker than this, but some recipes go as thin as 5:1. You can also substitute milk for some or all of the water, producing a richer polenta.