Not to stray too far from the topic at hand, but if you are ever in the mood to watch Italians react to stuff (my family is Italian, BTW, so I know of what I speak)...
I found this recipe on Usenet many, many years ago.
1.5 cup milk
2 tbsp butter
dash of baking soda
dash of sugar
salt to taste
0.5 cup cornmeal
Put the milk, salt, sugar and butter in a non-stick pot. Heat up until the butter starts melting, lower heat to medium-low or low, depending on your stovetop, and mix in the baking soda. Start whisking the liquid and slowly adding the cornmeal while whisking to avoid lumps. Switch to a wooden or plastic spoon and continue to stir for another 5 minutes or so until it "boils" (large bubbles of steam will form and come up the surface) and you can see the bottom of the pan or until the desired firmness is reached.
Pour the polenta into a pyrex dish and wait a few minutes to firm up.
You can also add things like parsley, chives, scallions, and you can also add grated/shredded cheese just before pouring it.
Ideally, you will have served the dish at least once to your family and they will not have seen you cook it. They will love it as usual. They *will* cause a ruckus the next time they see you cooking it.
All kinds of accusations, from "that's not traditional" and up. You calmly say every single time, "but you loved it last time and told us it was just like granny's!" and see what happens.
Seriously, it takes about 10-15 minutes, depending on how much you make (I usually make at least 6 cups of milk, which is 4X the recipe). It always disappears. No mess, no fuss. And I don't care what purists say, if you put a bit of chives and parsley and cheese, it *will* fly off the shelves. My family especially loves it with bolognese sauce on top (I also cheat on that one, but they already knew about it.)
Good luck!
-- Paulo.
It was a 2011 Kenmore but have forgotten the model. This doesn't mean other dishwashers would work the same way, but one can hope.
