The European cookbook for American homes (from Italy, Spain, Portugal and France)

5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add half the Marsala wine and sufficient boiling broth to cook rice; season and cook rapidly until grains swell; reduce heat and finish cooking until nearly dry. Uncover, add rest of butter and Marsala, and the saffron mixed smooth in a little broth. Set over steam or in open oven until rice is dry and fluffy. Take up, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. This is the finest of the Milanese risottos and is served on special occasions. A little skill is required to cook it properly and attain the fluffiness at the end without draining off the liquid. The rice recipes of the Portuguese, Spaniards and Italians bear close resemblance, all of them being of Arabian origin introduced through North African invasions and occupations. Inland cities, like Milan, eat their rice flavored with meats and vegetables; coast cities, where sea food is plentiful and fresh, prefer the fishy flavors. The combinations are legion; rice with chicken giblets, with green peas, with minced veal or pork, with frogs' legs, with sea snails, black rice cooked with the inky squid, pink rice cooked with crayfish, rice with tench (a sort of flounder), with mussels, and with the tiny clams of the Bay of Biscay. Invariably the method of cooking differs from that of the Far East in that the liquid is a flavoring broth, instead of water, and is retained in the finished dish, the quantity being gauged so as to be completely evaporated at the end of the cooking time. Saffron is a frequent flavoring and imparts an appetizing color. r 5 POLENTA— I i cup yellow cornmeal 2 cups rich hash of left-over 1 quart boiling salted water, or meat or fish stock 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan 2 tablespoons butter cheese Sprinkle cornmeal into boiling liquid stirring constantly until there are no lumps; cook over slow heat or in double boiler l/2 hour, adding butter while cooking. Pour out on a hot platter in a ring. Fill the center with hot hash. Sprinkle the mush thickly with Parmesan cheese. POLENTA— II Make cornmeal mush as above; pour a thin layer into a buttered baking dish, spread with thick tomato sauce, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Then another layer of mush, tomato sauce, and cheese; repeat, finishing with a layer of cheese. Brown in a hot oven (4000 F.). Serve with tomato sauce. BAKED POLENTA Make cornmeal mush as above; let cool and stiffen in a shallow mold; slice with a wet knife. Have ready a rich brown gravy containing bits of chicken giblets or other tidbits. Place a layer of polenta slices in buttered baking dish; add a little gravy; sprinkle with grated cheese. Repeat. Cover the top with remaining gravy and bake 10 minutes in a hot oven (4oo°F.). FRIED POLENTA 1 small onion, chopped 1 celery stalk, sliced Yl garlic clove, minced 1 green pepper, chopped 3 tablespoons butter 1 quart boiling water l/z pound pork sausage or ham- 1 cup cornmeal burger % cup flour Salt and pepper Fry onion and garlic in 1 tablespoon of the butter for a few minutes, add meat and mash it as it fries to keep it from cooking in lumps. Turn into a saucepan with celery, pepper and boiling water. Let boil, covered, 10 minutes. Season. Add the cornmeal a little at a time, stirring out all lumps. Finish