Most for your money cookbook

Make a ring of rather thick cornmeal mush around the rim of a dish and fill center with hash or gravy. Or, lay the mush in a hot dish, a large spoonful at a time, make a little hollow in each spoonful and fill with hash. Build up in layers until all is used, cover with hash or gravy and sprinkle with a little grated cheese. The French do not depend on Parmesan for such dishes, as the Italians do, but save every bit of cheese scraps which are dried somewhat, then grated and kept in a jar until needed. POLENTA WITH TOMATO SAUCE Instead of meat gravy or hash in the preceding recipe use a tomato sauce made as follows: TOMATO SAUCE 3 TABLESPOONS OLIVE OR COOKING OIL I SPRIG CELERY LEAVES 1 ONIONS, CHOPPED I TEASPOON MINCED PARSLEY I GARLIC CLOVE, MINCED }4 TEASPOON THYME 1 TOMATOES, FRESH OR TINNED I BEEF CUBE Slowly fry onion and garlic in oil until golden; add tomato, parsley and thyme and fry until tomato thickens. Add beef cube dissolved in i cup boiling water (or i cup meat broth), strain, season and simmer until sauce thickens. SLICED POLENTA Slice cold cornmeal mush and lay in a baking dish, covering each slice with grated cheese, gravy, hash or tomato sauce. Build up in layers, cover with grated cheese and dots of butter, and brown under grill or in oven. PIG'S LIVER POLENTA I ONION, CHOPPED I CARROT, CHOPPED (OR GREEN 3 TABLESPOONS FAT OR OIL PEPPER, OR CELERy) 1 GARLIC CLOVE, MINCED SALT AND CAYENNE I CUP YELLOW CORNMEAL y^ POUND PORK LIVER Slowly fry onion in i tablespoon of fat, add garlic and fry, then add carrot, or green pepper or a celery stalk, or better still, all three chopped fine, and cook for a couple of minutes. Add fried mixture to i quart salted boiling water, and when it bubbles fast sprinkle in the cornmeal; stir and cook until it thickens. Then cover and let simmer while you prepare the liver. Dice the liver, dredge well with flour, and season with cayenne. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons of fat in same frying pan used before, and quickly brown the liver without letting it cook through; sprinkle with salt and add half a cup boiling water in order not to waste the flavors clinging to the pan, turn all into the cornmeal mixture, stir well, and cook another 5 minutes. Eat as is, or better, pour into a greased deep pan and let cool, then slice, dredge with flour and brown in fat or butter. Hamburger or sausage meat, in fact, any left-over cold meat, may be substituted for pig's liver, but will need to be cooked a little longer. ITALIAN POLENTA CROQUETTES Make corn meal mush as above, but stir in a little butter and grated cheese when it's done. Then take this richer mush out in the same way, by tablespoonfuls, but lay it on a surface, such as a slab of marble, and shape into egg-like ovals. Cover each with a thin slice of old Wisconsin cheese, pressing it down so it adheres to the corn meal. Let cool, then dip in beaten egg and bread crumbs and fry in deep fat. A slab of marble, the kind that used to top bed-room bureaus, can be had for a dime or so in almost any junk shop. It doesn't matter if a corner or two are broken off\, and you'll find it very handy for recipes like this which need a cold surface to help hold shapes — also for candy-making. POLENTA 121