Jewish Polenta

What’s in a name? mused Shakespeare. Describe mamaliga as cornmeal mush and you won’t whet many appetites. But call it Jewish polenta and people will be clamoring for a seat at your table. Mamaliga is Roumanian soul food: cornmeal boiled to a rib-sticking mush, enriched with cottage cheese or sometimes gribenes (chicken cracklings). Some people serve the cheese on top of the mamaliga; others cook it right in the mush. I prefer the latter, for it gives the mamaliga a richness, a creaminess,