Slowly stir in cornmeal, milk, garlic, and pepper.
Reduce heat to medium, cook for 2 minutes, whisking frequently.
Cover, reduce to low and simmer for 40 minutes stirring with a wooden spoon every 10 minutes.
When mixture begins to pull away from sides of pan-stir in Parmesan cheese and butter.
Serve warm as is or topped with a sprinkling of fresh grated Parmesan, salt and pepper.
Polenta is delicious fried as well. Once preparing my polenta this way I pour it into a shallow pan and refrigerate for several hours until firm, slice and cook over medium heat in a little bit of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
Recipe by Premeditated Leftovers™ at https://premeditatedleftovers.com/?p=31862