Juliet's Fried Polenta

Once upon a time, there was a virus that scared the world so much that we were told to stay home for two months and not go anywhere. Juliet and Abby took to helping with dinner from time to time, to the point of Juliet's deciding she would make dinner one night. As a side to go with her mushroom and sausage lasagna she made (with a little help) fried polenta — but only after she found out that polenta is Italian for "grits."

• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 c water
• 1/2 c half-and-half
• 1/2 c yellow corn grits
• 1/4 c parmasan cheese (freshly-grated)
• 1 tbsp butter
• pinch of black pepper (freshly-ground)