1. Combine water, salt, and half-and-half in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer.
2. While whisking, add corn grits. Continue to simmer until thickened.
3. Remove from heat and stir-in the parmasan cheese, butter, and black pepper.

At this point the polenta could be eaten immediately. To make fried polenta:

1. Line a rimmed sheet pan with parchment and spray with oil. Spread the warm polenta on the parchment, keeping it uniformly 1/2" thick. Refrigerate overnight.
2. Cut the solid polenta into portions:
   • Rustic: slice the rectangle into smaller rectangles/squares, a'la brownies.
   • Fancier: use a biscuit or cookie cutter to make shaped portions.
3. Cover the bottom of a small frying pan with olive oil (shallow, not deep!) and optionally add a tbsp of butter for flavor. When the oil is hot, place polenta portions in the oil to fry: do not crowd the portions. Turn after a few minutes to fry on the other side an equal amount of time. Remove to a paper towel to drain and sprinkle with herbs, seasonings, or more cheese. A mix of grated parmasan, more ground black pepper, garlic powder, dried basil and parsley would be nice.
4. Serve immediately. We like to put a little tomato sauce on the plate then lay the fried polenta portion on top of the sauce.