Boo you can definitely be excused for going out for your birthday. Good on you for not having the schnitzel . I made some kind of a pie/tart thingy once with polenta, and it wasn't that good. It was fine on the chops though, so I guess it depends what the recipe is. I tend to alter things like side serves eg. make a simple salad instead of the fancy one in the book. Polenta is a carb type thing I think, so you could maybe have a bit of bread instead??

I'm making the Italian Meatloaf tonight, so I'll let you know how I go with that one.