Grilled Flat Bread, Cholesterologist Style

The last time I was up in Portland, EM, her friend and I all went out to dinner for my birthday.  We ended up at a Spanish place called Toro Bravo, and it was one of the best meals I have ever had.  Of the several dishes that we ordered, there was one that stood out to me - a grilled flat bread with arugula salad and cheese on top.  It was so simple and elegant, but so delicious.  The bread was a bit charred and the dressing on the salad on top was deliciously tart, topped with the creamy saltiness of the cheese.  Smoky, sour and salty... Now maybe you understand why, after we landed back in L.A., I was having culinary dreams about this dish. 

Though I doubted I could properly replicate it, I fancied that I could get close enough to at least stop the flat bread from haunting me at night.  Have you ever been haunted by flat bread?  It's kind of creepy.

Is this recipe the perfection that I encountered in Portland?  No.  It was my first attempt to recreate, and there are definitely some things I will probably tweak next time I make it, but it's still a delicious snack that was a nice break from my go-to bites of cheese and crackers.

Grilled Flat Bread, Cholesterologist Style

Take a good handful of you choice of greens...

(Cholesterologist's Note:  I used a spring mix with some butter lettuce, but I would definitely use arugula because of it's spicier, peppery flavor.  I found my lettuce mix to be a bit too mild for something like this, but you can use pretty much any greens that you have on hand.)

 

You're only going to need a couple tablespoons of a nice, tart vinaigrette.  Again, you can use what you have on hand.  I really love this Champagne Caper dressing, though.

 

I splurged and got me some good cheese.  Get out that cheese grater and shave it on up.  (Not grate, shave.)  You can use any variation of hard cheeses with this.  Parmesan would also be really tasty.

 

Oh, hello there, whole wheat flat bread!  Ima grill you up in a minute here.  You know what else would work really well with this?  Naan, if you have access to it.  Something a bit softer and doughier than pita.

 

Go ahead and dress up that lettuce (or arugula) with your 2 tablespoons of dressing.  Maybe even less - you don't want to overdress your greens or they'll make your flat bread soggy.

 

I couldn't find my cheese grater to shave my super delicious aged white cheddar, so I just cut it really thin.  Definitely opt for your cheese grater's shaver, though, because you want it thin so it'll get a bit melty on top of the bread.

I literally threw this on the open flame of my stove.  You could stick it under the broiler for a couple minutes, but then you wouldn't get to play with fire.  I like to live dangerously, but not *too* dangerously.  I used tongs so I didn't burn myself.

 

When your bread is grilled to your liking, put the shaved cheese on top.  If the culinary gods are with you, your cheese will get a bit soft and kinda melty-like.  Then, top it with your dressed salad.

Seriously?  So easy.  So delicious.

 

Snack away, kids.

'I Heart You' Cookies

Over Christmas, there was an obscene overabundance of cookie dough that had been created in preparation for an obscene overabundance of Christmas cookies.  After some unforeseen circumstances and some plan changes, that left us all with several batches of dough that were relegated to the depths of my freezer, while my family tried, in vain, to consume the already baked goodies.  Shortly before Valentine's Day, EM's boyfriend reminded me that we had frozen dough to use, so I thawed it out and rolled it out, determined to make use of our aforementioned cookie surplus.  Conveniently, Valentine's Day was just around the corner, and what better way to celebrate than by making heart cookies?  

Show your loved ones how much you care with a cookie that practically shouts, I heart you!



Unless your loved ones are a bit squeamish, because I'm told that not everyone appreciates what I like to call "culinary gore."





If that's the case, might I suggest something a little more traditional?

Basic Sugar Cookies from Martha Stewart. What can I say?  The woman knows her cookies!

 

Makes roughly 32, depending on how big you like your cookies!

 

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Assorted candies, sprinkles, or colored sugars, for decorating (that is, if you don't have the patience to wait for them to cool enough to ice or dip in chocolate, which can sometimes happen)

Directions

1.  In large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture; beat until combined. Divide dough in half; flatten into disks. Wrap each in plastic; freeze until firm, at least 20 minutes, or place in a resealable plastic bag, and freeze up to 3 months (thaw in refrigerator overnight).


2.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment. Remove one dough disk; let stand 5 to 10 minutes. Roll out 1/8 inch thick between two sheets of floured parchment, dusting dough with flour as needed. Cut shapes with cookie cutters. (Cholesterologist's Note:  Obviously, I didn't have anatomical heart cookie cutters because I have yet to find those, so I simply eyeballed my hearts and cut them out with a knife.  This also takes forever and leaves rough edges, so while I love these hearts, I would encourage you to find a cookie cutter, or use a very sharp knife and then once on the cookie sheet, smooth out the edges of the dough.  If you're hasty and hungry like me, they'll look quite rough like the ones above.)  Using a spatula, transfer to prepared baking sheets. (If dough gets soft, chill 10 minutes.) Reroll scraps; cut shapes. Repeat with remaining dough.

3.  Bake, rotating halfway through, until edges are golden, 10 to 18 minutes (depending on size). Cool completely on wire racks.

Royal Icing from Not So Humble Pie, one of my favorite bloggers ever, who also gives a great icing tutorial!  You should click on that link and go read it, because she's 110% amazing and will teach you how to make beautiful cookies relatively easily.

 

Makes enough for about 2 dozen cookies, depending on how you ice them.  I usually halve the recipe to start, and then make more as I need it, so that my icing doesn't get crusty.

 

Ingredients

1 pound powdered sugar

5 tablespoons meringue powder
1/3 cup plus one teaspoon water
few drops almond extract (optional.  Essentially you could use any other clear extract to flavor your icing, such as lemon or orange, but stay away from vanilla because it'll tint your icing brown!)

Directions

1.  Mix these together until smooth. It is going to be pretty thick, so add one additional teaspoon of water at a time. You want it to still be fairly thick to start, so go easy with the water. The icing should be smooth and fluid but still hold a firm peak. Meaning that if you pull a spoon out of the icing you have a nice stiff point left behind that doesn't sink back into the icing.

2.  If you go read the Humble tutorial, you'll learn how to make your own pastry bags to do icing and piping and all that good stuff, but since I was in a hurry, I did the unthinkable and made some quick and dirty Ziploc icing bags by spooning my icing in and cutting a teeny tiny hole in the bottom corner.  (Obviously, my icing needs practice, so don't judge me too harshly.)  Outline your cookie first, then let that dry.  Dilute your icing a few drops at a time for your flood icing, then fill in your cookie.  Let it all dry and enjoy!

If you're fancying something chocolatey, temper some good semi-sweet in a double boiler over the stove and simply dip your cookies in.  I let mine set on some wax paper for a couple hours before devouring almost entirely.

The Birth of Cholesterology

  I don't really know why food has always been so important to me. I was lucky enough to grow up in a house that observed the increasingly rare "family meal time," which, I suppose has always been at the heart of my growing food obsession.  My mother, a talented and brilliant woman, cooked healthy and simple food for her family, and while it might not be the food that shows up at a 4-star restaurant, it was always remarkably good.  I still believe that some of the simplest recipes and foods are the best, and often the most memorable.  Plus, there's always something about the way your mother cooks that you will never be able to replicate - I've been making her banana bread recipe for years and while mine will pass, hers will forever be pastry shop worthy.

Coming from a family (that includes extended family, too) that relishes the opportunity for culinary experimentation and home-cooking, food has always been more than a source of fuel.  It is how we express love and care for one another, and if you think that sounds like some kind of hippie, foodie nonsense, I challenge you to gauge your feelings when someone cooks for you.  It takes time, patience, and effort to make something for someone else, and even if it's as simple as a salad, I believe that there is a profound human connection present.  There is a great deal of love in gastronomy, or as I've bastardized it, cholesterology.

I created this blog to document my trials and tribulations in my own kitchen, catalog new and old family recipes, share beloved food havens and engage with my fellow cholesterologists.  Also, I needed a place to put all the food posts from my other blog, because I'm sure that crowd is getting sick of them by now.  So if you've stumbled here by mistake and are looking for The Average Broad, go ahead and bail now because this will all be about food and probably have very little to do with random dating mishaps and velociraptor car alarms.  If you've navigated here and fancy staying a piece, welcome, and remember - never get dressing on the side, always ask for extra cheese, and when in doubt, fry it and add a little salt.