cooking @ home

©2008 Harry Kenney

So how do I follow up a recipe on prime rib? Why, this way. Am I crazy? Like a fox. How can I top prime rib? How does a successful recording artist top a monster selling album? The same way. You don’t. You go different. And that’s the thing here at cooking @ home …. It’s home cooking. And that runs the gamet. Or at least it should. You might see on this page prime rib and stuffed mushrooms, but you might also see french fries and meatloaf and beef stew.

Home cooking doesn’t have to be “plebian” for lack of a better word. It can be (although I have problems with this word too) “gourmet”. On the same note it doesn’t have to be all gourmet either. It’s all of it. Why? Because that’s exactly what cooking at home means. You — and I — are doing this at home, and we might have hot dogs and soup one day and filet mignon with a panna cotta dessert the following. Same person cooking, same kitchen. We can and we should do what we want, and that is from simple everyday meals up to five-star dining. At home. And on that note …

I am a bread eater. One of those who’s always loved bread and butter with a meal. (Mind you, in this circumstance I actually mean spreadable margarine). Just always loved “the sauce” or “the gravy” and I’ve always enjoyed scooping up, sopping or just plain having along side a pasta dish or a stew, bread and butter or roll and butter. Maybe that’s a working man’s blue collar thing? I have no idea.

That said though, there was a very trendy, way ahead of it’s time salad place in Reading Terminal Market in Center City Philadelphia about 15 years ago or more. I was working down there and would often go to “the salad lady” for my lunch. Imagine someone who was making pasta and rice salads before you ever heard of such things. Seriously. What is now more or less “average” fare that can be gotten at a fancy super market deli section, when The Salad Lady’s place was there in the Market, it was relatively unique.

I bring this up because she always gave away slices of different homemade breads (yes buttered, and in her case it meant real butter, btw) with every salad meal (provided you wanted it of course). So, ok, I guess she was the Salad and Bread Lady then. Point is, if she was ahead of her time — and she was — accompanying bread with a salad was in a way “chi-chi” …. And you can’t be chi-chi and blue collar at the same time, can you?

Which brings me back to my quickie garlic bread. Because I get such enjoyment at having bread — and garlic bread especially — and mine especially because it is rarely “just garlic” — my garlic bread is always garlic and cheese bread — I like to have it often. And to me, the oven or the broiler is just too much work. Mostly because if you take your eye off of it for a moment, wham, it’s burnt.

This is ovenless, broiler-less garlic bread, using two of my favorite cooking tools that folks so under use — the toaster and the microwave. Basically, I make mine as though I had a toaster oven (which I don’t). Why do it this way? It’s quick. Is it that much quicker than the oven? Hmm. Probably not in one way. But then the difference to me between four minutes and (when you include pre-heating, twelve minutes … Let’s put it this way, it’s not a lot of time difference but it is still three times faster.

Most importantly I can see what’s happening. There’s a greater amount of control, partly due to the incremental stages I have set up and the fact that things will automatically shut off at those stages. It’s essentially, no-fail. Whereas with the broiler method (and to a slightly lesser extent the oven method), should you misjudge by as little as half-a-minute, you can turn broiler garlic bread into blackened garbage. So you went frantic and you wasted 12 minutes while holding up dinner. Plus, if you still want it, you have to redo from scratch again, while the rest of your meal goes cold. Which means you probably will not bother to redo your smouldering garlic bread afterall.

Since this dish is basically an extra side to my main meal, it means I’m already running around the kitchen doing the last minute cooking and setting up to serve stuff when I’m making this. And at that time it’s very easy to forget something in a broiler. My way, things don’t get out of control. Plus it’s four minutes. Mind you this even works if you’re in a pinch with white bread toasted and put into the microwave, but natch, rolls are ten times better.

So, all of this said, I do it this way pretty much to have it more often. Would I serve this to a bunch of guests? Probably not. Two reasons, one, the oven or broiler is going to be better, by far — but with the caveat that you keep a very close eye to it and really watch it. Second, my toaster meets microwave works because it’s for one or two people. You cannot fit more than two atop the toaster nor in the microwave at a time. With guests, even if its a total of four people, you can fit the bread onto a baking sheet easily. So easily you could make garlic bread for six or even 12 people at one time in the oven (maybe 6 in the broiler). The question then is would I do it this quickie way for guests? No firstly because it’s impossible, but also if were it somehow possible (as though I had a giant toaster oven or five toasters plugged together or whatever sillyness you can think of) I’d still do it in the broiler because if would be better, and they are guests and I want to serve them the very best and it would be worth the effort. In fact for a bunch of folks, it would be simpler making them all at once too. The dynamics in that respect would have changed.

But for everyday, for having it often, for the taste and the three times faster and the no-fail, won’t burn, control of it. Yep I like my quickie garlic and cheese bread just fine. Hope you do too!

Quick Cheese and Garlic Bread
©2008 Harry Kenney

two long rolls, preferrably Italian
margarine
garlic powder
grated parmegan

Cut or open the rolls, place a top the toaster as though it were a grill. First we’ll toast the bottom of it. Now, no matter what setting or numbers are on your slider or knobs, think of them in fifths or percentages. Put your settings at 20% of what it should be. Place down the slots to turn the sides on and toast the bottom. When it pops up, turn the inside of the rolls to face down, put on another 40% (a total of 60%) dark and again push down the two slots. When they pop up, check the roll. If it’s getting toasted move it over an inch, if it’s still fairly white, leave where they are, now push the slider or knob to 100% darkness.

Have a paper tower ready in front of or next to the toaster. When the toaster pops the third time, take off the rolls, crust down, and butter them. Now liberally sprinkle on garlic powder to taste. Do the same if you wish with grated parmegan. You see the paper towel has a few functions, to catch the excess seasonings, to transport the rolls to and from the microwave as well as to serve as a bed that will stop the roll from getting soggy in the microwave. Now, place them in the microwave for about 45-55 seconds on high (based on an 1100 watt microwave, longer if you have a less powerful 600-800 microwave). When done, serve with your meal.