For those of you who are unaware of the crazy endeavor I have taken on, I am learning to love cooking. I used to be a "rip the serrated cardboard, take out the frozen dish, stab a few fork-shaped holes in it, and zap it in the microwave" kind of gal. And whenever I lived with an Hotel Restaurant Administration major that also loved to cook, my cooking interests declined because nothing seemed up to snuff compared to his made-up dishes. I remember cooking for thirteen straight hours with him for Thanksgiving and he did not follow a single recipe to the T, and it turned out to be so delicious I begged for more.
Once that amazing six-month period ended, and time has fast forwarded a little, here I am now. I've learned it's okay to try new dishes, and experiment with different tastes - that's what cooking is all about. We're supposed to go out on a limb and see if we like what we made. If we don't, just throw the recipe out or try something different next time. If so, keep it.
I also discovered bruschetta and french bread, which is now contributing to the gluttony deadly sin. Tonight, I was craving pizza, but I wasn't in the mood to wait 30 minutes and pay $15 for something that I could only eat maybe three pieces of and then have to refrigerate everything else. This is what I did (sorry for the awful picture quality, blame my phone):
1. Cut a strip of french bread off baguette, no more than 1 inch thick. The secret is that you don't want it so thick that the bread doesn't crisp, but so thin that the toppings don't melt.
2. Lightly spread with Olive Oil. Since I don't have a food brush, I just used a knife. It doesn't have to be perfect, just enough to spread over both sides, without drenching it.
3. Place 1 slice of provolone cheese directly on bread. Sprinkle with Italian seasonings. Then place spinach leaves (or whatever green you want) on top. Lightly cover with marinara/pizza sauce/whatever red based sauce you have. I had roasted garlic and herbs red sauce from Prego, but I'm sure anything would work. Then sprinkle more Italian seasonings.
4. Place 1 slice of cheese on top. Then add pepperonis - this is what I had on hand, but you don't have to use it.
5. Place on cookie sheet/nonstick pan for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees. With about 3-4 minutes left, if desired, sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top. This way the shredded cheese does not burn/brown/get gross.
Voila!
I was really tempted to make another one, but the deadly sin would be kicking in again. There is something about being able to make just as much as you eat so you don't have left overs or feel like you're wasting food.
I wonder if there was pizza in Jesus' time. I could very easily imagine them breaking garlic bread, eating a slice of pizza and sipping on a glass of wine. And now I suddenly see Jesus being very similar to the Italian heritage - pot belly, accent and all.
My point is, cooking is a learning process, and it takes a lot of dedication to learn how to properly and successfully cook something; kind of like Christianity. There is no Christianity-microwave that we can get in that will zap us with loads of faith, love, and discipline. We have to constantly work at it, and realize that it is a learning process. When we fall down, He's going to be right there to pick us back up again - no matter what.
"Welcome to the Church of the Holy Cabbage. Lettuce pray." ~Author Unknown
Much love,
klc
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