Pity-Me-Pita-Chips

While I know pita and hummus are not Jewish foods, I can't explain why I have always associated this particular snack with Judaism.  It's actually much more Middle Eastern than anything else.  Pita is a an Arabic flat bread popular in the Middle East and areas of the Mediterranean.  And lately it has become one of my favorite snacks.  So I thought I'd pick this food for this film, because honestly it seems like my food associations with these films have become tenuous at best.

The following is a simple, easy, and exceedingly yummy way to make homemade pita chips.






Pity-Me-For-Eating-Too-Many-Pita-Chips

You'll Need:
Kosher Sea Salt
Garlic Salt
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
Olive Oil Spray
At least two loaves of Pita Bread (I prefer Joseph's Whole Wheat)

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Slice the bread in half and then into small triangles, much as you would a pizza.
3. Line a baking sheet with tine foil and then arrange the triangles of pita across the sheet.
4. Lightly spray the olive oil over the pita bread so that it is evenly coated, and then drizzle the remaining oil over the bread.  Try to make sure each slice has a little oil on it, but not too much is needed.
5. Liberally sprinkle the chips with garlic salt and kosher salt.  Yes, this is a lot a salt.  But that's what makes it great!  The amount is entirely to taste.
6. Bake the chips for about 7-10 minutes, or until golden and slightly brown around the edges.  If the entire chip is browned, it will taste burned.  Feel free to rotate the pan to make sure the chips bake evenly.
7. Take the chips out of the oven and enjoy!

These chips can be eaten alone, but are also great with hummus and other dips.  They're also not horrible for you, if you get the whole wheat bread and are stingy with the oil.  I've yet to try this with cinnamon and sugar or perhaps Parmesan cheese, but I will!  Of course, every time I think about making changes, I end up going for the recipe.  It's hard to mess with perfection.

Tea Time!

For such a British film, I thought I should have tea with finger sandwiches.  There's a million different ways to make and enjoy tea sandwiches, so I read as many as I could and combined a few to make the best ones.  Feel free to experiment yourself.  Little bite size sandwiches are actually quite filling and delicious

Typical Tea Time

Three Delightful Bite-Sized Snacks

You’ll need:
½ a pound of thinly sliced roast beef (preferably Italian)
1 cucumber
1 container of whipped cream cheese (chive)
Small amount of fresh dill
½ cup fresh blackberries
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
vanilla bean cane sugar (or similar large grained sugar)
1 tsp horseradish
3 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Loaf of fresh marble rye bread
Loaf of fresh Challah bread
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. I bought a loaf of pre-sliced marble rye bread, but really any kind will work.  Take several slices and cut off the crust.  Then cut into 4 squares.  Do this 2 or 3 times.
2. Mix together the horseradish, Dijon mustard, and mayonnaise according to taste.  More horseradish and mustard will make the sandwich much spicier.    
3. Spread the mixture on half the bread, and then layer the top with roast beef.  Use salt and pepper to taste.

1. Chop the dill and mix with half the container of cream cheese.  Spread the cream cheese on the slices of bread.
2. Using a peeler, peel the peel off the cucumber, and then use the peeler to create thin slices of cucumber.
3. Place the cucumber slices on top of the cream cheese, and trim edges with a sharp knife.  Sprinkle dill to garnish.

1. Slice the Challah bread into individual slices, and then cut off the crusts.  Slice into squares.
2. Whip the heavy cream with a standing mixer until it forms stiff peaks.
3. Smash the blackberries with either a mortar and pedestal, or a regular spoon, until they are loosely mashed together.   
4. Spread the whipped cream on the Challah bread, and top with blackberries, avoiding the cores.  Lightly sprinkle sugar on top to garnish. Serve and enjoy!

I choose to serve the sandwiches without bread on top, but that is a personal preference.  Feel free to experiment and create your own!  I will say these are particularly delicious, but I’d love to hear more…

Viva La French...Baguette...

So I decided to make a baguette from scratch in honor of Emile Zola and France.  Making bread from scratch is something I've failed miserably at in the past, but my friend SFR swears it's easy.  She bought me a great book called How to Cook Everything, and I thought that I couldn't fail if I just followed that to the letter.

Well, yes and no.  The final product ended up pretty good, but I think it could use some tweaking.  I used bread flour instead of all-purpose flour, which may have effected the outcome.  I also think adding sugar might make it slightly better as well.  But it was good, and my family ate it, so I guess it passes the test!  We'll see if future forays into bread can do any better..although I may need supervision from my bread making friend.

The biggest issue I had?  Finding yeast!  I went to  a big local grocery store and spent a half hour scouring the baking aisle only to leave empty handed.  I should have just bitten the bullet and asked.  "Excuse me 16-year-old who clearly doesn't want to be bagging my groceries, but do you know if you have any yeast?"

The Baguette
You'll Need:
3 1/2 cups bread flour
2 tsps salt
1 1/2 tsps yeast
A few tbsps olive oil
About 1 cup warm water

1. Combine the dry ingredients, preferably in a standing mixer or food processor.
2. Gradually add water until the dough forms a ball.  You don't want it to be too sticky or too dry and flaky; add more flour or water to even out the dough if you have that problem.
3. Dump the dough into a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a cool, dry place at room temperature for 3 hours.
4. When the dough has risen, put it on a floured counter or tabletop, and shape into two small baguettes.  You can shape them however you like.  Place them on a baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap or a cloth so they can rise again, about another hour.
5. Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.
6. Once the bread has rise again, use a sharp knife to make baguette slashing marks (if you like).  Use olive oil to coat the bread evenly.  Bake until the crust is hard and golden brown, about 20 minutes.  The internal temperature should be around 210 degrees.  
7. Remove from oven, let cool, and enjoy!  Although my family always eats their bread with olive oil and garlic salt, you can try butter, jam, or even cheese if you want to be really French!

I have to say I might retire from yeast breads for awhile..no offense SFR!  But honestly...a lot of work!  Kind of like this movie...