A Toast to Toast

A bit of prose in praise of comfort food is almost as good as a bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup on a January afternoon. Almost.

Fiction, food articles, and cookbooks celebrating the solace of stews, muffins and casseroles are entertaining, soothing, and full of tender morsels of memory and inspiration. But on days like this when the temperature plummets, the wind howls, and dark clouds knuckle against the pine trees here in East Texas, I want my chill-chasing comfort food now, without having to read about it or trouble myself with elaborate preparations.

So I make toast.

Mine is not the creed of a health food extremist: no recommendations here for a regime of sprouted 20-grain bread and weak teas as penance for December dietary indulgences. I simply offer a reminder of the most basic of comfort foods.

Toast requires no recipe or special appliance (not even a toaster—you can toast bread under the broiler or above an open gas flame, turning once for even browning). All of the pleasure of toast is derived from the eating since the preparation is so minimal.

There is a tenderness to toast. Even people who show no interest in most any other food respond to its basic beauty, accepting a golden, warm slice without reserve or reproach. And during these cold winter days it unfailingly lives up to its definition—“to warm thoroughly”—cradling a weary spirit as easily as a melting pat of butter.

The choice of bread is important, but snobbish-ness is disallowed when it comes to toast. If your taste leans towards the tenderness of a slice of toasted Wonder bread, feel no shame.

But do give a variety of breads a try, for different reasons. On certain occasions, comfort will be derived from a compliant piece of white bread, but there will be other days when ripping into a crusty-chewy piece of sourdough toast is instant therapy.

The true artistry of toast occurs with the coalescence of perfectly matched toppings to bread: sturdy toasted multi-grain bread, slathered with natural peanut butter; prim squares of pumpernickel toast, spread with a veneer of cream cheese and topped with smoked salmon, cucumber and capers; a crunchy baguette, split lengthwise and toasted under the broiler with a drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle of Parmesan; and weighty walnut-raisin toast, glistening with honey.

Or then there's the all-time ultimate: pillow-y white bread, crusts removed, and cut into “fingers” after being drizzled with butter and dusted with butter, sugar and cinnamon. (Well-worn slippers, a pile of good books and a mug of tea are my favorite accessories.)

If you cannot convince yourself that toast is more than a light breakfast or snack, break out the olive oil and call your toast “bruschetta.” Bruschetta is toast’s fashionable Italian cousin—it is grilled (over flame, gas burner or under broiler), drizzled, brushed or misted with olive oil and often (but not always) rubbed with garlic.

Save your jelly for “toast” and pile warm, savory toppings onto your bruschetta to create a light or hearty meal. Use a crusty, rustic style bread (or baguette) and cut the slices about 1/2-inch thick (to prevent collapse under weight of the toppings).

Think of the following bruschetta recipes as guidelines: both bruschetta and toast are best when they are free-form creations. Embellish your toast and bruschetta according to your state of mind, refrigerator or wallet and let the art of comfort begin.

Sun Dried Tomato Bruschetta with Shaved Pecorino
These bruschetta recipes are my lunch today—I’m happy to be inside (it’s sleetingmaking and nibbling them. I find winter tomatoes particularly sad, but oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes taste like summer in a jar. They can be housed in odd places in the supermarket, but I always have luck finding them in one of three places: in the pickled foods sections, alongside canned tomatoes, or in the produce department. I used shaved Pecorino Romano, but Parmesan cheese or Manchego work perfectly.
3 1/2-inch-thick slices sourdough or any Italian country-style bread
1 large garlic clove, sliced in half
1 and 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, whole (or chopped if a bit tough)
About 1/2 ounce Pecorino Romano or Parmesan Cheese, shaved with a vegetable peeler

Position oven rack 4 inches from broiler element. Preheat broiler.

Place bread slices directly on oven rack and broiler, until golden, turning once (about 30-45 seconds per side). Remove from oven and rub the toasts with the cut garlic on one side and brush the same side with the oil. Place the sundried tomatoes atop the bread and sprinkle with the cheese shavings. Makes 3 toasts.

Nutrition per Serving (1 large toast):Calories 179; Fat 9.4g (poly 1.3g, mono 5.5g, sat 2.0g); Protein 5.3 g; Cholesterol 3.2mg; Carbohydrate 19.4g; Sodium 300mg)
(Note: I did the nutrition analysis using Diet Analysis Plus 7.0.1)

Bruschetta with Sauteed Greens & Manchego
If you have read my posts from previous days, you can likely guess where the greens came from for this recipe: the leftover spinach from yesterday’s smoothie and the beet tops from the yellow greens (I saved them; they were better than I realized). You can use any green of your choice here, or a combination (as I did).

As in the previous recipe, use whatever hard cheese you have on hand—Parmesan is great, too, I just happened to have a nub of Manchego lurking in the cheese drawer.

3 1/2-inch-thick slices sourdough or any Italian country-style bread
1 large garlic clove, sliced in half
1 and 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
4 packed cups trimmed, cleaned greens (e.g., spinach, kale, beet greens, tasoi, Swiss chard, etc.), roughly chopped
2 tablespoons grated Manchego cheese (or Parmesan or Romano)

Position oven rack 4 inches from broiler element. Preheat broiler.

Place bread slices directly on oven rack and broiler, until golden, turning once (about 30-45 seconds per side). Remove from oven and rub the toasts with the cut garlic on one side and brush the same side with the oil.

Heat olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add greens and sauté until tender, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and freshly cracked pepper.

Place toasts on platter. Top with greens and sprinkle with cheese. Makes 3 toasts.

Nutrition per Serving (1 large toast):Calories 160; Fat 8.9g (poly 1.1g, mono 5.5g, sat 1.7g); Protein 5.3g; Cholesterol 2.9mg; Carbohydrate 15.2g; Sodium 283.3mg)
(Note: I did the nutrition analysis using Diet Analysis Plus 7.0.1)