Recipe: Scallion-Parmesean Bread

This is a variation of a recipe initially found at www.injennieskitchen.com.  It's largely similar, but I've included instructions on using a bread machine as well as a couple of other adjustments.

Scallion-Parmesean Bread

4 large scallions (aka "green onions"), chopped
1 tsp olive oil
1 cup shredded Parmesean cheese (or 3/4 cup grated) -- USE REAL CHEESE, NOT THE STUFF IN THE CARDBOARD TUBES.
3 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. active dry yeast
1 cup warm (roughly 85-90 degrees F) water
olive oil
cornmeal

Put the oil in a small skillet over medium heat.  Add the scallions, and cook through (about 5 minutes).  Remove from heat.

There are 2 ways of proceeding from here.  If you have a bread machine, use Option 1.  If you don't, use Option 2:

• Option 1:  Put the water and scallions in the bread machine.  Add the rest of the ingredients.  Using the "dough" setting, mix and knead for about 10 minutes, or until a firm -- but sticky -- dough ball has formed.

• Option 2:  Mix 2 1/2 cups of flour, cheese, salt, and yeast in a large bowl.  Add the water and the scallions, and mix with a spoon until the dough forms.  (It will be very sticky).  Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup flower onto a work surface, and turn the dough out onto it.  Using your hands, knead the dough, working in the additional flour, for 10 minutes.

Lightly oil (or spray with non-stick spray) a large bowl.  Put the dough in it and cover with plastic wrap so that it won't dry out.  Allow the dough to rise until it has doubled in size (usually 1 1/2-2 hours, though this will depend on the ambient temperature.

Turn out the dough, and knead it for 1 minute on a lightly floured work surface.  Roll it around a bit, stretching the "skin" on the dough, until it forms a ball.  With a sharp knife, mark an "X" on the top of the dough.

Sprinkle the cornmeal onto a wooden peel (if you have one) or a cookie sheet (if you don't), and put the dough directly on it.  Lightly brush the dough with olive oil.  Allow to rise until doubled in size again (about 45 minutes to 1 hour -- the second rise should take less time than the first),

If you have a pizza stone, move it to the center of the oven.  If you don't, you really should get one.  A large clean terra cotta drip pan from a planter will work, if you have one.  If using a cookie sheet, turn the drip pan over so there's a big flat surface pointing up.  (This is not 100% necessary, but it helps the bread cook a bit more evenly and form a good crust on the bottom.)  Preheat the oven to 550 degrees F. 

When the dough has finished it's second rise, place the dough (or the cookie sheet with the dough on it) directly onto the pizza stone (or overturned planter).  Close the oven and immediately reduce the heat to 450.  Cook for 25-30 minutes.  Remove to a rack to cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting into it.

Restaurant review: The "Merry Table" Crêperie, Portland, ME

The food I had for lunch today is disturbingly good at The "Merry Table" Crêperie at 43 Wharf Street in Portland, Maine.

Wharf Street is more of an alley than an actual street and is in the "Old Port" part of the city.  The area is more famous for the heavy drinking that goes on at the bars than anything else, but Wharf Street is a hidden gem.  There are several well-regarded restaurants on it's 2 block length, and I'm happy to say that The "Merry Table" Crêperie has joined their ranks.

My companion and I arrived early on a Sunday afternoon, and there was both indoor and outdoor seating available.  We were immediately greeted by our waitress (who hailed from the Bordeaux region of France).  She was pleasantly chatty with us but did not impose.  She apologized for taking what she thought was too long to bring us our menus and glasses of ice water, but we had been sitting only a couple of minutes, and a menu was posted right beside our table.  (We sat at the table in the left of the picture above.)  The music was initially French pop music (not the annoying club music or anything like that), which was mixed in with some older US pop music, and the volume was low enough that it was not distracting.

The lunch menu included of some sandwiches, but this is a crêperie -- a crêpe restaurant.  There are a large selection of both savory and sweet crêpes on the menu, but my eye was immediately drawn to the Cuban panini.

I first had a Cuban sandwich when living in South Florida for a brief period in the late 1980s, and I still cannot understand why this has not become a nation-wide phenomenon.  The traditional Cuban consists of thinly sliced ham, roast pork, sour pickles, mild cheese and mustard, served on a bread similar to a Hoagie roll.  The entire thing is heated and pressed just until the cheese becomes gooey.

The Cuban panini here is a delicious variation on the theme, using Black Forest ham, Swiss cheese, Dijon mustard, and a type of pickle called a cornichon.  The bread was nicely toasted, and there was just enough cheese to help hold everything together.  The mustard was used sparingly, so it did not overpower the other flavors in the sandwich.  The pickles were heavenly; my only complaint would be that a few more of the pickles would have been nice.

My companion had the Texane crêpe, which was filled with chicken, cheese, and mild chilis, served with sliced black olives, sour cream, and guacamole on the side.  The crêpe was fantastic, with no perceptible heat from the chilis and a nicely mild Southwestern US flavor.

Both meals came with a small salad of mixed greens with some thin carrot strips.  The dressing on the salad was a simple vinaigrette, and it was mercifully used sparingly.  I'm not saying that the dressing tasted bad -- on the contrary, it was lightly sour and tasted wonderful.  However, a pet peeve of mine regarding salads at restaurants is that the dressing is often used too heavily.  You end up with some greens swimming in a veritable ocean of oil and vinegar.  You usually can not taste the vegetables because there is so much dressing.  That was not the case here.  The salad was a delightfully refreshing side.

I decided to splurge a little and have dessert, from the list of sweet crêpes.  The list included Banana and Nutella and Chocolat (filled with chocolate ganache), but I decided on the Crêpe Suzette (sugar, butter, orange, and orange liqueur).  While there was a slightly longer wait than expected for dessert to come, it was well worth the wait.  It was serves simply, with just the orange sauce.  The sauce was not overly sweet, but was also slightly bitter from the orange liqueur.  Dishes such as this are why everyone has heard of a Crêpe Suzette.  It was a wonderful light dessert to finish the meal.

I had coffee with my lunch, and it was one the best cups of coffee I've had in years.  My companion started with orange juice (which was not fresh squeezed and had no pulp), but switched to coffee also after tasting mine.  The coffee was not too strong, and nicely robust -- a wonderful "sipping" coffee.

The total cost of the meal (2 main dishes, 2 coffees, 1 juice, and 1 dessert) was a reasonable $35.  The prices of the crêpes is slightly higher, in general, than the sandwiches but are well worth the extra couple of dollars if you want to try something a little "out of the ordinary" for lunch.

In addition, for the adventurous, there is a twice-monthly "French Host Table," where you are only allowed to speak French.  There is no set price, and everything is á la carte.  There is also French live music.  This struck me as a wonderful adventure for the linguistically inclined, and a great "lab" exercise for the numerous French students in the local high schools and universities.

In summary, the food is outstanding, and the coffee is fantastic, though the orange juice was a little of a let down in comparison.  The service was very good, though the delay after ordering dessert was a little long.   This is a wonderful find in an "out of the way" place that tourists are likely to miss (unfortunately).

Overall Rating:  8.5 out of 10.