Grilled Flatbread

I have a flat bread recipe on my blog already and it was cooked in the kitchen, on a grill pan.  This time I actually grilled it on our infer red grill, (not my favorite grill for this sort of thing), but tasty just the same.
Making dough takes practice and what eventually happens is you don't really follow a recipe, you just know what to do.  I have arrived at that point.  I will attempt to say what measurements I used, but humidity makes an impact on dough, so I will also tell you what you are looking for to attain a good dough and you can aim for that.  Dough is forgiving to a point while it is being kneaded, so the adjustments should be made during that time.
I made this on a school day in the morning and brought it to my friend, Big T's house, for a tennis party get-together.  I should add, the team I play on won our division in a local league so it was a fun day.  T's husband, J, char-grilled oysters for us and we ate the flat bread with the oysters.
I began running the mixer around 6:30am and like I mentioned, brought the grilled bread to her house at 11am.  First, warm your mixing bowl by rinsing it in hot water.  Dry the outside.  Then measure 1/2 Cup Warm Water (around 110F) and add 1 package of Rapid Rise Yeast plus A Few Pinches of Sugar.  Stir with a wooden spoon and let it activate for about 10 minutes; you will see bubbles form.  Place the mixing bowl on the mixer and using a dough hook, begin mixing on the #2 setting.  Add 1 Cup 110F water, 2 Tbl Olive Oil, 1 1/2 Tbl Sugar, and begin adding Flour- 1/2 Cup at a Time.  (You can use All-Purpose, Bread, Wheat or a combination of any and all).  In all, I added Between 4-5 Cups Flour.  Once you have added a few cups of flour, add 1 tsp Kosher Salt.  Continue adding flour until dough is compact but soft and ever so slightly sticky to the touch.  If it is too dry, add a few Tbl Water now.  Once it feels right, knead for about 15-20 minutes until it feels springy and seems to have strands when pulled apart.  Remove the dough and shape into a ball.
Oil a large bowl.  Coat the dough with oil and cover the bowl with a damp cloth.  Let rise for 1 hour in warm place.  I turn on a heat lamp on my hood and place the bowl on a back grate location so the light shines on the cloth.
Remove dough from bowl and using a dough cutter, cut the desired size pieces.  Shape these by pulling the dough from the center, down the sides and under until it appears you have dough that is slightly sticky.  Place these on a floured cloth lined sheet pan to rest.  Cover them with the damp towel and place back under the light or in a warm spot for about 30 minutes.
To busy yourself, cleanup, preheat grill, and get oil ready.  You can see, I used Fresh Rosemary and Olive Oil.  When you are ready roll out the dough, shingle the disks on the sheet pan.  Oil and add Kosher Salt the dough and place on the hot grill, oil side down.  Oil and Salt the upward facing side.  Turn the bread over when it releases from the grill and cook the second side.  Turn again and cross mark the 1st side and then the second.  When it comes off the grill, Oil and add a Pinch of Kosher Salt to the upward facing side.
Cover the bread so it doesn't dry out and serve with your favorite meal.  If hosting at home, I would opt to grill while the bread is being eaten, straight off the grill.  Let me know how it goes for you!!

Teacher Appreciation Gift Ideas

Here is one of the ideas I have used in the past for the Sweet Treat Day.  I provide all the dry ingredients plus Madagascar Vanilla to bake something.  In this case, I like to use my Goo-Goo Bar recipe.  The Sugars are in 1 bag, the Flour, Salt, and Baking Soda is in 1 bag, and the Chocolate, Nuts, and Coconut is in 1 bag.  I include a recipe and all they need is 1 stick of Butter and 1 Egg.



My son writes a message to the teacher on the back of the recipe.  I buy small handled bags and I glue the recipe onto scrapbook paper.  I top it with colorful tissue to make a simple festive gift.  The Vanilla is the most expensive part at $8 at World Markets, but my guess is the entire gift is around $12 each.  This price allows me to thank more than just his teacher and recognize their endless efforts.  Once the Goo-Goo Bars are gone the teacher can still enjoy the Vanilla!
FYI- Goo-Goo Bar recipe is in my dessert section!!

Teacher Appreciation Week Gift Ideas

It's Teacher Appreciation Week for our school district.  It's nice to say thank you to your child's teacher without giving a coffee cup or a picture of your child.  I tend towards consumables because they can be enjoyed and in this case, re-created next year.  I like things that give lasting joy as well.
If you are stuck for a clever idea here's one you may like.  It's a Strawberry Pot filled with Herbs.  There are 2 sizes of pots and this one is the largest.  It has 9 holes and I like to finish the top with flowers.
To make this, begin planting the two bottom holes.  Place the roots on the inside and feed the herbs through getting them to stand upright.  Add dirt.  Plant the next herbs in the same fashion, adding dirt last.  Continue working your way to the top.  Add a 4" flower to the top.  Add dirt to fill it in and water well without a dish.
Here in the deep south where the sun is strong, I place mine on the steps to the kitchen from our carport.  This way it gets several hours of morning sun as well as several in the afternoon.   It needs to be watered each day and I rotate the pot 90 degrees upon watering.
What a treat it is to step outside the door with scissors and return with a fistful of herbs.  Some herbs that do well are chives, oregano, basil, parsley, lemon balm, thyme, sage, and lemon thyme.  See what's available and go for it.  You can even include a recipe using multi herbs with a note from your child on the back.

Parmesan Cheese Grater

If you need a gift for Mother's Day, this is an awesome idea!!  I use this tool, which resembles a file, to grate a fresh hunk of Parmesan Cheese over pasta dishes.  (I use it to grate Fresh Ginger, too.)  I typically wrap the cheese in deli-paper and bring it to the table, just like a restaurant.  It's absolutely delicious.  If you plan to get one, they can be found at local high end kitchen stores and Williams and Sonoma.  Don't forget the cheese to go with it; buy a fresh piece of real Parmesan Reggiano at the cheese counter.

Note:  This isn't a kids tool without strict training.  It will cut like a razor.