Last night the Crouton King took off to have some guy time to play (*geek alert) Warhammer. This allowed me to have some much needed girly alone time. Of course to me this meant experimenting in the kitchen and a Lifetime movie(not the Crouton King's TV-watching of choice). Netflix had been so kind as to provide "Speak" with Kristen Stewart (better known as Bella from the Twilight movies). My sister and I had watched this movie before the whole Twilight hullabaloo. And I wanted to see Kristen Stewart at her Lifetime Movie finest sans Robert Pattinson once again. So I popped it in the PlayStation and waited patiently for it to load up...and waited...and waited...I searched for it...switched between users to try to find it...ejected it and put it back in...and waited some more. By this time, my patience was wearing thin. I stalked over to the PS3 and pulled out the disc. Turns out my plans with Kristen Stewart were not going to pan out as there was a huge crack through the DVD. Nerds! The perfect night without the Crouton King had a definite cramp in it's style. I however, went straight to the source...the Lifetime Channel...and watched me some TV for women. "Tell Me No Lies" had just started and it was dramatic, suspenseful, and of course a little cheesy-everything a Lifetime Movie should be.
Thankfully, I think my night in may have been saved anyway by the meal I had prepared- homemade flatbread, filled with falafel and a side of sweet potato fries. I was on a mission at the grocery store to find a delicious flatbread...thick, buttery and chewy. When I realized that was not in the cards at my local Giant, I decided to give making my own a try and this is what came out of it:
They were everything I had hoped and more- I got grill marks! I can never get grill marks to look authentic without a grill. In all their grill mark glory, I was worried that they only looked pretty so I decided to eat one while I rolled and cooked the others. Yum. They were thick and chewy, but not necessarily buttery (this of course could be solved by drizzling a little melted butter in). I would compare their flavor to Indian Naan bread.
Some may worry about the time it takes for dough to rise, but I made good use of this time and roasted up my sweet potato fries and prepped everything else for my flatbread so that no time was wasted waiting around. The dough was super simple to roll out especially with this handy little guy from Pampered Chef:
When my flatbreads were finished, I loaded one up with romaine, red onion, and cucumber and then topped it off with Trader Joe's falafel and Trader Joe's Greek Style Feta Dressing. I splashed my sweet potato fries on the side and went to town devouring this scrumptious meal.
This is what it looked like prior to the devouring:
Homemade Flatbread
(Recipe courtesy Kathleen Daelemans at foodnetwork.com)
- 1 package active yeast (or 2 and a 1/2 teaspoons of active yeast)
- 1/2 teaspoon of sugar
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon course salt
- 1 Tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- 3/4 cup warm water (more may be needed)
- 1 teaspoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2. Turn on the mixer to low and slowly pour in the water.
3. When the dough looks well formed, knead it in your hands for a couple minutes into a well formed ball.
4. Pour the olive oil over it and put in a bowl in a warm spot with a damp cloth over it. Allow it to double in size (about an hour).
5. Take some aggression out on the dough (punch it) and then knead it back into a smooth ball. Divide into approximately 8 pieces.
6. Roll the dough out into 5-6 inch small circles.
7. Preheat a stove top grill pan over medium high. Do not oil. Place bread on hot grill and cook without touching it until you see bubbles on the surface, about 1 to 2 minutes. Turn and continue to cook 1 to 2 minutes more or until bread has puffed up. Serve immediately.
Sweet Potato Fries
- Sweet potato
- 1 Tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper
2. Slice your sweet potato in half the short way and then stand it on it's newly flat side and cut it in half again. Then slice into thin wedges.
3. Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet covered with non-stick foil.
4. Cook for 35-40 minutes turning halfway through.
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