I have in my kitchen what one local chef tells me is “the kiss of death.”

“An electric range?” she asks. “How do you ever get anything done with one of those contraptions?”

Well, I told her, it’s getting easier. But it’s still an uphill battle.

Moving from my previous apartment meant leaving the luxury and reliable power of gas, where everything cooked evenly and the oven temperature was always spot-on. What a dream that was.

Now I’ve got this shifty nightmare with hardened coils in place of those glowing rings of blue flames.

Simple tasks, like using the broiler to brown things like garlic bread and Croque Monsieur, are super tricky. This broiler gets points for reaching temperature at the drop of a hat, yet it’s one hell of an overachiever, blackening everything in its path within a matter of seconds. How odd that the familiar scent of garlic, butter and bread turns to that other familiar odor of char and carbon the minute you turn your back to the stove. Kiss of death, indeed.

This is why I say thank goodness for blowtorches.

Though one can toast garlic bread without a broiler under normal oven settings, the drama of literally taking matters into your own hands is kind of therapeutic when your counter is lined with pans of blackened oblong shadows of the meal accompaniments they once were.

A blowtorch means angry flames shooting out of your fingertips to match the anger in your heart every time you pull a charred one from the broiler. It means victory.

So maybe I’m not skilled enough for the technology of an electric range yet, and maybe I have a bit of an inner pyro. But despite the kiss of death, I do have my garlic bread. (Click on “Read the rest of this entry” for recipe.)

Ample use of butter and cheese is what makes this accompaniment shine, so don’t be shy when using them. I like to use the French loaves over baguettes because you can cut them into generous pieces. You’ll get the best results if you use a pastry brush – butter will go on evenly and lightly, and you can add as much or as little as you like. If you don’t have one, crumble a hefty napkin or paper towel, dip it in the butter mixture and dab it on the bread. Work quickly though, so the paper towel won’t absorb too much of the butter.

SUPER GARLICKY PARMESAN BREAD
Yield: 1/2 loaf

• 1/2 loaf French loaf (5 to 6 inches diameter, 14 to 16 inches in length)
• 3/4 cup butter
• 8 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• Fresh ground pepper, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, preheat broiler or have a hardware-grade blowtorch at the ready. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
2. In a microwave-safe bowl, nuke butter until completely melted. Stir in minced garlic. With a pastry brush, brush butter and garlic mixture over bread. Sprinkle cheese over bread.
3. For oven: bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until cheese is a light golden brown. For broiler: It should take no more than 5 minutes to achieve a golden-brown color. For blowtorch: Pass flame up slowly and down length of bread until you achieve desired toastiness. Hold flame about an inch away from bread.
4. Sprinkle sea salt and pepper over bread and serve hot.

– Cynthia Furey

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 17th, 2009 at 1:00 am and is filed under Appetizers, In the kitchen, Side dishes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.