Equal Parts

A few weeks ago we were at dinner with our favorite two-year-old, and she had such a wonderfully direct ordering style. Upon the server’s first visit to our table, when I usually ask for “water, to start,” our favorite two-year-old turned her head straight up in the style of people under three feet tall, looked directly in the server’s eyes, and stated succinctly and purposefully “I want toast.” There was no menu opening, no inquiry into the daily specials, no starting with chocolate milk. She knew what she wanted, who to get it from, and exactly what to say. I believe that’s called girl power.

In actuality, our favorite two-year-old was completely on board with her dad’s suggestion that “two pieces of toast with cheese in the middle” was a better meal, and she later told her mom she had “mac and cheese,” so who really knows what went through her mind. I can only posit that, for a brief moment in time, she was imagining crispy crust and a chewy center crumb, caramelization, and drowning out the world with crunch upon crunch upon crunch upon crunch.

Maybe the toast of our favorite two-year-old’s dreams is made with basic white grocery store bread. Or, it could be a rustic country loaf with a thick crust, maybe a 48-hour fermented sourdough, an airy walnut loaf, or a dense whole-grain, seeded mix. Perhaps there are charred grill marks, and the slices have been rubbed with raw garlic. Or topped with nutella, or ricotta, or smashed avocado and crab, or cinnamon and sugar. Or just a butter square, placed in the center and slowly seeping to the edges.

One day our favorite two-year-old will grow up, and maybe in the summers after swim practice, on those first afternoons when she’s left home alone, she’ll make herself a lazy kids’ grilled cheese -- two pieces of white bread in the toaster, then topped with two slices of American cheese, quickly zapped in the microwave -- like I did. Maybe when she’s in college and learning to cook for herself, toast with scrambled eggs will be a staple dinner -- like it was for me. And when she’s living on her own in her twenties, and perhaps working at an artisan bakery, maybe she’ll learn -- like I learned -- that the only thing she wants to eat in August and September is open-faced tomato sandwiches on buttered rustic sourdough toast with nothing else other than sea salt.

To call toast my favorite food would be like declaring the Pacific Ocean my favorite beach. Favorite implies a specificity that clashes with the ubiquity of toast in my life, spanning across all ages and mealtimes. It’s been the basis of my most hurried, thrown-together, lazy-day meals, as well as my multiple-course, have-people-over, impressive dinners. To me, the only surprise about toast becoming a recent hip coffee shop offering is how long it took these shopkeeps to put it on the menu. I don’t think I’ll ever tire of the multitude of texture in each bite, and the creative opportunities each blank slice offers. For the rest of my life, with the conviction of our favorite two-year-old, “I want toast.”

MUSHROOM TOASTS

Slice your preferred artisan bread. For this purpose, I like a rustic white bread, sourdough, or baguette.

Toast according to your preferred method; I’m 50/50 on using the oven or stovetop, depending on what else I am preparing. Oven: Preheat to 350F. Brush both sides of bread with olive oil and lay on sheet tray. Toast until golden, flipping once, maybe about 10-15 minutes total, but keep an eye on it. Stove: Heat a flat pan to medium high heat. Brush both sides of bread with olive oil. Working in shifts if necessary, toast on flat pan until golden, flipping once, maybe about 10 minutes total, but keep an eye on it.

Meanwhile, saute mushrooms in olive oil, salt, and pepper until dark brown, shrunken, and all liquid evaporates.

Spread a thick layer of ricotta on each toast, cover with mushrooms, and top with whatever herb you have on hand. I like chives or sage. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Since mushrooms lose their heat quickly, it’s best to eat this right away.

My modified idea, to deal with the mushroom heat issue, is to spread just a thin layer of ricotta on each toast, top with mushrooms and herb as usual, then add a layer of shredded mozzarella and place under the broiler for maybe 30 seconds. But I’m scared of my broiler, so you let me know how this works out!