Spoiled Baguette

Have you ever been so excited to be in Santa Barbara that you forgot your baguette in the car?

We did.  It was a bummer for sure when we got it out later and realized it was hard as a rock.

Holding it in one hand while the other hand naturally had fallen to the side gestured what a disappointment this was!  I was dazed almost in a transe with thoughts flooding my mind about this $3.00 bread stick.  It was my Easter Baguette; a celebratory snack.  Because eating white floured bread isn't something I let myself do very often.

Croutons somebody said.  "Huh, I guess we could make croutons," I thought to myself as if that was the only way to salvage it and pretend that we were helping the starving kids in Africa by eating the spoiled food rather than wasting it.  How those thoughts of justification come into our American psyches I'll never know.

Anyway Croutons is was and I will say... they were my favorite part of the Easter feast.  Artichokes made a quick second to the croutons.

Spoiled Baguette Croutons

Olive Oil

Fresh Pressed Garlic

Garlic Salt

Ground Pepper

Fresh Rosemary

1 Baguette

Chop the bread into slices and slice those slices until you have cubed squares somewhere between 1/2 inch and 1 inch.  Toss those in a steril plastic bag and throw in some freshly pressed garlic and olive oil.  Sprinkle on some garlic salt and fresh ground pepper.  Shake this all around so that the flavorful glaze is even.  Dump them out onto a pan that will go into the oven preheated at 350 degrees.  Arrange them nicely as you gently piece fresh rosemary flakes from your Summerland garden onto each crumb.  Its beautiful; it's gorgeous.  It's going into the oven and when it comes out after 3-5 minutes... you'll be in heaven.