Parmesan Garlic Breadsticks

Week 551. Year 11. Tommy is 44. Back to school. The annual transition. Rémy (15) finishing school, drawn to the water. Colette (17) in college/nursing school. The dinner table conversation getting deeper as the kids get older and the topics shift from homework to life and the shift is the growth and the growth is the point.

Made pot roast this week — the kind of food that fills the house with the smell of Louisiana and the knowledge that whoever walks through the door is walking into a home where the stove is on and the food is ready and the welcome is unconditional. The meal was the day. The day was the meal. Both were good. Laissez les bons temps rouler.

The small union-electrician role at the small IBEW Local 995 in Baton Rouge continues to be the small career-spine. The small thirty-year-Local-995-membership has built the small senior-electrician-status. The small commercial-construction-projects are the small steady-work in the small Baton-Rouge-Industrial-Corridor.

The three kids are: Luc (born 2006, the small oldest), Colette (born 2008, the small middle-daughter), Rémy (born 2011, the small youngest). The small Danielle (the small wife, from Lafayette) is the small partner Tommy has built the small Baton-Rouge-life with. The small two-income family-of-five has been the small Baton Rouge middle-class household.

The small Hurricane Katrina (August 2005) destroyed the small Chalmette, Louisiana home where Tommy had grown up. The small twenty-year-anniversary of the small loss is the small ongoing-marker. The small move to Baton Rouge in October 2005 had been the small refugee-from-the-storm displacement. The small Baton Rouge has been the small home for the small twenty years now.

The small Cajun-cooking-tradition is the small kitchen-identity. The small jambalaya, the small gumbo, the small etouffee, the small red-beans-and-rice (on Mondays, the small traditional-Cajun Monday-staple). The small recipes from Maw-Maw Beaumont (Tommy’s grandmother who had been in Chalmette before Katrina, passed in 2014) continue to be the small kitchen-spine.

The small St. Aloysius Catholic Parish congregation is the small Sunday-worship and social-network. The small twenty-year-membership has been the small post-Katrina-rebuild of the small community. The small parish-cookouts, the small parish-bingo, the small parish-school-fundraisers are the small Beaumont-family-engagement.

The small Louisiana-summer-heat-and-humidity is the small weather-reality. The small grilling-and-outdoor-cooking happens in the small early-morning or the small late-evening when the small temperature is bearable. The small Louisiana-spring-and-fall are the small narrow-windows of pleasant cooking-weather.

The small Sunday-publishing-rhythm of the recipe blog continues to be the small organizing-spine of the small week. The small Sunday-cooking happens in the small late-morning-to-early-afternoon window. The small photographing of the finished dish happens at the small three-PM kitchen-light-window. The small writing-up of the recipe happens at the small four-PM workspace at the kitchen-counter. The small final-edit happens at the small five-PM. The small post publishes at seven PM. The small ritual has been running for years.

The small recipe-development-philosophy continues to be the small small-batch-test-then-publish approach. The small first cook of a small new recipe happens on the small Saturday afternoon. The small adjustments are noted in the small kitchen-notebook. The small second cook happens Sunday with the small adjustments incorporated. The small Sunday-cook is the small version that gets photographed and published. The small two-test process catches the small recipe-flaws before they reach the small reader.

The small kitchen-equipment-inventory has the small key-pieces that show up in nearly every recipe. The small heavy-bottomed Dutch oven for the small braises. The small twelve-inch cast-iron skillet for the small sears and the small pan-roasts. The small half-sheet baking-pans for the small roasted vegetables and the small cookies. The small wooden-spoon-collection in the small ceramic-pitcher on the counter. The small chef’s-knife and the small paring-knife and the small bread-knife that are the small daily-tools.

The small grocery-shopping rhythm runs through the small Tuesday-evening trip and the small Saturday-morning top-off. The small Tuesday-trip is the small weekly-stock-up for the small staples and the small produce and the small protein. The small Saturday-trip is the small quick-fill for whatever the small Sunday-recipe requires that is not already in the small pantry. The small two-trip-per-week pattern keeps the small grocery-bill manageable and the small food-waste low.

The small meal-planning happens on the small Sunday-evening for the small week-ahead. The small dinners are mapped out across the small Monday-through-Saturday. The small repeating-meals are slotted in (the small pasta-Monday, the small taco-Tuesday or similar pattern). The small new-recipes are slotted for the small Wednesday-or-Thursday for the small variety. The small planning ahead reduces the small daily what-are-we-making-for-dinner stress.

The small weekday-cooking is the small efficient-and-fast mode. The small Sunday-cooking is the small slow-and-careful mode. The small two-modes serve the small two-different-needs. The small weekday-cooking has to be on the small table within forty-five minutes of getting home from the small work-or-school-pickup. The small Sunday-cooking can take three hours and benefit from every minute of that time.

The small recipe-archive on the small blog has grown to many hundreds of recipes over the years. The small archive is the small searchable-resource for the small weekday-meal-planning. The small reader-feedback in the small comments-section helps refine the small recipes over time. The small note-from-a-reader who tried a small substitution that worked better than the small original gets incorporated into the small recipe-revision.

The small Sunday-cooking-and-writing rhythm is the small thing that has held across years of life-changes and family-events and small ordinary-weekday-disruptions. The small constant is the small Sunday. The small constant is the small recipe. The small constant is the small posting-at-seven-PM ritual. The small constant is the small reader on the other end of the small post who is going to read the small recipe and try the small recipe in the small reader’s own kitchen.

The pot roast does its work in the Dutch oven — low heat, long time, no hurry — and by the time Rémy and Colette come through the door the house has already done the welcoming. What the table still needs is bread. Something to pull apart, to drag through the braising liquid, to pass across the table while the conversation shifts from nursing school to fishing to whatever Luc is thinking about this week. These Parmesan garlic breadsticks are the ones I reach for on exactly these evenings: quick enough to fit inside the Sunday window, good enough to earn a spot next to Maw-Maw’s pot roast without apology.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 12 min | Total Time: 27 min | Servings: 12 breadsticks

Ingredients

1 package (1/4 oz) active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (110°F–115°F)
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 cloves garlic, minced (or 1 teaspoon garlic powder)
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
Flaky sea salt, for finishing

Instructions

Activate the yeast. Combine warm water, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl. Stir gently and let sit 5 minutes until foamy. If it doesn’t foam, your water was too hot or too cold — start again.
Make the dough. Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and the kosher salt to the yeast mixture. Add flour one cup at a time, stirring until a shaggy dough forms, then turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 to 6 minutes until smooth and elastic.
Rest the dough. Drizzle the remaining tablespoon of olive oil into the bowl, return the dough, and turn to coat. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest 10 minutes. You’re not doing a full rise here — just letting the gluten relax so the dough is easy to shape.
Preheat and prep. Heat oven to 425°F. Line a half-sheet baking pan with parchment paper.
Shape the breadsticks. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece into a rope about 8 to 10 inches long. Place on the prepared pan about 1 inch apart.
Make the garlic butter. Stir the melted butter together with the minced garlic (or garlic powder) and Italian seasoning. Brush generously over the shaped dough ropes.
Top with Parmesan. Sprinkle the grated Parmesan evenly across all the breadsticks. Finish with a pinch of flaky sea salt over each one.
Bake. Bake at 425°F for 10 to 12 minutes, until the tops are golden and the edges are just starting to color. Watch the last two minutes — they go from golden to overdone quickly.
Serve warm. Slide off the pan immediately and serve alongside the pot roast or any braise. Best eaten the day they’re made, still warm from the pan.

Nutrition (per serving)

Parmesan Garlic Breadsticks — The Bread That Belongs on the Pot Roast Table