One of my favorite things to do at the organic grocery stores is pick up out something new from the shelves and bring it home.  My second favorite is making everyone at dinner try it with me.

My experimentation doesn’t take place in regular grocery stores.  I think it’s the idea of exotic foods being gourmet if they come from organic grocery stores.  If I were to get experimental in a regular grocery store, I’m almost afraid of what I might grab.  Pickled pigs feet?  Veggie spread cheese slices that aren’t real cheese… or real food?

I’m a firm believer of trying new things at mealtime.  It’s how we’ve become lovers of kale in our soup, countless German products, and most recently – mascarpone cheese.  Have you ever tried this stuff?  Oh my.  We’re eating it by the tub.  Books call marscapone an Italian cream cheese, and I like the sound of that.  I could raise my arm at the table and shout in a booming, cheerful voice, “Martinia!  (You know – ‘Martin’ gone Italian.)  Martinia!  Fetcha me-a the marscapone!”

He’d probably respond in a dry voice, “It’s already next to you, Katie.”

And he’d be right.  Chances are we would already have a bit of mascarpone on the table.

To me, mascarpone tastes like a tangier cream cheese.  It’s really smooth and not too sweet.  You won’t mind getting a little on your fingers now and then.  In fact, you might even try to get some on your fingers.

What about finding it outside of the US?  Or Italy for that matter?  Well I know mascarpone is sold in German grocery stores.  We were looking for it in 2007… in the produce isle.  Clearly we had no idea what we were looking for when we left Martin’s grandmother’s house to get the groceries.  If only we could have known that sweet piece of heaven could be useful for so many wonderful foods.

…wonderful foods like these breadsticks.  Adapted from the book, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, these breadsticks are delicious dipped in mascarpone cheese.  They’re also good by themselves, dunked in marinara sauce, or baked with a little seasoning.  We’ve swapped for different types of flour like rye, wheat flour, and chickpea, making the dough half all-purpose.  They aren’t quite as fluffy and flavorful, so consider sticking to all-purpose white flour your first time around.

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Breadsticks

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp instant yeast
sprinkle of sugar
1 tsp salt
2/3 c warm water
2 tbl extra virgin olive oil
cornmeal for rolling (optional)
kosher salt for sprinkling (optional)
sesame seeds for sprinkling (optional)

1. Combine dry ingredients in a food processor and pulse briefly.  If you don’t have a food processor, you can easily make this dough in a bowl.  It just takes a bit more work.

2. Once dry ingredients are combined, add half of the water while machine is running.  Continue to add water a bit at a time until the flour mixture becomes damp and slowly rolls itself into a ball.

3. Pour olive oil in a bowl, spread it around, and place the ball of dough in the center.  Cover bowl with plastic and let sit for an hour in a warm place.  Then put in the fridge over night.

4. The next day, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C).  Split the dough into two pieces.  Roll one out to 1/4″ thick, and cut breadsticks.  (A pizza cutter works especially well)  You’ll want to make your cuts 1/4″ to 1/2″ thick.  The thinner they are, the more fun they are to eat because they’ll have a nice little crunch.

5.  Grease a baking sheet with olive oil, sprinkle on cornmeal, and add breadsticks about 1/4″ apart.  They won’t rise any measurable amount, so yo don’t have to worry about them sticking together.

6.  Brush breadsticks with olive oil and sprinkle on kosher salt and sesame seeds as desired.  Bake until crisp, about 12 to 18 minutes.  Cool and serve with mascarpone.  Breadsticks last five days when stores in an airtight container.

Optional: Add herbs to the flour mixture in Step 1 such as rosemary or thyme or grated Parmesan cheese.

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“Martinia, the breadsticks!  Pass ‘em a to me!”  And when he does:  ”Danke.”  I love these things.

(Oh – and here’s a basic recipe for a mascarpone substitute if you can’t find it.)

Happy baking.  And a happy weekend, everybody!