Happy Weekend!

July 18 2008 by Kristin at The Kitchen Sink in Hors D'Oeuvres,Recipe » 11 comments

Before the bar exam, I used to love the weekends. Looooove the weekends, I should say. Live for them, actually. A dinner out here, an hour on the couch there; a leisurely walk; plenty of grocery shopping and cooking and baking … and the list goes on. A mainstay of these kicked-back weekends is lunch. It generally involves a two-fisted-type of sandwich. Sometimes they’re from our very own kitchen: panini-ed in the grill pan, passed under the broiler or eaten cold. Other times they are retrieved from our wide selection of neighborhood sandwich shops. But they’re always delicious, and flanked by a generous pile of whatever potato chip I’m currently loving (at the moment: these).

These days, though, weekends just mean studying. More studying. And, while I can pull myself away for long enough to eat (believe you me), I can’t really justify a long walk to the sandwich shop or a trip to the market for sandwich ingredients. So we’ve been making do with whatever we have around. And I have to say, the lunches we’ve been cobbling together with pantry and fridge odds-and-ends have been wonderful. Stellar, even. I hardly even miss the sandwiches (except for Goddess & The Grocer‘s California Dreamin’; I definitely miss that one).

(Click “more” for the rest of the story, more photos & the recipe.)

The clear star of our smörgåsbord-style lunches (I am a fraction Swedish and thus like to use that word as much as possible, which is more often than you’d think) has been these pita chips. I’ve been baking pita chips for some time and they’re great and all, but for a recent Saturday smörgåsbord (see! twice in one post!) we had the stroke of brilliance to grill them. This technique is not only brilliant because it means Kevin does all the work (he’s the resident griller). It’s also brilliant because it manages to achieve the elusive pita chip texture that the oven often misses: crackly on the outside, but warm and chewy on the inside. Then there’s the matter of the flavor: kissed with olive oil, cumin, sea salt and the smoke of the grill. We’ve had quite a streak going with them: several weekends running. My only fear is that they’ll always remind me of the bar exam. Which, in case you’re wondering, is not very appetizing. Unlike these pita chips.

Happy weekend! May it be filled with mish-mash lunches and free of studying. Sigh.

Grilled Pita Chips

2 pitas
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt

Prepare the grill. Meanwhile, combine the cumin, paprika and sea salt in a small bowl. Next, brush both sides of the pitas with the olive oil. Sprinkle the cumin mixture over both sides of the pitas. Grill the pitas for 2 to 3 minutes per side. Cut into wedges and serve warm, preferably with your favorite hummus.

11 comments so far. »
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Dawn says on July 18 2008 at 9:15 am:

I feel your pain. My fiance is studying for the bar right now, too. hang in there!
cookinpanda says on July 18 2008 at 1:29 pm:

My first time visiting. I really like the simple and organized nature of your blog. And, these chips look great!
gkbloodsugar says on July 18 2008 at 1:37 pm:

The simplest of things, eh? Looks great, and I’ll bet the cumin means it smells even better.
Becky says on July 18 2008 at 1:59 pm:

gah. these look so tasty! nice photos.
Nate says on July 18 2008 at 3:23 pm:

Excellent! If you can bake it, you might as well grill it and add the extra grilling flavors. Well done.
Annie says on July 18 2008 at 5:10 pm:

Hummm… those look great! For a sweet twist, you can try them with cinnmon and sugar. I do the same thing but brush with melted butter instead and then dip it into a mix of cinnamon and sugar. Oh, it is soooo good.

You can eat it on its own or with some vanilla ice cream.
Ronni says on July 18 2008 at 10:21 pm:

These look very good and I’ll have to try them, but I’m more focused on the hummus. That is hummus, right? Is it your recipe?
redmenace says on July 19 2008 at 6:15 pm:

I’m impressed. When I studied for the bar, I developed an ulcer and had to eat bananas and rice for 3 months!

Good Luck! Join us lawyer food bloggers!
Mansi says on July 19 2008 at 11:31 pm:

pita chips are my fav snack too, but never thought of grilling them! thanks for the idea:) btw, it’d be great if you could send these in for my healthy cooking event!
Kristin at The Kitchen Sink says on July 20 2008 at 8:53 pm:

Dawn: I sometimes feel worse for people like you and my husband, for having to put up with the studiers. But the exam is so close now. I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel!

cookinpanda: Welcome! Hope you come back soon.

gkbloodsugar: Yes! The cumin’s scent is irresistible. I think it’s my favorite spice.

Becky: Thanks!

Nate: We’ve definitely been following the “if you can bake/saute/roast/etc it, let’s try grilling it” approach this summer. It’s been fun.

Annie: Great idea. Sounds like one of the Stacy’s brand pita chip flavors.

Ronni: It is indeed hummus, but it’s store-bought. I adore Basha and Sabra is good too. I’ve tried hummus at home a few times and it never lives up. I really like a creamy, whipped texture and mine have come out to grainy and coarse.

redmenance: Oh no! That’s terrible. There are a good number of lawyer food bloggers aren’t there? I’ve notice that.

Mansi: Thanks for your comment. It looks like the link’s not working. If you’d like, you can email me the link and I’ll fix it.
S says on December 26 2008 at 11:45 am:

You could place an online order @ http://www.goddessandgrocer.com/site/epage/41950_628.htm