Croissant croutons

It isn't often that I have left over croissants because it isn't often that I actually eat a croissant. I love them, who doesn't, but honestly, flaky goodness and butter?  Do we need that? Does anyone need the shattering layers of tender yet crisp pastry infused with sweet butter, layers after layers with a tender, moist bready inside......

OK, let's move along here.  Sunday I met Gabe in Novato at Rustic Bakery for what we called the "Butter Buffet."  Seriously, everything we ordered was like a brick of butter wrapped in some pastry dough.  It was all so, so delicious.  We ate everything, shards of pastry all over our shirts.  (Actually I was the only one with pastry all over my shirt, as is usually the case.)  We acknowledge that the next time we will order a salad or at least something with color other than the 50 shades of tan that our pastries produced.  Seriously, major thumbs up for that place.

But when we left I had a half of a croissant left over.  A half.  Like we couldn't have just admitted we were butter junkies and finished it off.  But no, I had to bring it home.  Now, we all know that a half croissant has no place in the world.  It has no future.  It has no point.  It reheats terribly.  But its original incarnation was so splendid that I hesitated to toss it into the garbage can.  I kept it until today, two days after its inception.  And I was so glad I did because I turned that little devil into yummy, buttery, crispy croutons for my salad!

This week I have been working the 3:00 - 9:30 shift, which I hate.  The reasons I hate it will be spelled out in another post, they are not relevant here, but I had to mention the hate factor.  When I work these shifts I usually bring a salad along, as I did today.  I took that croissant half, chopped it up and nuked it in the microwave for a  minute.  That's all it took!  The old yet still active butter cells mingled with the old flour pastry and all the little bits got crisp and crouton-like.  Cooled for a few minutes and then tossed onto my salad they  were the perfect croutons!  Crisp, light yet substantial and I didn't have to feel the guilt about throwing away that half croissant!

So there it is.  I suppose you could toast them in the oven if you didn't have a  microwave, which I do not possess, but since most work places have such a device, you can make these tasty morsels anywhere.  Pop them on your salad or just eat them like popcorn.  Good stuff.

And yes, I realize this is a dumb posting but hey, who cares, right?  Movies to follow.

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