Focaccia

 Yum! Crisp chewy crust, airy soft center and amazing garlic rosemary topping. natashaskitchen.com Uses generous amounts of olive oil, dough rests 4 times; but well worth it! There is a video, so you cannot go wrong!  Keeps 2 days loosely covered at room temperature. May freeze for 2 months, thaw at room temperature and reheat at 350-degrees for 8 minutes uncovered. Serves 12.

Ingredients for Dough:

• 1 1/2 cup warm water, 105-115 degrees
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 packet rapid rise yeast
• 3 3/4 flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon EVO, for the dough
• 1/4 cup EVO, for the pan

Ingredients for the Topping:

• 2 tablespoon EVO
• 2 tablespoon water
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped

Directions:

Proof the yeast:

Pour warm water (105-115 degrees) into a measuring cup and stir in 1 teaspoon honey. Stir in 1 packet of yeast and proof for 5-7 minutes on until surface is foamy. 

Make the Dough:

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and salt.

Pour in the yeast mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until no dry flour remains. Dough will be sticky. I did add a tad more flour, mine was super sticky. 

Add 1 tablespoon EVO and use your hands to work the oil into the dough until fully absorbed. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and rest at room temperature for 30 minutes until visibly puffed.

Make the topping:

In small bowl combine all the ingredients for topping and whisk. Set aside so flavors meld.

Use the stretch and fold method to develop gluten strands. Dip your hands in water to prevent sticking.

Pull up on corner of the dough gently without tearing the dough then fold over onto itself. Rotate the bowl and continue this process 3 more times. Do four stretches and folds.

Cover with plastic wrap and rest 30 minutes at room temperature.

Perform this process 3 more times, letting it rest covered for 30 minutes each time.

Pour 1/4 cup EVO into a 9x13 baking pan. 

Transfer the dough to the oiled pan and turn to coat in oil. Gently stretch the dough to the edges. If having difficulty stretching, cover and let it rest 15 miutes before working the dough to the edges.

Cover and proof 45-60 minutes until well risen and puffy.

dip hands into cold water and use your fingertips to poke into the focaccia, going almost through the dough. Go over the dough a couple of times to get a generous amount of dimples. Release any big air bubbles trapped under the dough by gently lifting the dough at the edge.

Rewhisk the topping and drizzle evenly ove the top.

Bake at 450-degrees for 25 minutes. You want a crisp edge. Immediately transfer to a wire rack so base does not softened. Rest 10 minutes before slicing.

Sloppy Bombay Joes

 

This recipe is Courtesy of Aarti Sequeira on Food Network. The reviews were great and I had some burger buns in freezer. I omitted the sweet red pepper and used jalapeno instead of serrano chili. Aspen Moon jalapeno this year were large and spicy, so used just 1/2 in the sauce. I substituted the garam masala for Baharat blend from The Spice House, which has some of the same ingredients.

Ingredients for the Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon ginger, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 jalapeno pepper, chopped
• 1 teaspoon Baharat blend
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
• 1 cup water
• salt

Directions for Sauce:

Warm the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, until it shimmers. 

Add the ginger, garlic and jalapeno pepper. Saute till the ginger and garlic just barely brown.

Add the Baharat and paprika and saute 30 seconds.

Stir in the tomato sauce and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered, until thickened, about 15 minutes. Salt to taste. Set aside.

Ingredients for the Meat:

• 3 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup shelled pistachios
• 1/4 cup golden raisins
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/2 large onion, diced
• salt
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1/2 teaspoon honey
• 1/4 cup half and half
• fresh cilantro 

Directions for the Meat:

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in large skillet. When oil starts to shimmer, add the pistachios and raisins. Cook until raisins swell up and pistachios toast slightly. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add remaining olive oil to pan and once shimmering, add the cumin seeds and cook till fragrant. 

Stir in the onion and cook till just starts to brown. Season with salt.

Stir in the ground turkey, breaking up the large lumps. Cook until opaque, about 5 minutes.

Add the sauce to the turkey mixture, bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes. Turn off heat.

Add the honey, half and half, pistachios and raisins. Adjust salt. 

Toast buns, fill with the Sloppy Joe and garnish with cilantro.

Printed

Homemade Ricotta

 

Barbara and I took another cheese making class! This was a bit easier than the Burrata class we took earlier in the year. And man this is good! In the class we halved the recipe, using only 1/2 gallon whole milk and it made quite a bit. Thinking of doing the same when I attempt the recipe solo. The ingredients below are for the full recipe. Eat this ricotta warm on crackers ( you can allow to sit out once made ); as once placed in refrigerator it firms up some. Add fresh herbs, pesto, pinenuts or use in your favorite recipe. Ricotta maybe frozen, just unthaw in refrigerator. Freezing makes the ricotta drier. 1 gallon milk equals about 4 cups ricotta

Ingredients:

• 1 gallon whole milk ( unlike the burrata, quality of milk not an issue)
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2-3 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
• salt, if using unsalted butter
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Directions:

Rub the bottom of your pan with an ice cube. Makes clean up easier!

Pour milk into pan with, insert your thermometer and heat to 185-degrees. Stirring regularly.

At 185 degrees, stir in the apple cider vinegar. Stir for about 1 minute. Curds should start to separate from the whey. Continue stirring and heat to 190-195 degrees. If needed add another teaspoon of vinegar.

Once curds form, ladle them out into you cheesecloth (butter muslin) lined strainer. Keep ladling the curds as they form into the cheesecloth. Grab edges of cheesecloth and bounce gently to drain, You can pour the rest of the whey into the cheesecloth to get last bits of curds. The whey will start to look yellow and clear when process is done.

Once curds are well drained, place in bowl and add butter and baking soda. Salt to taste.

That is it!

Mini Crustless Quiches

 Courtesy of Jaymee Sire. These little gems maybe made ahead, refrigerated for up to 3 days of frozen. I switched out the chard for fresh baby spinach, 3 scallions for the medium yellow onion and omitted the 6 ounces of mushrooms. As you can tell, totally customizable. These made 24 mini quiches using a mini muffin tin plus some leftover; which I cooked up in a skillet for lunch. 

Ingredients:

• Nonstick cooking spray ( I just used a silicon brush & canola oil)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3-4 scallions, both white & green parts, thinly slice
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bunch fresh baby spinach, stems removed, chopped
• 6 ounces mushroom, cut into bite size pieces ( did not use this round)
• 12 eggs
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated, plus extra to sprinkle on tops
• 2-3 dashes hot sauce
• salt, pepper & I used some Chili Rub spice mix

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375-degrees. Spray or use brush to grease muffin tin cavities with vegetable oil. 

Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and once heated add the olive oil. Add the scallion and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minutes. At this point I added 1/2 teaspoon chili rub. Add the spinach and mushrooms (if using) and cook until spinach wilts and mushrooms release their moisture. About 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

In a bowl with a spout, whisk the eggs with the 1/4 cup Parmesan and add few dashes of hot sauce. Season with salt and pepper. 

Evenly divide the spinach mixture between muffin cups. Pour the egg mixture over the top, filling the muffin cavities. Sprinkle more Parm on tops.

Bake about 18 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

Perfect Rice in the Oven

 

This rice recipe goes with Curry Chicken courtesy of Kwame Onwuachi from Food Network. I have yet to make the curry chicken, but in future plans. The rice, however, I have made and it is delicious. Made with Jasmine Rice, but would like to try other types of rice.

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup Jasmine rice
• 1 1/2 cup water
• pinch of salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350-degrees.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the rice. Stir to coat and toast. About 2 minutes. 

Add the water and pinch of salt. Bring to a boil. Cover with lid.

Put in oven for about 18 minutes.

Fluff with a fork.

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Pork & Rice Noodle Soup

 

Think savory pork, crunchy vegetables, filling noodles and a tangy broth. Completely customizable; feel free to swap out the pork for chicken or beef. The rice noodles will expand as the soup sits or refrigerated so add more stock or water to thin it out to the consistency you desire. I added  a little Sweet Red Chili sauce to spice up.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 ounces mushrooms, stems removed, thinly sliced
• 3 medium carrots, chopped (I added an extra carrot, did not use red bell pepper)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
• sweet red chili sauce, to taste
• 3 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 pound ground pork
• 8 cups chicken broth (I did not use quite as much)
• 6 ounces flat rice noodles
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• toasted sesame seeds

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering.

Add the mushrooms, carrots, 1 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Stir occasionally until vegetables are softened. About 4 minutes.

Add the garlic, ginger and scallions, stirring until softened. About 2 minutes.

Add the pork, 1 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Cook breaking up the pork, stirring occasionally until pork is no longer pink.

Pour in the broth ( I used less than called for). Bring to a boil and add the soy sauce, vinegar and sweet chili sauce. Adjust salt and pepper.

I think the soup at this point is best to cool and sit in the refrigerator overnite so the flavors meld.

Cook the rice noodles according to package directions. 

Reheat the soup to simmer for 10 minutes until hot.

Place noodles in the bottom of soup bowls and ladle the soup on top.

Garnish with sesame seeds, more chopped scallions and sweet chili sauce to taste.

Christmas Salad

 

This makes a beautiful holiday centerpiece; as the citrus dressing goes in a bowl and the salad is arranged around the dressing to look like a wreath. I used 2 containers of butter lettuce and amount served 8 friends.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pecan halves
• 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons honey
• greens of choice to feed 8
• 2 navel oranges, peeled, pith removed and in sections
• 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup olive oil 
•  feta or chevre, crumbled, amount to taste

Directions:

Toss the pecans with the pumpkin pie spice, 1/4 teaspoon salt and few grinds black pepper. 

Add mixture to a nonstick skillet and heat over medium heat, tossing frequently, until spices begin to brown and become fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Drizzle 1 tablespoon honey, cook, stirring constantly, until honey begins to caramelize and the pecans are well coated. About 1-2 minutes.

Transfer to plate, making sure pecans are in an even layer and not stacked on top of each other. Let cool.

Place a small bowl that will hold 1 cup, in the center of a large platter. Arrange the greens of choice around the center bowl. 

Whisk the vinegar, Dijon, remaining honey (I used a little more, to taste), 1/4 teaspoon salt and few grinds pepper. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until emulsified. Pour into the small, center bowl.

Cut the orange sections in half.  Whisk the vinegar, Dijon, remaining honey (I used a little more, to taste), 1/4 teaspoon salt and few grinds pepper. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until emulsified. Pour into the small, center bowl.

Whisk the vinegar, Dijon, remaining honey (I used a little more, to taste), 1/4 teaspoon salt and few grinds pepper. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until emulsified. Pour into the small, center bowl.

Scatter the pecans, orange pieces and feta evenly on top of the greens.