Grilled Focaccia

Brenna

I got a gas grill for my birthday and I have been grilling like it's my job! I think half the reason I wanted one was to make grilled focaccia, one of my favorite Brenna creations. I have made it three times in the past week, twice for friends. It's great because you can customize the toppings based on who you're feeding and it's so fun and easy to assemble them-- a perfect summer meal. When my sister makes the dough, she lets it go through all the rising cycles, then freezes it in balls in the freezer so that any day she wants to make grilled focaccia she only needs to thaw the dough and is ready to go. I'm going to try to always have some in my freezer this summer, too. Oh-- the other great thing is that this dough is just made in a stand mixer with the dough hook.

Focaccia Dough:
2 C water
2 T olive oil
1 T salt
1 1/2 t yeast
5 1/2 C flour

Mix water, oil, yeast, flour, and salt in a bowl in that order in a stand mixer on low speed ("Stir") with dough hook until it makes a ball. Feel the dough then. It should feel soft but not sticky or stiff. If it feels sticky, add flour and stir some more. If it feels stiff, add a little water and stir some more; it will take a minute, but the water will work itself into the dough.

When it feels nice, turn up the mixer a notch or two (to speed 2 or 4 on mine, I can't remember), and let it mix for a full minute to develop. Then pick the dough ball up out of the bowl, spray the bowl, and replace the dough into it to rise. Let rise one hour.

Fold the dough over on itself (instead of "punching" it), and let rise one more hour.

Cut the ball into 2 balls (or 4 tiny ones, or leave it as one huge one), and wrap each in plastic wrap and freeze-- or, if using immediately, cover and let rest 20 minutes and then use.

Grilling:
Heat gas grill to fairly high (heat all the way so it's good and hot, then turn down just a bit).

Pat each ball of dough out gently on a floured cutting board. Don't try to make it too thin, or work too hard to stretch it. (I've been cutting each recipe into two balls, so with a ball of dough that size, I find it's perfect if I pat it out to just smaller than the size of the board it's on.)

Thoroughly brush the top surface with olive oil, then generously season with salt and pepper.

Carry the whole board out to your grill. Pick up the dough quickly/gently with both hands and plop it oiled-side-down directly on your grill. Let it grill for about 3 minutes on that side while you thoroughly oil and generously season the top side. When the bottom side is cooked and slightly browned, grasp the focaccia with tongs (I think two pairs, one in each hand, works well) and flip it over on your grill.

If you want, brush with a little olive oil to mosten the top, then quickly top with whatever toppings you desire (see below for ideas) and close the grill for a couple minutes in order to finish cooking the bottom side and to soften/melt any cheese or toppings.

With a pair of tongs, slide the finished flatbread directly back onto its board, place the whole board on your table, and cut into squares with a big knife.

Topping Ideas:
(The possibilities are endless. Perhaps our favorite is the classic tomato-basil-mozz, but Bren and I (mostly her) brainstormed these other ideas.)

• sliced pear (or peaches) and brie (I LOVE this one)
• caramelized onions and brie
• cheese steak: caramelized onions and peppers and steak sliced against the grain on the focaccia, then drizzled after it comes off the grill with melted combination of mozzarella, cream, s, p, and dash of hot sauce
• goat cheese, roasted red pepper, fresh spinach
• sausage, pepperoni, mozzarella
• sliced meatloaf, barbecue sauce, cheddar
• pastrami, sauerkraut, then drizzled with thousand-island dressing when it comes off the grill
• buffalo chicken, with chopped celery and bleu cheese dressing added when it's off the grill
• artichokes, feta, olives, onions, tomatoes

Crepazes (Ham and Cheese Crepe Cake)

King Arthur

This recipe (pronounced cre-PAH-zays) was my favorite from a recent King Arthur crepes class. We've already made it a couple times since. It pairs great with pinot noir and a simple salad (we did arugula tossed in olive oil with some salt, with toasted pine nuts and shaved parm on top). It would also be a nice brunch item, I think.

crepes from Basic Crepes recipe, doubled; you'll need just 12 of them, so you'll have a few leftover for another use

11 thin slices good quality smoked ham

1 8-oz. container creme fraiche

1/2 C grated Gruyere cheese

Preheat oven to 375. Grease an 8-in. round cake pan.

Place a crepe in the bottom of the pan, then a slice of ham, then a tablespoon of creme fraiche. Follow this with another crepe, ham slice, and creme fraiche, and repeat this sequence until you've used up the ham, ending the stack with a crepe and the final smear of creme fraiche (but no ham).

Cover the pan with a sheet of aluminum foil and bake for about 15 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven and remove foil wrap. Unmold the "cake" onto an oven-safe serving platter or rimmed baking sheet. Cover the top of the cake with grated Gruyere cheese and return it to the hot oven to bake just until the cheese melts.

Serve the crepe cake cut into wedges.

Basic Crepes

This recipe for crepes is from King Arthur Flour via a crepes class I took there. (I have another crepe recipe on this blog, but this one here is our tried and true favorite we go to whenever we make crepes.) My son often requests them for his birthday breakfast. And while I am personally less and less keen on sweet breakfast items as I age-- I wouldn't mind if I never had another pancake or waffle--, I still fall for crepes every time. 

Here are a few of the things I've learned about making crepes well: 

• Count on the first one being less than perfect.
• They are a delicious, buttery way to enjoy so many possible accompaniments/fillings-- see the end of this post for our favorites. 
• They can be rolled, or folded in quarters, or other shapes.
• This is a recipe where the very few specific ingredients matter. (Once I wanted to make crepes when we were out of eggs, so I substituted a certain quantity of applesauce based on recommendations online. This substitution might work perfectly fine in a banana bread but it did not work for crepes; they wouldn't hold together, tasted odd, and were a waste of homemade applesauce.)
• One key is to do plenty of whisking, with the goal being to have as smooth and silky a batter as possible. (A Joy of Cooking recipe for crepes says-- in an uncharacteristically carefree statement for that book-- "Ignore the lumps; they will take care of themselves." But I've learned they never really do. Adding things gradually as you whisk is key.)   
• It seems to work fine to mix up the batter the night before and store in the fridge so you can go straight to cooking them up in the morning if you are so inclined/prepared to do so. 
• I don't have a crepe maker; we use a nonstick crepe pan that I am very happy with. 

Whisking milk into eggs

Straining batter through a sieve

Holding pan and swiveling it to spread batter immediately after pouring it into hot pan. 

Like snowflakes, no two crepes end up with the same design.

Squeezing fresh lemon juice on a lemon and sugar crepe

Rolled and dusted with confectioner's sugar

Basic Crepes

From King Arthur Flour

This recipe makes about eight 8-in. crepes. 

2 eggs 

1 1/2 C milk 

1/4 t salt (sea or regular, not kosher) 

1 C flour 

2 T unsalted butter, melted 

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, then add the milk while whisking. 

Gradually add in the salt and flour, whisking to combine. Do plenty of whisking, as the goal is to get rid of as many lumps as possible.

Whisk in the butter. Then dip a spoon in the batter and hold it up. If batter coats the spoon, it's good consistency; if it's too thick, add some milk, a couple teaspoons at a time. 

When consistency is right, strain the batter through a fine sieve into a fresh, lump-free bowl. Let batter rest at least 10 minutes to help smooth lumps. (They explained the flour is wet and the gluten is "knitting itself together.") 

Heat a lightly greased (nonstick spray is fine, as there's plenty of butter flavor in the crepes themselves) pan over medium-high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the pan, about 1/3 C at a time for each crepe. Tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly. It should be quite thin. 

Cook the crepe about 2 minutes, until the bottom is light brown. Loosen with a spatula, turn and cook the other side. Serve hot.

Our Favorite Ways to Enjoy Crepes:

Lemon and Sugar-- this was always on the menu when we took our trip to France several years ago. Its perfection is in its simplicity: just a generous squeeze of fresh lemon juice (about 1/4 of a lemon), and a sprinkle of granulated sugar all over. Even the kids love this one. We juice and sugar the whole crepe, then fold it in quarters. 

Nutella and Sliced Banana-- Who doesn't love Nutella?

Cream Cheese and Berries-- We smear the middle of a crepe with cream cheese, then spoon over that any combination of fruits. (Often, we use frozen fruit from the freezer-- strawberries, blueberries, cherries, etc-- and simmer it with a little cinnamon and sugar in a saucepan while we cook the crepes so it's warm and saucy by the time we sit down.) Roll up and dust with confectioner's sugar. 

 

Crepazes-- This savory ham and cheese crepe cake is delicious with a green salad for brunch, lunch, or dinner. Once the crepes are made, it goes together very quickly. 

Cream of Fiddlehead Soup

Anne

Gordie loves this soup. I don't get too worked up about it, but it's a nice way to use a handful of fiddleheads when they're in season once a year. We did not go foraging for ours; we bought them at the Co-op.

2 shallots, finely chopped

1 T butter

1/4 C finely diced carrots

1/4 C thinly sliced leeks, white part only

1 1/2 C fresh or frozen fiddleheads (1/2 C whole fiddleheads reserved for garnish if desired; I just put them all in the soup)

2 quarts chicken stock

1 C heavy cream or lighter milk

2 egg yolks

Remove skin off fiddleheads. Wash in cold water. Set aside.

Simmer shallots in butter in frying pan over medium heat until soft. Toss in carrots, leeks, and fiddleheads. Add stock, salt, and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil. Simmer 30 minutes.

Mix cream and egg yolks in blender, then pour into soup. Heat slowly; do not boil. (If you reserved 1/2 C fiddleheads for garnish, boil them now, uncovered, in salted water for 6 minutes, drain, and garnish on soup.)

Wine-Tasting Dinner, April '09

Lucky us! Brenna and Cassidy gave us a wine-tasting dinner as a recent gift and we cashed in on it last weekend. Here's what they dreamed up for wines and pairings, with the descriptors we came up with for each wine in parentheses (any especially descriptive descriptors likely came from my mom). There are no pictures for courses 4 and 5, between us forgetting to take them and it getting too dark out to get any good ones.

1. (France) 2007 Chateau Graville-Lacoste Graves Blanc (mineral, lemon, wet stone)-- with arugula tossed in Fondo di Toscana Tuscan extra-virgin olive oil, with shaved parmesan and toasted pine nuts



2. (France) Macon Villages White Burgundy (birch plywood, crisp)-- with creamed barley and vanilla-chardonnay-poached pear tucked in a crepe sprinkled with toasted almonds




3. (Sonoma-Mendocino) 2007 Angeline Pinot Noir (dried strawberry, overripe fruit, leather fruit, dried fruit)-- with grilled pork loin topped with creamed corn with bacon and onion




4. (Napa) 1994 (ooh-la-la-- this was one they'd been saving and were generous enough to share with us) Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon (moss, forest floor, earth, molasses, rotting log (in a good way))-- with New York strip steak on arugula with onion chutney and melted gorgonzola


5. (Spain) Brut Sparkling Wine-- with homemade strawberry sorbet in it

Parsley Pasta

Epicurious

This was super easy and was a perfect way to use up a bunch of fresh parsley in the fridge (which was what I set out to do when I found the recipe). Only half of the parsley butter is tossed with the pasta so you can halve the amounts, or make the whole recipe and use the other half for something else another time (we had it with steak and it was good-- it would be good with cooked vegetables as well).

Parsley Butter:

1 C (packed) coarsely chopped fresh parsley

2 t grated lemon peel (I used a splash of juice because I didn't have a lemon)

1 garlic clove, peeled

1/2 C unsalted butter, room temperature

Pasta:

1 lb. campanelle or similar

Finely chop parsley, lemon peel, and garlic in food processor. Add butter and process until well blended. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made ahead; cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before using.)

Cook pasta. Drain. Toss with half of parsley butter (about 1/3 C). Season with salt and pepper.

Huevos Rancheros

New Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook

Makes breakfast for two, with enough topping leftover to have it again, or use 7 tortillas and 8 eggs for breakfast for four people.

3 T olive or cooking oil

4 6-inch corn tortillas

1/2 C chopped onion (1 medium)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 14.5-oz. can diced tomatoes, drained

1/2 of a 4-oz. can diced green chile peppers, drained, or 1 or 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped

2 T minced fresh cilantro (+ more for garnish)

1/4 t ground cumin

4 eggs

shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese or crumbled queso fresco

small can sliced black olives

In a 12-inch skillet, heat 2 T of the oil. Dip each tortilla, one at a time, into the oil until hot. Drain tortillas on paper towels (not stacked), reserving oil in skillet. Keep 3 tortillas warm on a baking sheet in a 300-degree oven. Reserve remaining tortilla.

For salsa, in the same skillet cook onion and garlic 2 - 3 minutes or until tender. Stir in drained tomatoes, chile peppers, cilantro, and cumin. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Transfer mixture to blender or food processor. Blend to a coarse puree. Keep warm.

In the same skillet, heat remaining 1 T oil over medium heat. Carefully break eggs into skillet. When whites are set, add 1 T water. Cover skillet and cook eggs (3 - 4 minutes for soft-set or 4 - 5 minutes for firm-set yolks).

Place 1 1/2 warm tortillas on each of two dinner plates. Top each with two fried eggs. Spoon warm salsa over eggs. Sprinkle with cheese. Garnish with extra cilantro and sliced black olives.