Easiest Foccacia Bread

 

     I love making Foccacia bread. It is so incredibly easy and tasty. While I love loading it with vegetables and cheeses (think pizza but better), it's a bread that you can really make your own. 

     Foccacia can be as simple as herbs and olive oil or as complicated as the photo above. If that looks as yummy to you as it does to me find the instructions down below.

Focaccia for Two (or more)

1 cup all purpose flour 

½ packet of rapid rise yeast

2 ½ tablespoons of warm water (110 degrees)

4 pinches of sugar

3 teaspoons of olive oil

Toppings

½ Red onion (chopped)

Basil

Cherry tomatos

Garlic powder to taste (or 2 garlic cloves)

3 table spoons of mozzerella grated (or to taste)

Italian seasoning

Pinch of salt

     Combine the yeast and two and a half tablespoons of water with four pinches of sugar. Allow it to sit somewhere warm for about 10 minutes.

     Preheat your oven to 450 for an electric oven. Between 400 – 425 for a gas oven.

    The yeast will eat the sugar. You may see a small bubbles forming as the yeast activates. The next step is to combine the sugar, water, and yeast mixture with the flour. Slowly add in water until it begins to form sticky dough. Once you have a nice ball of sticky dough transfer it to a greased bowl and allow it to sit somewhere warm for thirty minutes. (I left it on my oven as I preheated it.)

     Over the next half an hour you will see your dough double in size.

     Take two teaspoons of olive oil and grease your pan. When your half an hour is done take your dough ball and stretch it across your pan. Now it is time for the toppings. You can add whatever your like. Place the above on for a great focaccia bread.

     Garlic powder (optional, I actually prefer to use 2 garlic cloves or more. I am a firm believer you measure the amount of garlic with your heart.), Italian seasoning, onions, grated cheese and a pinch of salt.

  

     Cook for 15-20 minutes in an electric stove. Since I was working with a gas oven my focaccia was baked in 10. Remember to watch your oven to not over cook the bread. All ovens are a little different, but when it's done it will look browned and crisp.

     Once it comes out of the oven place it on a cooling rack and drizzle lightly with the remaining teaspoons of olive oil. Once cool to the touch serve and enjoy. Thanks for reading and happy baking!

Tuscan Salmon, Yum!

 

Quarantine hit in March. Even for those of us who were lucky enough to keep our jobs it wasn’t an easy things. Although my job was protected I lost my second job which helped me a great deal monetarily. As for my first job I found myself work less than I previously had. Another personal change that happened at the same time is I made the leap to move in with my boyfriend right before lock down. We have different tastes and different diets. A lot of adjusting came with quarantine for both of us.

Without me this guy would eat nothing but meat. If I tried to feed him vegetables he would tell me, “You’re feeding me my food’s food,” while I over the past few years almost never ate meat and stuck to a lot of vegetables and gluten free pastas. Meat for the most part never came packaged for one and eating pork chops for a week even for 7.00 dollars never sounded appealing.

For today’s recipe and one he and I both agree is amazing, Tuscan Salmon. It’s super fast and easy. So perfect for a mid week night. The best part about this recipe is that the ingredients can be used for a variety of things. While they may be an initial investment all of them will last for months if its only for one or two people. Plus it’s delicious.

Honestly I cook this in my 12 in deep skillet by Farberware. The first step is to place enough butter to lightly coat the bottom of the pan. While that’s heating up season the salmon front and back with salt and pepper. When you go to fry the salmon make sure you start skin down so it gets nice and crisp.

Once our salmon is cooked remove it from the pan and set it aside. Usually around this point the water for the pasta is starting to boil. Add another table spoon of butter to the skillet and throw in frozen vegetables (these have been a staple during the pandemic, plus we almost never eat the amount we’d buy fresh or frozen in one sitting.). Peppers and onions are a must I usually place in enough to just coat the bottom of the pan. Give it a stir and then leave it alone for a few minutes.

While that’s heating throw your pasta into the pot. Once the vegetables are soft and the onion becomes fragrant add in two teaspoons of sun dried tomatoes. Stir and just let them cook for a minute. You’ll notice the wonderful fragrance of tomatoes in the kitchen. At that point it’s time to add the cream and the spices. This part of the recipe can be adjusted. The recipe below gives a slightly thicker sauce and it for two people. However, the great thing about this recipe is that it’s adjustable and forgiving. Feeding more people? Add more vegetables, cream, and Parmesan. Want a thicker sauce? You’ll have the ability to watch and adjust as it heats. The one trick to making a great and smooth cream sauce is to stir it as it heats. This will keep the sauce from separating. Plus in order to melt cheese correctly the cream should not boil. Also fresh spinach makes a great addition. To add it once the sauce is made throw it in and stir. It will cook down quickly and be ready to serve. Happy Cooking! We will all get through this together, deliciously.

Cream Sauce

1 cup of Light/ Heavy Cream (Heavy cream will help lend to a thicker sauce, but both will work for this recipe. I have also substituted half and half as well which works just fine.)

2 Tablespoons of butter

1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon of pepper

1 teaspoon of garlic

½ teaspoon of cayenne

1 teaspoon of Herbs de Provence (or Italian Seasoning)