Manchego Foccacia

It's not a secret that I love cheese. So it's not uncommon to find me perusing the cheese cooler at our local market. I swear I come home with at least one block of cheese each time I go there, regardless of what my original reason for going there was. So, this beautiful block of Manchego has been sitting in my fridge for a week or so. I was looking for an EASY bread to make with my cheese and came across this recipe from Tyler Florence for his "Fabulous Focaccia." Any recipe that has the word 'fabulous' in its title is worth a shot.

I must say, in one word, this foccacia was FABOOSH (a la Perez Hilton). So easy, so yummy. The manchego crisped up on top and provided a sharpness that paired so well with some Chicken Sausage, Kale and White Bean Soup. I'd love to make this again with something like aged white cheddar. I'd also like to try Tyler's recipe as is, which included a topping of caramelized onions, rosemary and parmesan.

2 teaspoons rapid-rising dry yeast
1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons sugar
3 1/2 to 4 cups flour
1 tablespoon coarse salt
1/4 cup olive oil
Cornmeal, for dusting

1 C Manchego cheese
2 Tbsp dried oregano

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook, proof the yeast by combining it with the warm water and sugar. Stir gently to dissolve. Let stand 3 minutes until foam appears. Turn mixer on low and slowly add the flour to the bowl. Dissolve salt in 2 tablespoons of water and add it to the mixture. Pour in 1/4 cup olive oil.

When the dough starts to come together, increase the speed to medium. Stop the machine periodically to scrape the dough off the hook. Mix until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes, adding flour as necessary.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface and fold over itself a few times. Form the dough into a round and place in an oiled bowl, turn to coat the entire ball with oil so it doesn't form a skin. Cover with plastic wrap or damp towel and let rise over a gas pilot light on the stovetop or other warm place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

Coat a sheet pan with a little olive oil and corn meal. Once the dough is doubled and domed, turn it out onto the counter. Roll and stretch the dough out to an oblong shape about 1/2-inch thick. Lay the flattened dough on the pan and cover with plastic wrap. Let rest for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Uncover the dough and dimple with your fingertips. Brush the surface with more olive oil and then add the manchego cheese. Sprinkle with the oregano and bake on the bottom rack for 15 to 20 minutes.

Chicken Caesar Salad Pizza

Matt had wanted to make chicken caesar salads with a grilled chicken breast that was in the fridge. I was craving carbs so I decided to make a pizza out of it. The crust was light and thin and the caesar ranch I drizzled over the top was refreshing with the fresh lettuce.

1 recipe of pizza dough, see below
1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast
Southwest or other blended seasoning
6 oz lite cream cheese
1 C mozzarella cheese
1/3 C parmesan cheese
Handful of grape tomatoes, halved
Handful of button mushrooms, roughly chopped
1/4 C Ken’s Lite Caesar dressing, plus 3 tablespoons
1/4 C lite Ranch dressing
1 Tbsp half and half cream
Romaine lettuce, chopped, for topping the pizza

First, make the pizza dough, as it needs to rise for about an hour or so in a warm spot. The pizza dough is from Giada, via Epicurious.

3/4 cup warm water (105°F to 115°F)
1 envelope active dry yeast
2 cups (or more) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon sugar 3/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 Tbsp dried oregano
1 Tbsp garlic powder

Pour 3/4 cup warm water into small bowl; stir in yeast. Let stand until yeast dissolves, about 5 minutes. Brush large bowl lightly with olive oil. Mix 2 cups flour, sugar, and salt in processor. Add yeast mixture and 3 tablespoons oil; process until dough forms a sticky ball. Transfer to lightly floured surface. Knead dough until smooth, adding more flour by tablespoonfuls if dough is very sticky, about 1 minute. Transfer to prepared bowl; turn dough in bowl to coat with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Season the large chicken breast with southwest seasoning and grill or bake until fully cooked. Allow to fully cool. Then shred with a fork. In a bowl, combine the shredded chicken with 1/4 cup of the Caesar dressing. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread the pizza dough out on a pizza stone or baking pan. Place in the oven for 2 minutes. Remove from the oven and spread the cream cheese over the pizza dough. Then spread the chicken, followed by the mozzarella and parmesan cheeses, the mushrooms and tomatoes.

Pop it back in the oven for 10-12 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.

After removing from the oven, top the pizza with the freshly chopped lettuce. In a small bowl combine the extra 3 Tbsp Caesar dressing, the Ranch dressing and half and half. Use a spoon to drizzle the sauce over the pizza. Slice. Devour.

Margherita Pizza

This is the first time we used our Wilton pizza baking sheet and we loved it! The dough for this is nice and light and airy. Matt said that this is the best pizza he's ever had... with Ranch dressing. He puts Ranch on everything, so I suppose I can't fault him, but he certainly didn't enjoy it in traditional margherita fashion. The pizza dough is from Giada, via Epicurious.

3/4 cup warm water (105°F to 115°F)
1 envelope active dry yeast
2 cups (or more) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 Tbsp dried oregano
1 Tbsp garlic powder
2 medium beefsteak or plum tomatoes
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp salt
Extra olive oil
4 oz. fresh mozzarella
1/2 c fresh basil leaves, loosely packed

Pour 3/4 cup warm water into small bowl; stir in yeast. Let stand until yeast dissolves, about 5 minutes.

Brush large bowl lightly with olive oil. Mix 2 cups flour, sugar, and salt in processor. Add yeast mixture and 3 tablespoons oil; process until dough forms a sticky ball. Transfer to lightly floured surface. Knead dough until smooth, adding more flour by tablespoonfuls if dough is very sticky, about 1 minute. Transfer to prepared bowl; turn dough in bowl to coat with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, slice the tomatoes thinly and place in a bowl with 1 tsp salt, crushed garlic and drizzle of olive oil. Also, thinly slice the fresh mozzarella and remove any stems from the fresh basil.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. After the dough has risen for an hour, punch dough down. Roll out dough until its desired thickness. Start in center of dough, working outward toward edges but not rolling over them.

Top the dough with the marinated tomatoes, then the basil, then the mozzarella. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust is crispy.

Asiago and Dill Bread with Onions

Before I made this yesterday, I was a bread-making virgin. I don't know what the drive in me was to make bread, but I seriously needed something to go with yesterday's stew. Of course, I had sourdough baguette in the fridge, but I really wanted to try my hand at making bread.

For my first attempt, I really wanted to make the Parmesan Ciabatta from Amber's Delectable Delights, but didn't realize that it had a 12-20 hour wait period built in. I did some searching and found this recipe for Asiago Bread from That's My Home. My changes are noted in Italics.

Ingredients
1 Tbsp (.25 oz) dry active yeast (or one of the small packets)
5 - 6 C white unbleached flour - I used 5.5 cups of AP flour
1 Tbsp salt
1-1/2 C chopped red onion - 1/2 of a medium-sized red onion yielded AT LEAST a cup (without actually measuring) so that's how much I used.
2 cups lukewarm water, 95-100°F.
2 T. rosemary - I substituted 2 Tbsp. dried dill weed
1 1/2 C. Asiago cheese, grated - I chose to finely chop it instead. I used about 5 oz.

Dissolve 1 tbsp. dry active yeast in 2 cups of lukewarm water. Stir. Let sit 5 - 15 minutes.

In a separate bowl mix 5 - 6 cups flour with 1 Tbsp salt and the dill (or other herb).

Mix flour mixture with yeast water. Knead for 5 minutes. Add 1-1/2 cups chopped red onions. Knead for 5 minutes. Cover with a towel, let rise in warm spot for 1 hour, or until double in size. Pound down.

Add grated Asiago Cheese. Knead until mixed. Cut into 2 loaves. Dough can be put into loaf pan or shaped into loaves, round or oblong. Place on parchment paper (non-waxed) on or in a pan. Bake at 400°F. for 40 - 50 minutes.

I took mine out after 45 minutes. The outside was a bit crusty, but it worked out well when paired with the stew.

Overall, I was thoroughly impressed that I didn't screw up this bread! Being my first time, I had feelings that I would cut into the fresh bread and it would be totally uncooked. I can't wait to try more bread recipes, once I figure out the lingo. I have no idea what 'biga' is...