Herbed Foccacia

A few nights ago I had some friends over for a seriously girly mini movie marathon. John felt the need to leave so he wasn't overwhelmed by the dorkiness of the movies we were watching.


Anyway, I saw this recipe a few weeks ago and I couldn't wait to try it. And it seeme d like a perfect snack for hanging out and watching a few movies. And it was!



Herbed Foccacia
Originally from The Pioneer Woman

1 1/2 cup warm Water
1 1/2 tsp. Instant Yeast
2 Cups Bread Flour
2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1 tsp. Kosher Salt
1/3 Cup Olive Oil
2 sprigs Rosemary, chopped
1/4 Cup loosely packed Basil leaves, chopped
1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese

Sprinkle yeast over warm water. Let stand for a few minutes.

In a mixer, combine flour and salt. With the mixer running on low speed, drizzle the olive oil until combined. Next, pour in the yeast water mixture and mix until just combined.

Drizzle olive oil into a large mixing bowl. Form the dough into a ball and transfer it to the bowl, coating it in olive oil. Cover the bowl tightly and leave it in a warm place for 1-2 hours (mine took 2).

Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and kneed for a few seconds. Split the dough in two equal parts. Spread half the rosemary and sprinkle a little Parmesan cheese onto the dough. Kneed a little bit to mix the herbs and cheese into the dough. Using a rolling pin, spread the dough into a rectangle. Drizzle olive oil onto a cookie sheet and center the dough rectangle on the sheet. Cover with plastic wrap. Do the same with the basil and the other half of dough. Let the dough rise for 1 hour.

Remove plastic wrap and drizzle olive oil over foccacia. Sprinkle with kosher salt, Parmesan cheese, and remaining herbs.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake foccacia for 30 minutes, or until golden brown on top. Slice with a pizza slicer and serve warm. Yum!

Basil Pesto with Garlic Scapes

Is there anything better than a really good pesto? One that's loaded full of garlic and tastes like it just fell out of the garden onto your plate? OK, so maybe there are a few things that are better than a delicious pesto. But not many. I looooves me some good pesto.

When I saw the big bunch of basil in the last CSA share (from last week... I know, I'm behind) I knew I had to make some pesto. I added a little more basil from our garden to give it that extra punch. I also used some of the garlic scapes from the last share because we had them on hand. If you don't like your pesto to be super garlicy, then either use less garlic or cook it down a little bit to release some of the harsh garlic flavor. But in my oh-so-unprofessional opinion, more garlic can only make something better. Please imagine Homer Simpson saying "Mmmmmm Beer" but replace the beer with garlic. That's what's going through my head right now. Yum.



Basil Pesto with Garlic Scapes
1 bunch Basil
1/4 cup toasted Pine Nuts
2 Garlic Scapes, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese
1/4-1/2 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Toss the basil, pine nuts, and garlic scapes into a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is smooth. With the processor running, drizzle in enough olive oil so that the pesto becomes thinner, but not runny. Remove to a medium size bowl and mix in the parmesan cheese.

Some ways to enjoy your fresh pesto: with pasta, on toasted pieces of french bread, with a spoon, or my personal favorite on freshly make gnocchi.

Enjoy!