rosemary focaccia

more times than i can remember,

i've thought that it would be nice

to make focaccia.

and like most things in my life,

and like most things in my kitchen,

once i did,

it was so not a big deal.

why didn't i just do it sooner?

i think it's because, although i often spend

undivided time inside the house,

the idea of having to commit to

a couple hours for first and second

rises just feels overwhelming.

and the other thing is this -

sometimes i make dinner

and it's not so great. something

just didn't come together and it's

missing a squirt of lemon juice

or an herb or it's slightly overcooked

or really, it's a recipe that was never

meant to be. and, for me?

it's unfortunate.

but, it's ok.

i make dinner quite often.

i'll just try again tomorrow.

but baking - i love it,

yet i'm so hesitant to commit.

having to face an entire so-so cake

or a dry tasteless loaf of bread

that i've spent a lot of time on

just hurts.

so, even though i made focaccia

once - in culinary school - i've always

opted for garlic bread, or no bread,

when the occasion strikes.

on sunday, though, jenn was coming

for dinner. she hadn't seen the house

since one day after we closed and

the walls were still painted crazy colors

(seriously, watermelon, brick red and pea

green do not belong in the same room.

especially when all three face a yellow hallway).

i was torn between wanting everything to look

nice and wanting to cook a great meal.

after thinking for about 30 seconds,

i went for the latter: this place,

although now decked out with grey walls,

is not nearing finished readiness. there was

little i could do in five hours to prove

otherwise. instead, i knew i should focus

on what i could potentially

make presentable: dinner.

i decided pretty quickly to try

my hand at absorption pasta, which

i've been meaning to make. normally,

i would not risk attempting a new dish

for company, but jenn knew me in college

when i would invite her over and

cross my fingers that tonight was one

of those nights that i didn't burn the onions.

but, because i was already taking a chance

on the main course, i figured this was the time

to jump in headfirst for the focaccia.

i didn't even think about it:

i grabbed a packet of yeast.

well, kind of.

i needed a recipe.

again, reviews for everything was mixed.

but, then i saw anne burrell's version.

anne burrell. i think she's kind of kooky.

and i love her.

i met her for the first time years ago.

i was working for the magazine and

often attended press events that took

me all over nyc to different restaurants

and sometimes, odd places. but, many - it

seems in retrospect - were at the

culinary loft in the city, a very cool space

with a kitchen area in the back.

in my memory, no matter who

the main attraction was, anne burrell

and her shock of blonde hair was

behind them, moving swiftly around

the kitchen - chopping, boiling,

skimming and plating - as they spoke

about their dishes. they were the face

of the night, anne was the muscle.

after the first time, i went back and

told my editor about this speedy

seems-to-do-a-million-things-at-once

woman. she knew immediately

who i was talking about.

we googled her and pulled

up a picture. from then on, while

everyone was focused on the "star,"

i found myself watching anne. when larry

put on an episode of iron chef,

i noticed that my eyes were always on her.

i just found her fast. and talented -

her food was always delicious.

when she got her show on the food network,

i knew i would watch. and i do, often,

even though i'm often amazed at how

intensely she's obsessed with food.

i mean, i love food.

and ingredients.

and cooking techniques.

and food blogs.

but anne? she takes it to the next level.

sometimes i think she forgets

cameras are there. she loves it all.

times ten.

but you know what?

it's ok. almost all of her recipes

are reviewed amazingly high.

everything that food network

fans make of hers, they love.

and that's why i knew that if

i was going to make focaccia,

i'd want to make hers.

she may be kooky.

but, she knows her food.

the recipe was simple -

water, yeast, sugar,

flour, olive oil, salt.

i wanted to add rosemary.

so here's how it went down:

the hardest part came 10 minutes

in. the flour, salt

and olive oil were sitting in the bowl

of the mixer. the yeast was very

foamy. but the recipe specifically

said to wait at least 15 minutes

before mixing the two. so, i waited.

begrudgingly.

and then, when it came time to

turn the mixer on, i stayed near.

the dough nearly rocked the

ridiculously heavy kitchen aide

off the counter. i stopped it before

it fell to the floor, but it was brutal

in its mission, taking out a measuring cup

and pushing foil to the side, in its fury.

those were the most difficult steps.

after that, the dough came together

beautifully, it kneaded without a problem

and i before i knew it, the smooth round

was sitting in a greased bowl, set off to

the side. it was at that point that i decided

that i needed to make a dessert.

that last minute activity was enough

to get me through that hour and suddenly,

it was time to press the dough

into the pan. it was at this step that i made

my one mistake.

remember that time in culinary school

that i made focaccia? our instructor told

us to load up the pan with olive oil

before adding the dough, to drizzle well

before baking. right before it went into

the oven, she told my group that ours

looked perfect. it was really, really oily.

so this time, i was determined to be

reasonable. focaccia is an oil-laden

(deliciously oil-laden) bread. but, i

didn't want it dripping. i didn't want

jenn's hands to be shiny and have

her wonder why i would serve her

such a grease trap. so i cut back from

what i thought was an overly generous

one cup to about whatever 1/2 cup

plus 1/3 cup comes out to be. and after

it was flat and rose a second time,

there was plenty of oil still dotting

the surface. so just before putting it

in the oven, i tossed on some rosemary

and sprinkles of salt, but i passed on

the extra drizzles of olive oil.

when i checked the bread at

about 20 minutes, it smelled

amazing, but it looked dull.

i wanted to add an egg wash

to make the pale crust glisten,

or maybe while i was making wishes,

go back in time and add the

extra olive oil.

but, you live, you learn and you

serve the bread next to

a salad that has maybe just a little

too much dressing so that people

can dunk their still-pretty-tasty

squares into a

balsamic-laced mixture

and pretend that that's how it

was all supposed to go down,

anyway.

rosemary focaccia

adapted from anne burrell

the only thing that i can really say is that i know this is a lot of olive oil, but that's what focaccia is - a dough that is made with the golden liquid, squished into the dough before it rises a second time and drizzled on top before baking. it's excessive. but, it's what makes it focaccia. just embrace it.

1 packet active dry yeast

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

5 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading

1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus coarse sea salt for sprinkling

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary

fill liquid measuring cup with 1 3/4 cups warm water. sprinkle with yeast and sugar; stir to combine. place cup in warm place; let sit 15 minutes or until the yeast is foamy and aromatic.

coat large bowl lightly with olive oil; set aside.

in bowl of electric mixer, add flour, kosher salt, 1/2 cup olive oil and yeast mixture. combine on low speed just until dough has come together. increase speed to medium and mix 5-6 minutes, or until the mixture is smooth and soft. if you find the mixture to be extra sticky, sprinkle in a touch more of flour.

transfer dough to a clean lightly floured surface; knead by hand one or two times, or just until the mixture smooths out. place in reserved oiled bowl; cover with lightly greased plastic wrap and place in warm place for 1 hour, or until dough has doubled in size.

coat a jelly roll pan with remaining olive oil. turn dough out onto jelly roll pan, pressing to fit. turn the dough over to coat both sides and continue to press until the dough fits the pan. using fingers, make holes all the way through the dough. cover dough with plastic wrap. place in warm place and let sit 1 hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.

meanwhile, heat over to 425˚f.

sprinkle dough with coarse salt and rosemary. drizzle with olive oil. bake 25-30 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown. cool on rack. transfer focaccia to cutting board and cut into squares.