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.

give 'em what they want

i love assemble your own dinner,

dinners.

i used to worry that it was rude:

i invite people over and then

make them work if they actually want

to eat. 

but time has given me 

wisdom and now i realize it's one

of the smartest ways to feed a group

(or one other person who just

happens to live with you).

this way, you've supplied options.

it's up to them to decide

if they realize want the olives

on their personal pizza, or if they'd 

prefer ham. it lets them

monitor the spice level, 

stir extra cheese into their chili 

and avoid

the coconut 

they started worrying about

when they heard you were 

serving tropical sundaes for 

dessert.

my mom used to do this all the time:

for a dinner party, she'd make large

batches of multiple kinds of soups,

then keep the pots on the stove 

as guests 

ladled their pick into a bowl

and then

sprinkled on scallions,

shredded cheese,

sour cream 

or 

crunchy croutons.

in the summer, my mom

made quesadillas,

which we would design

ourselves after she

grilled a ton of veggies,

set out bowls of 

feta

and

cheddar cheese,

tomatoes

and more.

once assembled,

she'd add a top tortilla

and bake them 

until golden and crispy.

i love the quesadilla party

so much that i've replicated

it on several occasions.

i've also turned to fish tacos

(and coincidentally, my mom has, too),

in recent years.

i first fell in love with at-home

fish tacos when i was hosting

our (sadly, now defunct) book club

and as the date got closer, the number of

people attending got smaller

and smaller. 

two days before, it was just me,

and two friends: lauren and lauren.

we decided to hold off on the discussion

until the next meeting with everyone and 

instead, just have dinner.

we had grown up together,

gone to camp together and had

somewhat recently reunited.

both of them were married,

i was living with larry and it 

seemed like a great opportunity

to just get together.

between the three of us - 

i don't eat meat, lauren doesn't eat 

cheese, the other lauren, shrimp

or rice - i felt challenged. i also

needed something somewhat stress-free

because they were coming over

after work. 

knowing that we all love

mexican food,

i finally landed on fish tacos and 

an adaptation of this recipe.

the night before, 

i pickled the red onions,

broiled, then blended together the 

tomatillo salsa

and

stirred lime juice into sour cream

for a crema.

when i got home from work 

the next evening,

i pulled everything out of

the fridge,

marinated the cod,

set out chips and 

a white bean dip that i had made

and waited. 

later, while lauren and lauren

sat at our tiny kitchen table

sipping wine,

i heated up tortillas,

mashed together guacamole,

grilled the fish,

and told them that i had decided to 

go to culinary school. 

i was so not stressed, and really,

what's the point of having

people over if you're 

miserable when your guests are

there?

since then, i've made fish tacos

many times, for many reasons,

including just simply wanting

a delicious dinner.

i've changed it up,

sometimes adding a white crumbly

cheese if i have it in the fridge,

using corn or flour tortillas,

playing with spices, 

using a fresh tomato salsa

or, like i did this time,

using shrimp instead of fish.

but the one thing that i never

leave out are the pickled onions.

because we now love them so much,

i'm embarrassed to say that i never

had a pickled slice before the first

fish taco dinner.

they're very fast and completely addicting.

at this point, i've

made them more times than i can count.

i usually set the 

rice wine vingar,

lime juice,

and 

salt to simmer,

before slicing the bulb.

when hot and extra bubbly,

i pour the brine over the onions,

now set in a bowl,

stir a few times and walk away.

while two hours of marinating is

optimal, i've gotten away with

45 minutes. at this point,

the onions still have crunch,

but they've turned from red

to pink

and

the sharp onion flavor

has settled considerably.

i love to make extra to serve

over eggs,

to toss into a salad,

place on sandwich or to

nibble on when there aren't

any pickles in the fridge.

usually, i prepare the onions first,

then slide the bowl

to the back of the counter

and work on everything else.

this time, when i made the shrimp,

i was planning to saute,

but at the last minute,

i placed them into a baking dish

that i had sprinkled with

ancho chili powder,

smoked paprika,

lime juice

and 

kosher salt. 

once the shrimp

were in place, i repeated the

sprinkling, drizzled

in a little oil and

roasted until pink, slightly

smoky and tender,

giving me time to mash

the guacamole.

by the time the shrimp came out

of the oven,

the tortillas were warm

and everything was on the table.

i watched as i started with the tomatillo

salsa, then the shrimp, onions,

guacamole and a drizzle of crema.

larry, chose

first guacamole, 

then onions, shrimp, crema, salsa.

it's up you. that's my favorite part.

either way, you're entertaining a ton

of flavors, textures and hot/cold action.

the shrimp, slightly spicy, tender

and piping hot,

play so well off the cool and tangy red onions.

the guacamole adds creaminess,

the salsa, heat, 

and the crema ties it all

together.

yes, there are a lot of bowls,

but really, that's the most

trouble this meal will

give you.

it's so good

and very fresh

and, a winner for 

most crowds.

and look at it this way:

yes, you have to clean the bowls,

but you're otherwise done:

now it's their turn to work. 

shrimp tacos with pickled red onions

adapted from bon appetit

in the same way that guests can assemble these anyway they want, feel free to use whatever you want inside your tortilla - consider this a guideline (which is why i feel ok about not giving exact measurements, below). you can use your favorite fish and grill or saute it. leave the seasonings off the shrimp and simply saute them. forget the guacamole, use sour cream instead or add thinly sliced chopped red cabbage. and if you're in a hurry, buy the condiments, heat up your protein of choice and eat. just don't leave off the onions (unless you really, really hate onions - but, even then, you might be surprised).

tomatilla salsa blended with a bit of chicken broth or water to thin it out slightly

guacamole

store-bought crema, sour cream or sour cream thinned out with a bit of lime juice

1 bottle (12 ounces) rice wine vinegar

1 large juicy lime, juiced

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 large red onion, halved and sliced

in small saucepot, bring rice wine vinegar, lime juice and kosher salt to a boil, stirring until the salt dissolves; let boil 1 minute. meanwhile, place onions in a heatproof bowl. pour boiling vinegar mixture over onions and stir a few times until onions just begin to wilt and are mostly submerged. let sit at least 45 minutes (preferably 1-2 hours). can be made up to one week ahead. cover; refrigerate.

1 juicy lime, halved

20 large shrimp, peeled and deveined (i used 21-25 count)

ancho chili powder

smoked paprika

kosher salt

olive oil

heat oven to 400˚f. squeeze the juice from half a lime into the bottom of 8 x 8 baking dish. sprinkle with chili powder, smoked paprika and a little kosher salt. lay the shrimp in the baking dish, separating slightly. squeeze with remaining lime juice and sprinkle again with the chili powder, smoked paprika and kosher salt. drizzle with a little bit of olive oil. bake 10-12 minutes or until pink, opaque and cooked through. 

corn or flour tortillas

to heat tortiallas you have some options. 

for flour tortillas, i'm very content to wet a paper, wring it out, roll a couple tortillas up inside it and then heat for 30 seconds in the microwave. you can also wrap them (flat) in foil and bake in a 350˚f oven 5-10 minutes or until warm and pliable. 

for corn tortillas, you can warm them in the microwave by using two wet paper towels and placing the tortillas in between. you can also heat them the oven or coat a pan with cooking spray and cook about 30 seconds on each side over medium-high heat.

to serve:

place pickled onions, tomatillo salsa, guacamole, crema or sour cream, lime slices and anything else that you're craving in separate small bowls. place hot shrimp and warm tortillas on the table and let everyone make their own.