Recipes and daily menus from the CCGS Jean Goodwill
This recipe is very simple, but another one of my favorites. The original recipe is probably Mario Batali’s. I saw Mario on television quite while ago and he made something similar to this. I didn’t take notes or write anything down, but I remembered the …
Once upon a time in a kitchen far away, I had a discussion about the presence of garlic in Alfredo. This was before google was a thing. I hit the books asked other cooks and looked everywhere I could think of. My conclusion was there …
To set the record straight, I am not a baker. I bake, but I do things that would make a real baker shudder. My baked goods turn out tasting good, but my methods may be suspect.
Now that that is out of the way, this recipe was requested by a gentleman I sailed with on the CCGS Capt. Jacques Cartier. This is just the basic recipe, I will add herbs and garlic to the flour, I will add garlic to the oil that I brush over the top, I will sprinkle herbs over the top when I make the dents in the top of the loaf. There is any number of things you can do to flavor focaccia.
The reason for the extra cup of flour in the recipe is because of variations in humidity, flour brands, has the flour picked up humidity from the air?, have you measured correctly? Good luck!
p.s. While I was going this, I just put a loaf in the oven. I put Italian seasoning in the dough and sprinkled parmigiana Reggiano over half
Focaccia
4 cups all purpose flour
plus 1 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 tbsp dry active yeast
2 cups warm water
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
Directions
Mix the yeast, sugar and warm water in a bowl. Let the yeast rise (5 minutes),add the olive oil.
In a larger bowl mix 4 cup of flour and the salt. Combine the flour and the yeast mixture. Mix until it forms a ball, add more flour if needed. The dough should have a elastic feel to it. On a floured surface knead the dough until for 3 to 4 minutes. (it is easier if you use a mixer). Return to the bowl
Cover and let rise until it doubles in size.( It should be set somewhere warm for it to rise).
Remove from the bowl and knead again for 5 minutes. Back in the bowl, cover and let rise again.
Lightly oiled a baking sheet place the dough and flatten it until it is about one inch thick cover to let rise again, then poke holes in the dough with your fingers not all the way through (real bakers will use a docker for this but I prefer larger dents.
With a pastry brush cover with oil filling the dents in the bread. Let rise again until it is 2 inches thick
Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.
To oversimplify it, this is bacon and egg pasta. It is rich and creamy, thickened with the parmigiana reggiano. It is another one of my favorites (the more of these that I write, I find I have many dishes that I have great affection for) …
Properly known as Arancini di Riso. This is cooked with slightly less liquid than risotto. If you are familiar with risotto the rice will be much dryer when finished cooking, if it is too creamy and loose it will not stick together to form your …
Risotto is a creamy satisfying dish. It is Italian in origin and can be as simple or complex as you want to make it. This is another on of my favorites. It can be eaten as an appetizer or a main course depending on portion size. This is a basic recipe for risotto. You can add many different items to the dish, such as mushrooms, shrimp, scallops lobster, bacon, asparagus and various other things. Most things should be sautéed in the butter and removed before adding the other ingredients. Add them back to the risotto with the final bit of stock. This prevents overcooking.
RISOTTO
2 oz. butter
1/2 finely diced onion
1/4 diced celery
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup diced tomato
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
juice of 1 lemon
lemon zest
4 1/2 cups stock
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
parsley
salt to taste
Directions
