Focacchia

Fresh focaccia and salad from the last
of the tomatoes and peppers.  Onions
are still going strong.

When the milk is about to get "blinky"...has that certain smell you can't put your finger on, but you're sure if you don't use it right away it will spoil...do some baking.  Traditional Focaccia recipes don't call for milk, but it works really well.  Most traditional recipes I have looked at don't call for eggs either, but in this case I made enough dough for 5 batches of, well, something.  By adding those ingredients, the dough was good for sweet rolls, some of it got finished with whole wheat flour for bread, and in the end one of those batches became Focaccia.
FOCACCIA
This flat Italian bread is baked in a relatively hot oven.  It is topped with olive oil and your choice of Italian spices, grated Parmesan cheese and other ingredients if desired.
Ingredients:
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 envelope (2 1/4 teaspoons) yeast
1 tablespoon honey or sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil or melted butter
1 2/3 cup warm milk or warm water
Parmesan cheese for grating
1 tablespoon Italian spice mix
1/4 teaspoon crushed chili peppers (optional)
Olive oil and kosher salt
Preparation:
Stir the honey or sugar into the warm milk.  When it is cool enough to add the yeast (120-130º F), sprinkle the yeast over the liquid and let sit for 5 minutes.  Meanwhile measure out 3 cups of the flour and add the salt to it.

The risen dough.

When the yeast has bloomed, add the olive oil or melted butter and then stir these liquids into the flour.  Beat with a spoon or in the mixer with a dough hook until a ball of dough forms.  If doing this by hand, turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead for several minutes.  In the mixer, continue running it for a few minutes.  Try to add as little flour as necessary and still be able to handle the dough.  Add the last 1/4 cup little by little if necessary.
Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, get out your favorite pizza pan or two, depending on size and prepare it by brushing with olive oil and sprinkling with cornmeal.   Preheat the oven to 425º F.  Turn the dough onto a floured surface, punch down, roll out and put on prepared pans.  Let rise for another 15 minutes.
While you are waiting, get out some kosher salt, bring the olive oil over and a pastry brush if you are so inclined.  When the 15 minutes have passed, use your finger or the end of a wooden spoon to poke indentations all over the focaccia.

Rolled, on the pizza stone, brushed with
olive oil, sprinkled with salt and spices
and then topped with grated Parmesan.

Drizzle with the 1-2 tablespoons olive oil.  This is the traditional way to do it.  However, if you want the olive oil to be evenly dispersed over the bread, brush it out with the pastry brush.  Lightly sprinkle with kosher salt and then sprinkle the spices and grated Parmesan over it.  Use real Parmesan - not the powder in a can.  You'll be glad you did.
Place in the oven and immediately turn the heat down to 375º F.  Bake for 15-25 minutes or until lightly golden.  Baking time will depend on your oven and how thick or thin you made the bread.  Two easy ways to cut it are using a pizza cutter or a good pair of kitchen shears.
Option:
Dice half an onion and sauté in a little olive oil.  Add some minced garlic cloves, stir for a moment, turn off heat and let cool.  Spread across focaccia before sprinkling it with spices.
Sweet Option:
My mom would take her leftover yeast dough from cake baking and roll it out much like the focacchia dough.  She'd poke indentations in it too.  Then she would cut little chunks of butter and place one in each indentation.  To finish it off she would sprinkle the whole thing with sugar and pop it in the oven.  What a treat!  In our German home it was called "Zuckerkuchen" (sugar cake).  When there was enough for two little rounds, she'd sprinkle one with grated coconut.  It just doesn't get any better than that!
HOMEMADE ITALIAN SPICE MIX:
There are as many combinations as there are cooks.  You can tweak this to suit your taste.  Some recipes call for a teaspoon of dried minced garlic.  I leave it out and use fresh from the garden when appropriate (which is almost always).
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons dried basil
1 tablespoon dried rosemary, crushed
1 tablespoon dried marjoram
1 tablespoon dried thyme

TOASTED PUMPKIN SEEDS:

I's a good idea to find a place to
hide your own secret stash.

It’s that wonderful time again – there’s a chill in the air and soon there will be frost on the pumpkin.  Oh how we look forward to the smell and taste of pumpkin pie, bread, whoopie pies, fudge…and the list goes on.  Many of those who have recognized the superior quality and taste of locally grown foods also value the idea of using every possible part of what they grow or buy at the local farmers market.  Did you know those delicious, crunchy pumpkin seeds are packed with fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants?  Shhh…don’t tell the kids they are good for them.
Keep in mind too, that you don't have to limit yourself to pumpkin seeds.  The acorn, butternut and spaghetti squashes that make it through my kitchen are fair game for toasting too.

Preparation:
1.  Scoop the seeds out of the pumpkin and separate the seeds from the stringy flesh.

2.  Place them in a big bowl of water and rub them through your fingers to completely clean them and rid them of any remaining stringy bits of flesh.
3.  Drain well in a strainer.  You won’t get them dry, but you will remove most of the water.
4.  Place in a single layer on a lightly-oiled cookie sheet and place in the oven on its lowest setting to dry.
5.  Remove the seeds when dry and turn the oven up to 250º F.
6.  Put the seeds into a bowl.  Lightly drizzle with your choice of oil or melted butter.  Stir them to coat.
7.  Spread the seeds in a single layer on a large cake pan or cookie sheet(s) and sprinkle with your favorite seasoning.
8.  Place into the preheated oven.  Be aware that they can burn quickly, so watch closely and stir every 5-10 minutes.  Bake until they are crisp and golden.  This could take anywhere from 10 – 45 minutes depending on the seeds and your oven.

Options:
When using seeds from large carving pumpkins rather than small pie pumpkins, some people simmer the seeds in salt water for 10 minutes before toasting.

Comments on Ingredients:
You don’t have to stick to the traditional salt seasoning.  Here are some other tasty possibilities:  salt and pepper; taco seasoning; cayenne pepper; garlic salt and Worcestershire sauce; cinnamon, ginger, allspice and salt. If you have a favorite combination for roasted nuts, try it here.
NOTE:  If you use a combination that includes sugar, watch it more closely as it will burn more easily.

ROUX
What is a roux?  It’s an easy thickening agent for soups and sauces that will make you look like a fancy-shmancy cook when you learn how to do it.  How do you pronounce it?  It’s pronounced roo and while it is in fact easy, if you don’t follow a few key instructions, you will rue that you didn’t.  :)

Have you ever noticed that even a so-so roast becomes wonderful if there’s really good gravy to pour over it?  Ever wonder how that fabulous chowder became so thick and creamy?  Why Aunt Emma’s turkey gravy is always a nice golden brown like the turkey, rather than pale?  Save that can of cream of mushroom soup for an emergency fix and forget those dark brown additives to make the gravy look richer.  Definitely pitch that nasty package that comes with the turkey.  Learn to make roux!

Just about any kind of oil or fat can be used to make roux.  What sets roux apart from other thickeners is that it uses flour that is cooked first.  This not only removes the raw taste of the flour, but imparts a wonderful flavor that you can control from almost non-existent to rich and roasted. 

First I’ll describe this very simple process and then we’ll look at the various stages you can cook a roux to and also some tips for success.

BASIC ROUX

Peanut Butter Stage

1 cup butter (or oil or bacon fat)

1 3/4 cup flour

In a heavy-bottomed pan, warm the fat over medium heat.  A tiny bit of flour dropped in it should cause a slight bubbling action when it’s ready.  At that point add the flour and stir to incorporate it.  It will feel almost like cake icing at first.  Keep stirring and as it begins to bubble cut the heat back.  You want a very gentle bubble.  Don’t walk away and don’t stop stirring.

Depending on what you will be making this process may take your only 5 minutes for a white roux or as much as 45 minutes for a very, very dark roux.  When it has reached the right stage for you, pour it into a heatproof container and let cool.  You will find that the flour and oil separate – just stir them back together.

The quantity in this recipe is more than most of us would use at once.  You will find that it is easier to cook a large quantity of roux at once, because it does not scorch as easily.  That being the case, if I am making a dark roux I would just as soon make a batch, use what I need and then divide the rest out and store for future use.  How soon it will get used will influence if it gets stored in the refrigerator or freezer – make sure to label it clearly.

If I’m making a white roux, there’s not much concern about preventing scorching in those 5 minutes and I’ll just make however much I need, when I need it.

There are four stages of roux, each of which work well with different types of recipes.  A white roux is only cooked for a short time – about 5 minutes.  This should be just enough to cut the raw taste of the flour without adding any color to the roux.  It’s great for potato soup, clam chowder and such.

The second stage of roux is cooked considerably longer – about 20 minutes.  It will be a light golden color similar to straw and smell like toast when it’s ready.  This makes a great base for fresh tomato soup. Some also like to use this for stock-based sauces and soups.  This is a nice one for chicken ‘n dumplings if you like it thickened.

Stage three is what I think of as the peanut butter stage – at least that’s what it looks like to me.  It smells a little like roasted nuts, but not quite as mellow.  It will have to cook even longer (about 35 minutes) to be done.  This is the one I like to use for turkey gravy.

The last stage, stage four is a very dark roux.  It will have to cook the longest – bet you couldn’t guess that!  Plan on spending approximately 45 minutes.    When it looks like melted chocolate that you could dip a strawberry in, it’s ready.  Used more for its flavoring power than thickening power, this roux makes fabulous gumbo and hearty stews.

Speaking of thickening power…a light roux has considerably more thickening power than a dark roux.  Keep that in mind when you decide how much you will need.  Rule of thumb is 1/2 cup roux for 4 cups of stock.  Some say 1 tablespoon per cup of liquid.  Ultimately it will depend on how dark your roux is and how thick you want the end product to be. 

There's nothing like
good gravy!

To avoid lumps, the rule is to add cold ingredients to hot ingredients.  Have the hot roux in a pot and then add cold liquid a little at a time, whisking until smooth between each addition.  Once the roux forms a thin paste, then it’s safe to whisk in the remaining liquid all at once.  Bring the mixture to a simmer. 

Alternately, use cold (or room temperature) roux and whisk it into a simmering liquid until it dissolves.  It will take 10-20 minutes for it to reach its full flavor and thickening potential.  If you try to cut this time too short, you will not have a smooth silky soup or gravy.  We’re not talking lumps here…it will be grainy.  The flour needs time to soften and absorb the liquid. 

Stay focused while you stir.  It’s one of the few times you really have to stay with it.  If you have to walk away for something, turn the burner off.  If you have an electric stove, turn the burner off and move the pot off the burner.  Those 1-minute distractions sometimes turn into 10 or 20 before you know it.  Yesterday, the birth of a calf interrupted me.  It wasn't just one minute.

Yes, he's cute but not worth burning
the roux or burning the house down.
Turn off the burner and move the pan
off the burner.