Focaccia, Food Club and Fun

February was our first anniversary for six crazy Chicks that Cook to get together for their bi-monthly food (aka dinner...but food rhymes much better for the title) club gathering.  Last year was the first year for our group to meet, and we decided we would meet every other month, with a different person hosting each month.  The dinner club was an idea that we had, and found some great women to help compliment each other.  Honestly, this is some of the best food I've eaten...it's like a four star restaurant!  Each time we meet, everyone goes out of their way to make something extraordinary.  Check out our blog in a couple of weeks where we introduce the participates and talk about our 'Guidelines'...even though they are really rules because you get ridiculed if you break one...not that I have!

So, on to the food...

For our first dinner club of 2012, Chicks that Cook decided to try our hand at homemade focaccia. The results were wonderful....and it was easier than we expected!  Definitely easier than us agreeing how to pronounce 'focaccia'.

Here is the recipe for the focaccia: 

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1teaspoon white sugar
1 package (2 1/4 tsp) instant dry yeast
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil (I used Canola)
1 cup water


In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle, combine flour, salt, sugar, yeast, garlic powder, oregano, thyme, basil and black pepper.  Mix in the vegetable oil and water.  Mix until the dough has pulled together (about 3 minutes).  Switch to dough hook and knead for 7 minutes.


Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat with oil.  Cover with a cloth and let rise in a warm place for one hour.


Oil a lipped baking sheet.  Place risen dough in the center of the baking sheet.  Press dough, starting from the center and working your way out, to the edges of the sheet.  This takes some patience; do not rush because it will get there eventually!  Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise for another hour.  After the last rise, lightly press your fingertips into the top of the focaccia dough to give it that classic 'dimpled' focaccia look.

Ricki was our host for food club, and she mixed together the focaccia to let it rise before the rest of the group showed up.  Here is a picture of what it looked like before we put our toppings on it (that's Ricki's hand at the top of the picture giving us instruction on what to do next):

Since there are six of us in our dinner club group, we split up into pairs for each team to come up with a topping for their half of the focaccia.

Dee and Mary decided to do spicy toppings with Spanish chorizo, jalapenos, tomatoes, fontina cheese, and roasted garlic.  Basil infused olive oil was drizzled over the toppings before going into the oven.  No recipe needed for this one, just roast the garlic and then add the rest of the ingredients uncooked on top (they will cook while the focaccia bakes).  

Linda and Kathy did Greek inspired toppings with artichokes, kalamata olives, red onion, oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms, crumbled feta cheese and this wonderful sauce of 1/2 cup mayo in food processor with 4 cloves garlic.

                       

Ricki and Carol did Vegetable Goddess toppings for their half of the focaccia.  Their toppings consisted of broccoli, onion, zucchini, fontina cheese and olive oil.  This one had a spinach pesto as the sauce....recipe is....

3 Cups Spinach leaves
1 Cup Parsley leaves
3 Garlic cloves
1/4 cup grated Parm
Zest and juice from one small lemon
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
In a food processor pulse spinach, parsley, garlic, Parm, zest and juice until minced. Drizzle in oil and pulse until blended...season with salt and pepper.

The other half of the focaccia (since we only had 3 halves covered) was covered in cheeses that were left over from the other toppings.  The picture below shows the cheese being added to the focaccia.

The results: Very good...the Greek one being the tastiest....had something to do with the mayo sauce (you have to try it to understand)

The cheese one was bland and we thought that the spicy one could have used some marinara sauce to add to the flavor.
The vegetable one was very tasty.....any veggie lover will love this one...the spinach pesto could be used in many recipes.

Our hope this year is to push our food club out of their comfort zones and do some hands-on learning in the kitchen.  On the agenda to come....homemade tamales and raviolis.....stay tuned.