What's Baking: Rosemary and Olive Focaccia

Freshly-baked bread is one of my favorite aromas. Add in some olive oil, rosemary, and olives, and oof, my olfactory sense goes on overload! 

Aside from making the house smell amazing while it bakes, this savory focaccia bread also tastes delicious. You really can't go wrong with the flavor combination of fresh herbs and briny olives.

I'm typically intimidated by yeast breads and their multiple rises and general kneadiness (ha!) -- but this recipe is quite simple to put together. There is a bit of waiting in between rises, so make sure you have plenty of time available before attacking this recipe.

However, the time investment is definitely worth it. I've been eating this focaccia all week long -- by itself as a snack, as a side with soup for lunch, and even cut in half to make a fried egg sandwich at breakfast. You gotta love a savory bread that's good to eat at any time of the day!

Rosemary and Olive Focaccia (printer-friendly version)

makes 8 servings

2 cups warm water (105°F to 115°F)

2 teaspoons active dry yeast

4 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour (plus ~ 1/4 cup if necessary)

2 teaspoons fine sea salt

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

2 tablespoons sliced black olives

24 Kalamata pitted olives, sliced

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary, plus a few small intact bunches (3-4 leaves)

finishing salt (such as pink Himalayan salt or Maldon flaked sea salt), for garnish

1. Pour two cups of warm water into a large bowl. Sprinkle the dry yeast over the water and stir with a fork to combine. Let the mixture stand for 10 minutes, allowing the yeast to dissolve. If the mixture does not become frothy, you should start over with fresh yeast.

2. Add 4 1/4 cups flour and the salt to the yeast mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to combine. The dough will be quite sticky. 

3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Add more flour by the tablespoonful if the dough is sticky. 

4. Pat the dough into a large ball. Grease a large bowl with olive oil, then add the dough to the bowl, turning to coat it evenly with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set in a warm, draft-free location to rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.

5. After the dough has doubled in size, punch it down, add two tablespoons of sliced olives, and knead back into a ball. Return the dough to the oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise again until doubled, about 45 minutes.

6. Coat a 17"x11" baking sheet with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Punch down the dough, then transfer it to the oiled baking sheet. Use your fingertips to press the dough out into a large rectangle, about 13"x10". Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.

7. Drizzle 2 tablespoons olive oil over the dough. Sprinkle the dough evenly with the sliced Kalamata olives and chopped rosemary. Press in a few small bunches of rosemary on top of the dough. Allow the dough to rise until puffed up, about 25 minutes.

8. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Use your fingertips to press into the dough, forming indentations all across it. Garnish with finishing salt. Bake the bread until golden and crusty, about 20 minutes.

9. Serve the bread warm or at room temperature. Store any leftover bread in an airtight container at room temperature.

(adapted from this Epicurious recipe)

What I'm Drinking: Strawberry-Rosemary Ginger Ale

It is super-gloomy outside and in addition to the grey clouds, it has been raining most of the day. However, since this rain will help the snow still on the ground (there is literally a two-foot drift still outside our basement door) -- I can't complain too much. And just because it is grey and gloomy outside doesn't mean I can't have a splash of springtime inside.

As a special treat this afternoon, I put together a strawberry-rosemary ginger ale to drink. I'm still on a strawberry kick, and Golden Harvest has been my go-to supplier for inexpensive organic strawberries, which makes me very happy indeed. While my initial thought was to just add some strawberry juice to my ginger ale, I figured I might as well try a little bit harder, and so I made a rosemary simple syrup to infuse an additional fresh herbal flavor into the drink. The resulting iced drink is springtime-pink, refreshing, and full of flavor.

Strawberry-Rosemary Ginger Ale (printer-friendly version)
makes one drink

1 cup strawberries, rinsed and hulled
several ice cubes

12 oz ginger ale (I used Reed's Premium Ginger Brew Ginger Ale)

2 teaspoons rosemary simple syrup (see below for recipe)

fresh rosemary sprig, for garnish

1. Puree the strawberries in a blender until completely liquified.
2. Add the strawberry juice to the bottom of a tall glass.
3. Fill the glass with ice.
4. Top with the ginger ale. Stir in the rosemary syrup.
5. Garnish with a fresh sprig of rosemary and serve.

Rosemary Simple Syrup (printer-friendly version)
makes about one cup

1 cup water
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 sprigs fresh rosemary

1. Add the water, sugar, and rosemary to a small sauce pot. Stir until the sugar completely dissolves in the water. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Once the mixture begins to boil, remove from the heat and let the rosemary steep for at least one hour.
2. Pour the syrup into a container with a tight lid, straining out the rosemary. Store in the refrigerator.  

What I'm Giving: Roasted Rosemary Almonds

I thought I'd start off the week with one more round of roasted nuts. These roasted rosemary almonds  make an excellent snack to munch on during any Christmas Eve present-wrapping marathons. (I'm about to head out for a little last-minute shopping myself...) These roasted nuts are a delicious savory foil to the candied pecans recipe I posted on Saturday. And they are super-simple to make -- they take just about 30 minutes from start to finish.  

Roasted Rosemary Almonds (printer-friendly version)

makes 2 cups

2 cups whole almonds

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary

1 teaspoon chili powder

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

fresh ground pepper

1. Preheat an oven to 325 degrees. Cover a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and set aside.

2. In a medium-size bowl, stir together the almonds, olive oil, chopped rosemary, chili powder, salt, and pepper.

3. Place the coated almonds in a single layer onto the prepped baking sheet.

4. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes, or until the almonds are lightly browned. Let cool completely on the baking sheet before packing in an airtight container.

(from this Shutterbean recipe)

What's Baking: Rosemary-Lemon Butter Cookies

Back in mid-October, I saw a tweet about The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap, and I was immediately intrigued. It took me about two seconds to decide to participate. (Really, they had me at "cookies.") This event, which is in its second year, brings together food bloggers from around the world with one mission -- to swap delicious cookies. This year, the swap also partnered with Cookies for Kids' Cancer to raise money for pediatric cancer research.

Each participant was matched with the names and addresses of three other food bloggers. Our instructions were to send each of our matches a dozen cookies; in return we'd receive a dozen cookies from three different bloggers too. I received delicious espresso chocolate chip shortbread cookies from Sarah of Cooker Girl, honey-basil shortbread and chocolate mocha cookies from Justine at A Half-Baked Life, and peppermint crunch chocolate cookies from Denise at Addicted to Recipes. They were all delicious and I have to admit, none of them lasted very long in our house. I may or may not have had to fight D for the last espresso chocolate chip shortbread cookie.

My three batches of cookies went to Michelle of From Calculus to Cupcakes, Rosalynda of This Mama Can Cook!, and Janet from Simply So Good. I had a tough time deciding what cookies to bake for the swap. The only "rule" was that we were to bake a cookie that we hadn't featured on our blog before. After searching through a pile of recipes, I decided to give a Martha Stewart recipe for rosemary butter cookies a whirl. But of course, I had to add my own little spin to them -- I figured a little bit of lemon flavor would complement the savory taste of rosemary. Also, instead of following Martha's instructions for rolling the dough into a log and cutting circular slices, I chose to roll out the cookies and cut them into small flower shapes. Wild and crazy, I know.

I really liked how these cookies turned out -- they are the perfect complement to a warm cup of tea. I hope that you will give these a try -- they are definitely worth the effort.

Rosemary-Lemon Butter Cookies (printer-friendly version)
makes about 45 cookies (output depends on size of cookie cutter used)

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup raw sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice (feel free to add a bit more if you'd like a stronger lemon flavor)
2 1/2 cups sifted unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon lemon zest
coarse sanding sugar for sprinkling

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Stir together the flour, rosemary, salt, and lemon zest in a small bowl. Set aside.
3. Use an electric mixer with the paddle attachment to cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about two minutes. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl as needed.
4. Stir in the egg, vanilla, and lemon juice at medium speed.
5. Turn the speed to low and add the flour mixture. Continue stirring until the dough just comes together.
6. Turn the dough out onto a lightly-floured workspace. Pat into a 6" round. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 10 minutes. (Alternately, you can stop at this point, and chill the dough in the fridge for up to three days until ready to bake. Let the dough stand at room temperature for about 10 minutes to slightly soften before rolling it out.)
7. Place the chilled dough on a lightly-floured workspace. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a large circle of about 1/4" thickness. Use a cookie cutter to cut the cookies into your desired shape.
8. Place the cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle each cookie with coarse sanding sugar.
9. Bake in the oven for 20-22 minutes. or until the cookies are lightly golden on the edges.
10. Place the cookies on a wire rack to cool. Once cooled, store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days.

(adapted from this Martha Stewart recipe)

What's Baking: Salted Rosemary Flatbread

After Tracy at Shutterbean posted a recipe for herbed flatbread last week, I knew I'd have to give it a try sooner rather than later. Though yeast breads scare me, I can handle a six-ingredient flatbread. Particularly when all I need to do is stir the ingredients together with a wooden spoon. This recipe seriously couldn't be any simpler -- and the combination of rosemary and salt is just as good as it sounds. Though I was a little nervous about my ability to find Maldon salt in my small Northern Wisconsin town, I was super-stoked to find it at The Country Seed, one of the two natural foods stores in town (that also happens to be open on a Sunday).

Salted Rosemary Flatbread (printer-friendly version)
makes three flatbreads

1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped plus 2 (6-inch) sprigs
1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup filtered water
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil plus more for brushing
flaky sea salt such as Maldon

1. Place a baking stone or heavy baking sheet on the middle rack in the oven, Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
2. Sift together the flour, chopped rosemary, baking powder, and salt.
3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.
4. Add in the water and olive oil. Stir to combine until a ball of dough forms.
5. Turn the dough out onto a work surface. Knead it a few times.
6. Separate the dough into three evenly-size portions.
7. Wrap two of the portions in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge.
8. On a piece of parchment paper, roll out the remaining dough portion into a rough circular shape. The dough should be quite thin (about 1/8").
9. Brush the round with olive oil. Sprinkle the flaky sea salt over top. Press a few bunches of fresh rosemary into the dough.
10. Bake in the oven on the parchment paper for 8-10 minutes, or until the flatbread is golden brown.
11. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.
12. Repeat steps 8-11 with the remaining two portions of dough. (Alternately, store in the fridge for 1-2 days until ready to bake.)

(adapted from this Shutterbean recipe)

Yeah, I'm a total sucker for the tomato-basil-mozzarella combination -- I couldn't help but top one of the flatbreads with a little margherita-inspired combination.

What's For DInner: Rosemary Crusted Tilapia with Whole-Wheat Spaghetti

So, now that I have a big ol' jar of bread crumbs, I suppose it would make sense to actually use them! For this recipe, I used the bread crumbs to bread tilapia fillets. I based my bread crumb mixture on the parmesan-crusted tilapia fillets we bought at Whole Foods a couple of weeks ago. When eating the fillets the last time around I thought it was a little dry, so this time I served the crusted (mmm, such a delicious word!) with a side of spaghetti and mariana sauce.

Rosemary Crusted Tilapia with Whole-Wheat Spaghetti (printer-friendly version)

makes 2 servings

2 tilapia fillets

2 egg whites

2 tablespoon water

1/3 cup bread crumbs

1/3 cup pecorino romano cheese

1 teaspoon dried rosemary, chopped

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

freshly ground black pepper

fine sea salt

olive oil

whole wheat spaghetti

1 cup marinara sauce

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Cover a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Set aside.

3. In large shallow bowl, mix together the egg whites and water. Set aside.

4. Another large shallow bowl, stir together the bread crumbs, romano cheese, rosemary, and oregano.

5. Dip one fillet into the egg-white mixture.

6. Season the fillet with salt and pepper.

7. Then place the fillet in the bread crumb mixture and coat both sides evenly.

8. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat the process with the second fillet.

9. Drizzle the tops of each prepared fillet with olive oil.

10. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, or until the fish is flaky.

11. While the fish is cooking, cook the spaghetti and warm the marinara sauce.

12. Place a fillet next to (or on) a bed of spaghetti.

What's On The Side: Roasted Garlic-Rosemary Fingerling Potatoes

I picked up a bag of organic fingerling potatoes (Purity brand) at the grocery store and decided they'd make an excellent accompaniment to our venison steaks. One bonus of roasting fingerling potatoes in the oven is that, unlike baked potatoes, they don't take that long to cook, and when tossed in a few ingredients beforehand, they come out super-tasty.

Roasted Garlic-Rosemary Fingerling Potatoes (printer-friendly version)

makes 2 servings

12 fingerling potatoes (try to choose ones that are about the same size)

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary

fine sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

2. Wash and dry the fingerling potatoes to remove any dirt.

3. Place the potatoes in a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil.

4. Add in the minced garlic and rosemary. Season with the sea salt and black pepper.

5. Toss to combine. Make sure the potatoes are evenly coated with the olive oil and seasonings.

6. Gently pour the seasoned fingerling potatoes onto a rimmed baking sheet.

7. Roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork tender.

8. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then serve.

What's For Dinner: Rosemary Chicken Breasts with Wild Rice and Caprese Salad

Chicken breasts were standard fare when I was growing up -- "chicken with snot" was my nickname for the soup-covered chicken breast entree that had a starring role in many a weeknight dinner. Amazingly, I'm pretty sure that this is the first time that I've cooked chicken breasts on my own. And, full disclosure, it didn't go all that well -- but D helped me salvage the meal. Let's just say that Rachael Ray's instructions to cook the breasts on the stovetop didn't quite work out, but baking them in the oven did rectify my almost-disaster. And a glass of wine in between did wonders to my psyche. (Thank you, Lindeman's 2009 shiraz!) Our chicken breasts were served alongside a caprese salad (made with an ohmygawd so good!! heirloom tomato from Whole Foods) and some wild rice. All in all, it was a good learning experience, and I'm hoping that next time I'll have a little more confidence when cooking chicken!

For the meat itself, I opted to purchase organic boneless and skinless chicken breasts from the Whole Foods butcher. Whole Foods' standards for raising poultry include no antibiotics, no animal byproducts in the feed, no beak trimming, and appropriate litter for comfort and natural foraging. (Read more about Whole Foods' Farm Animal and Meat Quality Standards here.) In addition, animals are raised humanely and "processed with a measure of compassion." Though I still have some qualms about slaughtering (I think purchasing straight from a well-researched farm would be the best), I do feel a lot better purchasing this chicken rather than one raised under factory-farm conditions. And to be honest, when my initial attempts at cooking the chicken breasts seemed to be heading toward failure, I was most concerned that my chicken had died for naught, rather than that I would possibly have ruined dinner for myself and D. A little hippy-dippy? Maybe, but that's my perspective when it comes to eating as a conscientious omnivore!

Rosemary Chicken Breasts (printer-friendly version)

makes 2 servings

2 8 oz organic boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 clove garlic, pressed

1/2 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped

freshly ground black pepper

fine sea salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a small bowl, mix together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and pressed garlic clove.

3. Set the chicken breasts on a plate.

4. Brush each chicken breast with the olive oil mixture. Cover both sides thoroughly.

5. Season with salt and pepper.

6. Sprinkle both chicken breasts with the chopped rosemary.

7. Place in the fridge and allow the chicken to marinate for at least 10 minutes.

{marinating chicken breasts}

8. Place both chicken breasts in a glass baking dish. Cover the dish with aluminum foil.

9. Bake in the oven for at least 30-35 minutes, or until the juices run clear and the internal temperature has reached 170 degrees.

10. Remove from the oven and let rest for a couple minutes, then serve.

What's For Dinner: Pasta with Asparagus and Goat Cheese

For tonight's dinner, I opted to use up the ginormous stalks of asparagus that D and I picked up at the Boulder farmers' market over a week ago. The stalks were still nice and firm -- and tasted delish!

Pasta with Asparagus and Goat Cheese 

makes 4 servings

16 oz pasta (I used gemelli)

large bunch asparagus, ends snapped off, rinsed, and cut into 1-2" pieces

3 oz goat cheese

1/4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped fine

zest of one lemon

juice from 1/2 a lemon

fine sea salt

freshly ground black pepper.

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. As the water begins to boil, add a pinch of fine sea salt.

2. Cook the pasta according to the manufacturer's instructions.

3. Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine the goat cheese, olive oil, rosemary, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Stir together with a fork. Set aside.

4. When 3 minutes of cooking time remains for the pasta, add the asparagus to the water.

5. When cooking is complete, drain the pasta and asparagus; save one cup of pasta water.

6. Add the cooked pasta and asparagus into the mixing bowl with the goat cheese mixture. Stir to combine with a wooden spoon. Add some of the pasta water if the mixture is too dry. Season with fine sea salt and black pepper to taste.

7. Serve immediately. Garnish with more finely-chopped fresh rosemary if desired.

(adapted from this Bon Appetit recipe)