Kitchen Social Focaccia

Yield: ½ sheet

2 ¼ teaspoons instant dry yeast (1 envelope)

½ cup plus 1 ½ tablespoons granulated sugar, divided

1 teaspoon sea salt

6 tablespoons olive oil

¼ cup water, heated to 110-115 degrees

1 ½ cups whole milk

2 large eggs, scrambled

5 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

Salt and Pepper

Herbs de province

Preheat oven to 375

  In a small bowl, combine warm water, yeast and 1 ½ tablespoons sugar. Mix to dissolve and let stand for 5 minutes in a warm place to bloom yeast. Mixture will develop a foamy skin on top.

  In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, combine remaining sugar, oil, salt, milk, eggs and yeast mixture and mix at medium speed to combine. Turn mixer to slow speed and gradually add flour, beating until a smooth, consistent dough is formed. Transfer dough to a greased mixing bowl and cover with saran wrap. Place in warm, humid area or proofing oven until dough doubles in size, about 40 minutes. Turn dough out onto oiled ½ sheet, with oiled hands spread out evenly, can even let rest a few minutes to let gluten relax a bit before getting it spread out.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and herbs.

Let proof again for a about 45 minutes. Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes until golden on top. Let cool and cut.

Fresh Pasta Dough

yeild: 2 servings

Making fresh pasta dough is fun and very easy. Traditionally, the dough is mixed directly on a board or counter but it is acceptable to begin the dough in a bowl to limit the cleanup. Laminate counter tops are fine for kneading dough but natural or engineered stone is best as it is non-porous and maintains constant temperature, especially important when working with yeast doughs.

1 ¼ cups all purpose flour

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon olive oil

½ teaspoon sea salt

  In a bowl or on a countertop, combine the salt and flour. Using your fingers, create a well in the center of the mound, being sure that the well’s walls are equally thick and high. In a separate container, combine eggs and olive oil. Scramble eggs with a fork to incorporate oil.

  Add 1/3 of egg/oil mixture to center of well. Using a swirling motion, pull flour from inner walls of well into eggs and mix until it forms a thick paste. If working on a countertop, be careful not to break through the walls of the well as egg will run out over the work surface. When center is no longer runny, add half of remaining egg mixture and stir to paste. Add remaining liquid and repeat. Continue to mix until fork is no longer effective and then turn dough out onto work surface.

  Knead dough by flattening, folding it in half and pressing hard with the palm of your hand. Rotate 90’ and repeat over and over until dough is a consistent color (no patches of flour or egg mixture) and begins to feel springy. Pasta dough should be visibly bumpy but soft and smooth to the touch. To test, press a finger into dough. The depression made by your finger should spring back almost entirely. Flatten dough into a disk 1 ½ inches thick, wrap with saran and place in cooler to rest for 20-30 minutes or until finger divot does not bounce back. This means that the gluten that was excited in the kneading process has relaxed and the dough is ready to be rolled and cut.

Cajun cream sauce

Yield 2

1 cup heavy cream

½ tablespoon basil

½ tablespoon thyme

3 garlic cloves minced

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon parsley

1 tablespoon green onions

½ cup parmesan

Salt and pepper to taste

Combine everything in a sauce pot and mix until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth

Southern style crab cakes

  yield: 2

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

½ can crab meat

½ cup bread crumbs, divided

1 teaspoon old bay seasoning

1 teaspoon paprika

1 green onion, chopped

¼ cup sour cream

½ cup frying oil

1 egg

Roasted red pepper aoli

½ roasted red pepper

1 cup mayonnaise

1 garlic clove

Pinch salt

1 tablespoon parsley

Place roasted red pepper, garlic, and mayonnaise in a blender. Blend until smooth and no chunks are present. Stir in salt, and parsley. Pour out into a bowl or squeeze bottle

Set aside.

In a medium bowl add crab meat,egg, mustard, green onion, paprika, old bay seasoning, sour cream, green onion, and salt and pepper to taste. On a clean plate add bread crumbs. Form a patty with the crab cake filling, place into bread crumbs and coat completely on both sides. Place into frying oil, fry until golden brown and serve with zesty mayo.

Honeydew Salad with Ginger Dressing

Yield 2

3 Tbsp. white wine vinegar

1 tsp. fish sauce

1 tsp. finely grated peeled ginger

1 tsp. brown sugar

1/2 serrano chile, thinly sliced

1/4  medium honeydew melon seeds and rind removed, sliced

1/2  cucumbers, sliced on a diagonal ¼” thick

1 avocado, peeled, thinly sliced

¼ cup  peanuts, coarsely chopped

Feta or goat cheese to taste

 salt and pepper to taste

Whisk vinegar, fish sauce, ginger, and brown sugar in a large bowl to combine. Add chile and let sit 10 minutes.

Add melon, cucumbers, and avocado and toss gently to coat. Transfer to a plate with arugula with peanuts and sprinkle with salt/pepper.

Brownie pudding (chocolate lava cobbler)

  yield: 8

1 cup flour

2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

½ cup milk

2 tablespoons veggie oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup brown sugar

4 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 ½ cup hot water

Preheat oven 350

Grease 9×9 pan

In a small bowl mix together flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, milk, veggie oil, and vanilla. The batter will be very thick. Pour into prepared pan, spread evenly.

In a small bowl combine brown sugar and remaining cocoa powder, pour over top of thick batter. DON’T MIX.

Pour hot water on top and place in the oven. Bake for 30-40 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.