Author: akc

It’s One of Samin’s: Ligurian Focaccia

It’s One of Samin’s: Ligurian Focaccia

by akc

So this Ligurian Focaccia is not a Deb recipe, but I made it recently and it’s so good, and so easy, I have to share. I’ve made this twice; once a full batch and most recently a half batch, as we discovered that it’s best when it’s fresh. I got a quarter sheet pan for this, but you could also do it free-form in a larger one.

I do the first rise for longer than is called for, mostly on the counter but I pop it in the fridge overnight. In a warm climate (or in the summer) you could do a longer rise entirely in the fridge. Update 3/22/23: I made this again tonight but this time did the entire rise on the counter to see if that had any ill effects. It did not! The focaccia was light and airy but still substantial. In the summer I would probably just move this to my basement if the kitchen seemed too warm.

To have this fresh from the oven for dinner, I prep the dough 26 hours ahead of dinner, and then about 2 hours ahead I start the steps after the first rise. 3/22/23: I made a point of oiling the sides of the pan this time and that helped it release with less finagling. Be generous with the oil you put on the pan before you pour the dough in.

This is delicious and savory, and if you haven’t had fresh focaccia you are missing out. It isn’t too oily, but it is on the saltier side. If you’re skeptical, hold off on the sprinkle of flaky salt and see if you need it when it comes out of the oven.

A silver sheet pan is filled with fresh-baked focaccia. It's golden brown with light colored dimples, and has a bit of a shine from a final brush of olive oil.
Ligurian Focaccia, from Salt Fat Acid Heat.
(A Riff On) Old School Baked Ziti

(A Riff On) Old School Baked Ziti

by akc

We were spending New Year’s Eve with some friends and decided to bring a baked ziti to share, and this Old School Baked Ziti immediately jumped to mind. I’ve made it a couple of times previously and it’s simple and delicious and I knew it would lend itself well to being riffed on.

For this variation, we omitted the sausage (we were feeding a vegetarian). To backfill a bit of the flavor I added a heaping tablespoon or so each of crushed red pepper, dried basil, dried oregano, and fennel seeds. And lots of garlic. To fill it out a bit I used a huge onion and about 5oz of spinach. For cheese, we used a mix of mozzarella and parmesan, and also threw in some ricotta we had leftover from making ravioli.

We assembled this and then baked it at our friends’ house, where it came out perfectly, and was cozy meal for a cozy night in.

A corner piece of baked ziti sits on a small white plate edged in red and black stripes. The ziti is made with a ribbed penne, and is coated in melty, browned cheese. It is falling apart and looks delicious.
Some of the leftover Old School Baked Ziti from the Smitten Kitchen blog.
Whole Wheat Raspberry Ricotta Scones

Whole Wheat Raspberry Ricotta Scones

by akc

These Whole Wheat Raspberry Ricotta Scones were one of the first Deb recipes my husband made for me when things started getting serious. As it’s the 10th anniversary of our first date this month (how?!) he made them again. They are delightful — light and just barely sweetened. The raspberries melt into the scone.

The first time he made them, he copied the recipe out of my copy of The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook while I was otherwise occupied. “This was early enough that it still felt like sneaking around.” He made the dough at his place and brought them to mine to bake them off, where they came out “woefully undercooked. But they’re OK this time because I put them back in for a few more minutes.”

These come together very quickly. He made them and popped them into the oven, and had just enough time to clean up the kitchen and make eggs before they came out and cooled for a couple of minutes.

I asked what he likes about the recipe, and he pointed to a formatting choice Deb made. He didn’t have a pastry blender (we still don’t) and she includes instructions to make these with and without one. She also makes it easy to see in the recipe by breaking out the step that uses the pastry blender into separate “with and without” paragraphs. Knowing exactly what to do made him confident that he could make them.

While I can’t promise that making these scones for someone will lead to marriage, I can promise that you’ll have a lovely morning if you do.

A partially eaten scone on a white plate, with some crumbs in the background. The scone is square, lightly golden brown, and has spots of pink here and there.
The Whole Wheat Raspberry Ricotta Scones from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook.
Whole Lemon Poppyseed Cake

Whole Lemon Poppyseed Cake

by akc

I made this for dessert on Christmas day. The original plan had been to make cupcakes, but much like deciding to make waffles instead of cinnamon rolls, I wanted to simplify. So instead I paged through Smitten Kitchen Keepers and decided to make the Whole Lemon Poppyseed Cake.

Like her Whole Lemon Bars, this recipe uses a whole lemon blitzed in the food processor. And in this case since there’s no crust to make, you can make the whole thing in either a food processor or a blender, which was fun.

Mine was cooked through in about 30 minutes but didn’t brown on the top at all. I put it back in for 5 minutes to see if it would start browning, but it did not. I think my oven wasn’t keeping the temperature well, which happens from time to time. (The pilot light is kind of finicky.) In addition to not being browned it’s a bit denser than I expected, but since mine hadn’t risen the way Deb’s did that’s not surprising.

This was good but is just a smidge more bitter than I want. I’m not sure if that was my lemon, my oven, or just the way of this cake. If I make it again I might try adding a little more sugar, or planning for it to be more of a snacking cake rather than a dessert.

A close up of a bouquet. A red anemone with a black center is open a the top. Below it are a peach ranunculus and a blooming red rose.
I neglected to take a picture of the cake, so here’s a bouquet I bought myself shortly before Christmas.
2022 Best Books of the Year by Vibes

2022 Best Books of the Year by Vibes

by akc

We interrupt your somewhat regularly scheduled cooking programming with a post about things you should read.

This year I read a lot of really good books. Some I rated 5 stars, some I rated 4. Since the star rating really just represents a hot take after I finish the book, it doesn’t necessarily reflect books that stuck with me. So that brings us to this list.

First of all, the best book I read this year was The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill. It’s so good and the slow burn of creepiness was perfection. If you are a mystery fan you should absolutely pick this up.

Light From Uncommon Stars, by Ryka Aoki: The description for this will make you wonder how it could possibly work, but it does and it’s so lovely.

Vespertine, by Margaret Rogerson: If you’re pretty sure you’d like The Locked Tomb series if you had any idea WTF was going on, you’ll probably like this and you’ll definitely be able to follow it.

The Rose Code, Kate Quinn: A WWII novel about female codebreakers. Full of wonderful storytelling and characters.

Shit Cassandra Saw, Gwen E. Kirby: A playful and hilarious collection of stories. My favorite was Midwestern Girl Is Tired Of Appearing In Your Short Stories, but A Few Normal Things That Happen A Lot was a close second.

A History of Wild Places, Shea Earnshaw: This caught my attention and kept it. Some may think the twist is obvious, but I figured it out shortly before the characters did which made for a very satisfying reading experience.

Matrix, Lauren Groff: You may think you don’t want to read about a 12th century nun, but you’re wrong.

Great Circle, by Maggie Shipstead: This is long but very worth it. My book club really enjoyed this.

Sea of Tranquility, Emily St. John Mandel: This book is a whole mood.

The Paradox Hotel, Rob Hart: People vacation via time travel and have to stay at a giant hotel the night before. What could possibly go wrong?

Strange Practice, Vivian Shaw: Vampires need health care, too. As do mummies and assorted other supernatural beings.

The Women Could Fly, Megan Giddings: What if the witch trials happened today? (shudders)

If for some reason you want to see everything I read this year, here you go.