As promised here's the story: I don't bake great bread, but I will put the ingredients into the breadmaker and enjoy whatever comes out! A year or two ago I discovered this recipe for Sun-dried Tomato Foccacia and I attempted it and it (surprisingly) came out great. So I've made it a few times since. It uses only the dough cycle on the machine, plus 1 minute of hand kneading, a short time in an oiled bowl, then rolled out onto the baking pan for another rise and finally baked after brushing with olive oil and adding cheese and seasoning. I did something different this time, I used Napastyle Citrus Rosemary Gray Salt on top with the cheese, in place of garlic salt and rosemary and it is amazing!
Sun Dried Tomato Foccacia
1 cup water -- plus 1 tablespoon water
3 cups bread flour
2 tablespoons powdered milk
3 1/2 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 teaspoons yeast
1/2 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes
Olive oil
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons crushed rosemary
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
Place water, flour, powdered milk, sugar, salt, butter or margarine, tomatoes, and yeast into bread machine in the order suggested by the machine's manufacturer. Set to Dough cycle, and start the machine.
When the bread machine has finished the Dough cycle, take the dough out. Knead for 1 minute by hand. Place in an oiled bowl, and turn a few times to coat the surface of the dough. Cover with a damp cloth, and let rise for 15 minutes in a warm place.
Dust a 10- by 15-inch baking tray with cornmeal. Roll out dough to fit the pan. Make indentations in the dough with your finger tips. Brush top surface with oil, and cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise for 30 minutes.
Sprinkle with Parmesan, rosemary, garlic salt, and mozzarella. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, or until nicely browned. Cool slightly, and cut into squares for serving.
Source:
"Bread Recipe.Com (ABM recipe collection) at http://www.breadrecipe.com"
As in Life: you need to Try It so I can say---He Likes It--Hey Mikey!!
We trekked into the city on Saturday afternoon, in the heat! Our theory was that Sunday was promised to be hotter and more crowded! Nana wanted to head to Central Park to snap some pictures of Victorian Gardens so we strolled through the park, something we haven't done in a very long time. After the gardens we hit the Carousel; The Mall with many performing street acts; Naumbung Bandshell; Bethesda Terrace and Fountain; the Lake and checked out the menu at the Loeb Boathouse; and finally on to the Conservatory Water pool where they sail model sail boats and we rested near the Alice in Wonderland statue. It was a great time revisiting sights we remember seeing for the first time 40 years ago and then showing them to our kids 20 years ago.
We exited the park at 76th Street and caught a bus down 5th Avenue to the Plaza Hotel. Walked to 57th window shopping in Bergdorf's and across to 6th Avenue. Our destination was Rue 57 Brasserie Parisienne et Sushi Bar. We had stopped here a few years ago after a Saturday Matinee on Broadway for drinks and ended up having a few appetizers at the bar. This time we were going to have a proper meal and a bottle of wine. We sat on the Sixth Avenue side in the open window just one table from the sidewalk cafe portion. Thus taking advantage of the airconditioning but enjoying the ambiance of alfresco dining!
The restaurant bills itself as: The city's only brasserie-sushi bar! Not sure why they went with the combo, but it seems to work. They offer a good amount of seafoods in addition to the sushi. As we are much more into Francophile favorites we chose to stick with the Brasserie side of the menu.
We shared the BUTTER LETTUCE SALADE sliced pear, sundried tomatoes, parmesan, house vinaigrette. The vinegar pronounced dressing complimented the sundried tomatoes and sparked up the butter lettuce and pear slices. A very good choice on such a hot day. The wine of choice was a Californian Fume Blanc with just the right amount of crispness to be cooling and refreshing.
Nana's entree was the Plat Du Jour: SEA SCALLOPS with truffle mashed potato, spinach and asparagus and crispy onion garnish. She said it was great, I tasted the truffle mashed potatoes and could have made a meal of them!
My dish of choice was: POTATO CRUSTED SALMON with melted leeks, crimini mushroom ragoût and barolo sauce. It was really very good. The Barolo sauce was perfectly reduced to that just before syrup stage and added a nice depth to the dish.
While this is no 5 star establishment, we found the food tasty, well cooked and beautifully presented. Our server was friendly and attentive and plates were cleared by staff efficiently and only when we both had completed our courses.
We skipped dessert and decided to walk over to the Time Warner Center for some retail therapy. Our two favorite spots there are of course Williams-Sonoma and Borders. No purchases this time, just loads of drooling!
From there we trekked home on the subway, air-conditioned thankfully! It was about an 8 hour visit to the city starting around 2:30 and returning home just after 10:30. We always enjoy our holiday treks, seems like so many depart the city and we invade it!
Keep an eye out for these reports:
Chicken cooked under a brick with Black Pepper Maple Sauce
Chicken with Mustard/Lemon/Shallots en Papillote
Beet Gazpacho
Sun-dried Tomato Foccacia
English Muffin Bread
