(Dolen Perkins-Valdez, hardback). From the title you might think this is a book about the s-x word. It’s not. By a long shot. But the story, set in about 1852, is about a black slave woman, and her somewhat misguided “love” for her master. About the children she bore him, under the eagle eye of the master’s wife. But it’s all tied together with a yearly journey made to a place called Tawawa House, a rural inn of sorts in southern Ohio (a free State), that for some years allowed white slave owners to stay at the resort in rustic cottages with their black slaves, as couples. This place existed, according to the author’s afterword, and finally closed because some of the regulars (white couples who stayed in the main house) didn’t fancy this concubine business going on out in the woods. It’s about Lizzie’s relationships with the other slave women, about their desire to run to safety through the local underground, about them secretly meeting some free blacks, finding out more about abolition, and about the hardships all these black mistresses endured, and how little their lives were valued. A real stunning book. (I was sent this book as a perk from Harper Collins – because I had mentioned The Help. No strings attached – I could choose to mention this book, or not, here on my blog. I’m glad to because it’s a very good read.)
(Jamie Ford, on my Kindle). A poignant story about a Chinese-American, growing up in Seattle at the beginning of World War II. Henry falls in love with a young Japanese girl before her family is interned in a relocation camp. It a very secretive relationship because his parents would highly disapprove. The story goes back to the 40’s and forward to the 1980’s when Henry is in his 50’s and his wife (not the Japanese woman) has just died of cancer. The story pulls you in from the first page, especially when some artifacts are found in the basement of an old hotel which contain personal belongings from several Japanese families who were suddenly taken away back in 1942. You can see where it’s going, can’t you? I heard criticism of this book that it was just a little bit contrived. Halfway through I’m enjoying it very much.
(Kathryn Stockett on my Kindle, an excellent read); 
by Jetta Carleton (Kindle edition, eh); 
by Susan Richards (Kindle edition, good book); 
by Sally Gunning (Kindle edition, very good read)
; 
; 
(Mario Batali & Gweneth Paltrow); 
; 
.
Well now. You haven’t seen very many pizza or focaccia recipes on my blog. Why? Because I don’t make them all that much as we try to limit those kinds of carbs. There is one pizza post I did about two years ago (that’s the last time I made it!) – the Chicken, Red Onion, Kalamata Olive and Pesto Pizza – and when I make pizza, that’s about the ONLY one I prepare. But when I had this focaccia a week or so ago, served with the Italian Sausage & Tomato Soup that was so off-the-charts good, I knew I wanted to make this at home. I may have used just a bit more cheese, but with that one exception, I made it exactly as Phillis made it. It’s so perfect to pair with the soup – any soup just about – but it was particularly good with the Italian flavors of the sausage and tomato soup. 
It would really help if you live in Trader Joe’s country, though, since you buy the raw pizza dough there AND the artichoke-lemon pesto from there too. I didn’t even look at what’s contained in the pesto, but I suppose you could try to make your own with some canned, chopped artichoke hearts, some olive oil and lemon juice, maybe lemon zest. It’s kind of thick and goopy, not thin.
Pizza Dough Tip:
It’s much easier to pat raw pizza dough on a Silpat – it sticks to the Silpat so it stretches more readily and stays there!
Anyway, you pat out the pizza dough first. I learned a really important cooking tip about this – pizza dough is ever so much easier to handle if you pat and spread it out on a Silpat. Wow, what a difference from working at it on a countertop. I put the Silpat right in my big rimmed baking sheet, plopped the dough on it, sat down in front of the TV and worked away at it for about 4-5 minutes maybe, and it was done.
You spread the artichoke pesto mixture on top, then add all the Mozzarella. I used whole milk Mozzarella because that’s what I had in my refrigerator. Certainly makes for a more tasty cheese. Then you add thinly sliced rounds of zucchini and red onion to the top, some grated Parmesan (I used Pecorino, actually), and a bit of dried oregano that I scrunched up between my palms before sprinkling it evenly on the top. I’m sure I used more than 1/2 teaspoon, though. It gets baked at a high temp – 450 – and you want to serve it right out of the oven so the cheese is bubbling hot.
To American tastes, there may not be much difference between focaccia and pizza. But going back in Italian history, focaccia is more like a snack, a bread snack. Often Italians serve it plain, with a dimpled top, sometimes with a light slick of olive oil pooling in the dimples. I well remember walking along a little side street in an Italian beach city, peering in a bakery side window with trays and trays of focaccia just baked. The baker was brushing olive oil all over the dimpled top surface. Oh the aroma was heavenly. But that was really plain – it was just bread, salt and olive oil. No cheese or herbs even. Here we often add toppings to focaccia, so it differs very little from pizza – which I consider more of an entree rather than a snack. So there’s your culinary lesson of the day!
Artichoke Zucchini Focaccia
Recipe: Phillis Carey
Servings: 8
1 package raw pizza dough from Trader Joe’s
1/2 cup artichoke lemon pesto from Trader Joe’s
2 cups Mozzarella cheese — grated
1 cup zucchini slices — sliced very thin
1/2 cup red onion — very thinly sliced
1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese — grated [or Pecorino]
1 teaspoon dried oregano — crushed between your palms
1. Preheat oven to 450.
2. Stretch (or roll out) the raw pizza dough on a Silpat-lined rimmed baking sheet, to about 8×12 inches.
3. Spread with artichoke pesto and sprinkle with Mozzarella. Scatter the zucchini and red onion over the cheese and sprinkle with Parmesan and oregano.
4. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust is crisp and edges are turning a golden brown. Cut lengthwise, then across in rectangular strips. Serve hot.
printer-friendly PDF recipe
A year ago: Wednesday Breakfast Scones
Two years ago: Almond Cranberry Cookies
0 Comments