cakeypal: October 2007 Archives

Last night, Johnnie and I had dinner at Pangea with Alex and Kyle, who were actually excited about dining with a food blogger. I keep wondering if my friends will get tired of eating out with me--impatient with my picture taking and recording notes on the dinner and conversations. I love that Alex and Kyle actually invited me along because I blog. And they're just so fun to eat with anyway because they are great conversationalists. Kyle told a story about asking Harold Bloom to leave a classroom (Kyle was teaching and Bloom came in before the class was over) and Alex spied Jacques Derrida ordering a bagel and cream cheese in Irvine. You've got to love a conversation in which academics gossip about the big names in our little universe, don't you? Those were just two stories that made dinner such a pleasurable experience. 

In addition to the great conversation, I'm happy to say that I finally had a meal worth blogging about. Pangea, which opened in Fresno just a few months ago, offers small plates/tapas (although, as they say, the plates are a little bigger than tapas). They offer global cuisine, in that they mix flavors and styles from a variety of palettes within one dish. It's in Fig Garden Village in Fresno and its interior reflects the high-end location.

Our waiter started us off with bread which we could then dip in garlic infused olive oil or slather with onion butter. Another complimentary dish followed: mushroom risotto cakes. Both were a nice beginning to the meal.

We decided to choose five dishes, then later added a sixth because we wanted to try one of the sushi dishes. The fritto misto and Mexican sushi were the first two plates to arrive. The fritto misto, accompanied by an aioli dip, was presented in a conical metal basket and included both vegetables and calimari. I enjoyed the green beans and asparagus . . . and I even tried the calimari. I loved the Mexican sushi with salmon topped with tortilla crumbles. Our table soon was cluttered with dips, since it came with one as well. I was glad we had added on the sushi, though, a creative and tasty combination of Mexican and Japanese cuisines.

Twelve years ago, I clipped a recipe for focaccia from the Arizona Republic. I've been making it ever since--even though I've tried other recipes, I always come back to this one. It has more steps than other recipes for focaccia, but the results (not a fluffy, but a firmer while still airy focaccia) illustrate the importance of going through the whole process.

The recipe also provides variations, all of which I've tried and enjoyed. Since I'm going to a party today, I decided to make the focaccia provencale--a little showier than the basic focaccia or the focaccia with rosemary (which is my favorite variation). I hope my friends enjoy this dish!

Basic Focaccia

Sponge:
1 t. active dry yeast
1/2 c. warm water
3/4 c. unbleached all-purpose flour

Dough:
1 t. active dry yeast
1 c. warm water
3 T. extra virgin olive oil
3 1/4 c. unbleached, all-purpose flour
2 t. sea salt

Topping:
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 to 1 1/4 t. coarse sea salt

For the sponge: Sprinkle yeast over warm water in a large mixing bowl. Whisk it in and let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in flour. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let stand until bubbly and doubled in volume, about 45 minutes.

For the dough: Sprinkle yeast over warm water in a small bowl. Let stand until creamy, about 5 to 10 minutes. With a wooden spoon, stire the yeast mixture and the olive oil into the sponge and mix well. Stir in 1 c. of the flour and the salt. Stir in enough of the remaining flour to produce a soft dough. Knead on a lightly floured board until soft and smooth, about 6 to 8 minutes.
      Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Or let rise in refrigerator overnight.
      Divide in half and press into two lightly oiled, 9 inch round cake pans. If dough shrinks from the sides, let rest a few minutes and then stretch it again.
      Cover with a towel and let it rise in a warm place for 5 minutes, or until dough is full of air bubbles. Just before baking, press your fingertips deep into the dough all over the surface to evenly dimple the loaf. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt.
      Bake at 425 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, until top is golden. Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.
      Makes two loaves; serves 8 to 16.

Focaccia with Rosemary

1 recipe focaccia dough (above)
3 T. minced fresh rosemary leaves
1 1/2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 t. sea salt
Springs of fresh rosemary

Make dough, adding the minced rosemary during the initial mixing. Proceed with the rising and shaping. Just before baking, dimple the top of the dough with your fingertips and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Press a few sprigs (two leaf springs, not branches) of rosemary into the dough. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on a wire rack.

Focaccia with Walnuts and Gorgonzola

1 recipe focaccia dough (above)
1/2 c. walnut pieces
1/4 of a large red onion
4 oz. Gorgonzola cheese
2 T. olive oil

Make focaccia dough according to the recipe, through the rising and shaping. Spread walnut pieces in a baking pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 7 minutes, or until fragrant and golden. Cool. Slice onion very thin.
     After patting the dough into two 9 inch round cake pans, dimple with your fingertips and scatter walnuts over the top. Separate onion slices into pieces and scatter over top. Break Gorgonzola into small pieces and scatter over top. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake 10 minutes longer, taking care that toppings do not burn. Remove from pans and cool.

Focaccia Provencale

1 recipe focaccia dough (above)
1 can (14.5 oz.) plum tomatoes, drained and chopped
1 T. chopped fresh basil
2 garlic cloves, sliced thin
1 can  (2.24 oz.) sliced black olives, drained
4 t. dried oregano
2 T. olive oil
1 t. sea salt

Make focaccia dough according to the recipe, through the rising and shaping. After dough is stretched into two 9 inch round cake pans, dimple deeply with fingertips.
     In a small bowl, stir together the chopped tomatoes and basil. Spread half of the mixture over each loaf. Cover with a towel and let rise until puffy, about 45 minutes.
     Dimple the loaves again and top with garlic, olives and oregano, gently pressing in the olives. Drizzle evenly with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from pans and cool.

Timeline of my versions of chicken with mushrooms:

Childhood: Never made it--we weren't a mushroom loving home.

College: Made chicken with Campbell's Mushroom Soup.

After college: Learned to make a version with cream and butter from my friend Brett.

For the last few days, I've been craving Brett's version, but I didn't really want to do the whole cream and butter thing. So I did a google search and came up with a recipe at Epicurious.com for which I had most of the ingredients. I didn't sweat the details--just threw together what I had, using the recipe as inspiration to include tarragon and thyme in the dish. Since I was in the mood for comfort food, I also cut the chicken in chunks rather than leaving the breasts whole. I'm not sure why I perceive that as being more comforting . . . perhaps because I don't have to cut the chicken to eat it? In any event, the result was delicious!!!! The chicken was tender and flavorful, and the sauce was divine, even without cream and butter. Next time I make this, I'll keep the chicken breasts whole.

After one of my posts about my search for Mexican food, Jefferson emailed with a list of his favorites. Today I had lunch at Tacos Marquitos, a casual taqueria close to campus. I've learned over the years that sometimes one has to go back to a restaurant and try different things on the menu to really understand whether the restaurant is any good. Although that isn't always true (and sometimes I can tell from just one visit), I feel like Tacos Marquitos merits another trip or two.

I ordered the Fish Tacos today and wasn't crazy about them. The fish was a little dry and not terribly flavorful; the photo above makes them look better than they tasted. Samina had the Tacos de Papa (potato tacos fried and topped with cotija). Since she generously shared a taco with me, I can attest that, while they're far from the best tacos I've ever had, they are different and tasty in their own way. The potatoes were browned and a little crispy complemented by the fresh toppings.

What I found most intriguing about Tacos Marquitos was the menu. They serve a number of dishes that I don't see in many Mexican restaurants like tortas, corundas (tamales with the meat on top rather than inside) and pambazo (a torta dipped in enchilada sauce, then fried). According to one review, Tacos Marquitos serves dishes from the Michoacan Region.

I'll return to Tacos Marquitos--I want to try more of their unusual dishes. However, I must admit that I'm beginning to grow weary of blogging about just so-so meals. I really need to find a restaurant that wows me, one that I'm really excited about. I promise . . . that will happen soon!