Alyssa's Hobby: Jewelry! (with a tutorial)

I've been making jewelry for as long as I can remember.  I sold Fimo pendants to my classmates in middle school, turned my college apartment into a jewelry shop for a day, and had a booth at The Christmas Connection (a huge gift show in Cleveland).  I put away my supplies when I got a full-time job after college, as there was just not enough time to play with beads.  But now that I've got a bit of free time on my hands, I decided to break out the pliers again.

So I started an Etsy shop!  I'm really excited to be making jewelry again.  It's incredibly satisfying to make something with your own hands, and have a finished product to be proud of when you're done.  I thought you guys might be interested in learning how to do the same, so here's a little tutorial on how to make a simple pair of drop earrings.

Carla was browsing my shop the other day and mentioned that she liked a pair with really beautiful faceted red agate and green jasper that I found in Taipei.  Let's make a pair for her.  The best part?  I'll be able to give them to her in just over a WEEK because she's coming to Tokyo to visit!  I'm beyond excited, and this will be a nice welcome gift for her.  But shhh, don't tell her ;)

How to Make Simple Drop Earrings

Alyssa's May Favorites

I don't know about you, but I'm SO EXCITED for the weather to be nice again.  I know it seems a bit early to talk about grilling, but I think May is the perfect month for it.  You might need to throw on a sweater if you're grilling too late, but at least you won't get sweaty from the combination of the hot sun and the grill's flames!  So this favorites post is all about outdoor entertaining.

1. Weber BabyQ Grill.  We have one of these in storage in San Francisco, and I miss it so much!  It has a cast iron grate that puts the most fantastic grill marks on burgers and a perfect sear on your steak.  It's small enough to take it with you to the park or beach, and it's perfect for small apartment fire escapes or balconies.  There's a range of fantastic accessories that go with it, like a folding rolling stand.  Photo from amazon.com

2. Le Creuset Grill Pan.  Since we didn't bring our BabyQ to Tokyo, we make do with a grill pan.  It's not the same, obviously, but it's very convenient.  If you want to be able to grill but don't have anywhere to do it (like most city folk!), then a grill pan is an adequate substitute.  The Le Creuset ones are a bit expensive, but the colors are so beautiful! Photo from amazon.com

3. Beverage dispenser.  They have gorgeous ones at Sur La Table, but this Target one is a bit more budget-friendly (and it's still glass).  I LOVE the built-in chalkboard label.  Acrylic ones are a little more practical, but I can't help but feel like they absorb scents.  Can you imagine how great these would look with sangria in them?  Even water with lemon slices or cucumber would be beautiful. And you could get festive! Strawberries and blueberries for Memorial Day? Photo from Target.com

4. Melamine plates and servingware.  Paper or plastic plates are boring and terrible for the environment.    Melamine is lightweight and won't break if a stiff breeze blows through your party.  Target always has a great selection of stylish melamine and acrylic plates, glasses and servewear.  I love, love, love this coral scalloped Threshold set.  Photo from Target.com

5. Grilled fruit.  While you've got the grill hot, you should satisfy your sweet tooth.  Grilling fruit is a great way to let the ripe summer flavors shine.  You just need a sprinkle of brown sugar or a brush of balsamic vinegar to enhance the fruit's natural sweetness.  Pineapple and peaches are my favorites, but nectarines, plums, mangos and figs are also grill-friendly.  For company, try kebabs or serving the grilled fruit over ice cream.  Yum!

Alyssa's Grilled Cheese Part Deux

As promised, here is another grilled cheese recipe for National Grilled Cheese Month!  It's not as life-changing as the Brie and fig jam grilled cheese that I posted earlier this week.  But this one is more of a classic grilled-cheese-and-tomato-soup combination, and makes a great meal.  It's melted mozzarella and creamy ricotta with a hint of buttery garlic.  Dip it into the rich, sweet tomato-basil soup and you've got a heavenly Italian twist on a traditional favorite.

The garlic butter makes this sandwich special, so don't leave it out if you need to cut corners.  But if you find it a little overwhelming to make everything from scratch, you could find a substitute something store-bought for the tomato soup and save yourself some time (and some dish-washing!).

Mozzarella and Ricotta Garlic-Butter Grilled Cheese with Roasted Tomato-Basil Soup
serves 2

For the soup:
4 large tomatoes, each cut into 8 wedges
2 tablespoons of Balsamic Vinegar
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
Sugar, if needed
4 large leaves of basil

For the butter:
2 tablespoons of salted butter (add a pinch of salt if you don't have salted butter)
1 clove of garlic, minced

For the sandwiches:
4 slices of 1/2 inch thick crusty Italian bread
Mozzarella (I sliced a ball of fresh mozzarella, but you could probably get a really nice stringy melted cheese with deli slices or a block of the mozzarella that has less moisture than the fresh stuff.  I just couldn't find any here!)
Ricotta

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Toss the tomato wedges with the balsamic, olive oil and salt.  Spread out on a sheet pan and roast for 30-45 minutes, until the tomatoes are soft and the juices start to concentrate.  Keep an eye on them though, because the juices can burn and then you're stuck without any tomato-y goodness.  It should look sort of like this:

Blend the roasted tomatoes with the basil leaves.  My puree was a little thick, so I added water until I got the viscosity that I wanted.  Transfer to a pot and keep warm on the stove.  Also, my tomatoes were pretty acidic, so I needed to add a little bit of sugar to make it sweeter (but I guess that's what you get when you use out-of-season tomatoes).

Make the garlic butter while the tomatoes are roasting.  Melt the butter over medium-low heat on your stovetop.  Add the minced garlic and cook until the garlic has mellowed, but before it starts browning.

Warm a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat.  We're toasting both sides of the bread to get more of that fantastic garlic butter into the sandwich.  Brush one side of the bread with garlic butter.  Toast the buttered side of the bread until golden brown.  Spread ricotta on half of the slices and place the mozzarella on the other halves (on the toasted sides).  Pair up the cheeses to make sandwiches.  Brush the outsides of the sandwiches with garlic butter and place back in the pan.  Toast until golden brown, then flip and toast the other side.

Serve with the soup, and enjoy!

Alyssa's Brie and Fig Jam Grilled Cheese

Holy crap, you guys.

Cancel your plans for the next few hours.  You need to get to the grocery store RIGHT NOW and make this.

Carla and I were really excited to learn that April is National Grilled Cheese Month, because we have spent many hours bonding over grilled cheese sandwiches.  I'm not exaggerating.  The closest restaurant to the office building where we met is a grilled cheese restaurant called The Melt.

I had way too many ideas, so I narrowed it down to 3 options and put it to a Facebook poll.  These were the options:
1. Brie, fig jam and arugula on French bread.
2. Mozzarella and ricotta on Italian bread with garlic/herb butter and tomato-basil soup.
3. Gruyere, caramelized onions and thyme on garlic-rubbed French bread.

I thought for sure that #2 or #3 would win, but the response was overwhelmingly in favor of #1.  And wow, am I glad my Facebook friends talked me into it.  I've mentioned before that I usually lean more toward savory than sweet, so THANK YOU for making me change it up!

To be honest, the arugula is not necessary.  It adds a nice peppery bite, and I would use it if I wanted to convince myself that this would make an appropriate lunch sandwich.  But if you don't care about "adult things" like eating vegetables, then you're not missing much by leaving it out.

Brie is fantastic when warm.  It's creamy and melty and just a little bit earthy.  Add sweet fig jam, crunchy toasted bread, nutty browned butter...and wow.  It's tastebud overload in a really, really good way.

Brie and Fig Brown-Butter Grilled Cheese

A wedge of your favorite Brie (spreads best at room temperature, so let it sit out for a little while if you have that kind of self-control)
Fig jam
Crusty French or Italian bread, sliced into 1/2 inch thick slices
2 tablespoons butter (don't skimp on the butter if you think you need more.  Come on, you're already eating Brie so you may as well go all-out at this point...!)
Arugula (optional)

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a heavy-bottomed skillet.  Let the butter brown on medium heat (but be careful not to let it burn!).
I strongly believe in toasting both sides of the bread, but you can skip this step if you don't share that philosophy: put all of your bread slices in the pan and coat one side with the butter.  Let them toast in the pan until golden brown.
Remove the bread and smear half of them with brie (on the toasted side).  Smear the other slices with fig jam (on the toasted side).  Add the arugula, if using.  Pair up the flavors to turn them into sandwiches.
Brown the other tablespoon of butter in the pan.  Toast the sandwiches on each side, making sure you coat them with butter so that they brown evenly.
Warning: eat this in a place where you don't mind if other people hear you moan.  It's that good.

I had so much fun making this that I think I'm just going to try all of the options I put up on Facebook!  I'll be sure to post the results if any of them are worth your time...

Alyssa's Honey-Glazed Salmon

Our recipe theme this week is honey.  My first thought was to do a fun dessert, maybe a honey-thyme ice cream.  But I know Carla is going to show you a fancy sweet treat, and I'm not even going to try to compete with it!  So I decided to incorporate honey into a savory dish instead.  When given the choice between salty or sweet, I go with salty any day (see Carla's popcorn post vs. mine! Can you tell who has the sweet tooth?).

Salmon is a really affordable protein option in Japan, and I love eating it as a healthy lunch.  I usually incorporate Asian flavors, making a marinade of miso, soy and ginger.  But after playing around with honey glazes this week, I am definitely adding this into my rotation.  The honey makes a thick, sticky sauce that caramelizes under the broiler.  These blackened bits may look like a mistake, but they're actually the best part of the fish!  I added a little cayenne pepper for a touch of heat, and some soy sauce to cut through the honey's sweetness with a bit of saltiness.  This is such an easy recipe, and you probably have all of the glaze ingredients in your kitchen already!

Honey-glazed Salmon
serves 1

2 salmon fillets or 1 steak (depending on their size and how hungry you are!)
1/4 c honey
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (depending on how spicy you want it)

Preheat your broiler. Line a pan with tinfoil and coat with nonstick spray.  Place the salmon skin-side down on the tray (if using fillets).
Whisk together the honey, soy sauce and pepper.  Brush the glaze liberally over the salmon.
Broil for 3 minutes.  Flip salmon, brush with more sauce and return to the broiler for 3 more minutes.
Brush again with glaze and return to the broiler until done.  My fillets were fairly thin so they only took 6 minutes (and I like my salmon cooked on the medium side, rather than well-done).  You may need a few more minutes, especially if you're using steaks.  The edges should caramelize, so don't be afraid if it turns black in some spots!
Remove from the broiler and brush again with sauce.  I liked the glaze so much that I ended up just pouring it over the salmon!

Enjoy!

Alyssa's Favorite Blogs

Ok, this list is admittedly food-blog heavy.  I hope you’re okay with that!  Sorry for the short post, but I've got visitors in town!  They're keeping me wonderfully busy.

•  Smitten Kitchen.  No, it’s not very original of me to list one of the most popular bloggers ever, but I’ve been following her for YEARS.  And in Deb’s case, she deserves her popularity (unlike, say, the Kardashians).  I’ve rarely made one of her recipes and not instantly put it into my rotation.  They aren’t usually quick or easy, but she spends lots and lots of time perfecting them.  So try not to cut corners!
• Punk Domestics. The ultimate DIY food website.  They compile posts from all different bloggers about canning, pickling, making cheese, making salumi, etc, and organize them nicely in one place. 
• Foodgawker.  Another great source of inspiration when you’re stuck.  Food bloggers submit their photos and posts and Foodgawker publishes them in a photo feed.  Click on an appealing image to view the original website.
• Sunday Suppers.  For fancy-pants recipes and dinner parties.  They produce the loveliest events and I want to attend one so badly.
• Decor8. The only non-food blog on my list. This blog is so much fun!  They feature great shops on Etsy, give DIY tips and publish yummy recipes once in a while.  It’s a great place for inspiration if you’re stuck in a rut.

      And here are some photos of the last few days, just to make this post a little more exciting ;)

Colorful shrimp in a tank at Tsukiji, the fish market

Sardines? Also at the fish market

Tokyo Sky Tree, the second tallest man-made structure in the world.

Alyssa's Chipotle-Lime Popcorn

If I could do anything with my life, I would love to own a little popcorn shop.  I would sell both traditional and fun flavors, make gourmet popcorn balls and wrap it all up in beautiful packaging.  The popcorn would be unique gifts or favors and would make movie night extra-special. The shop would have a vintage movie theater feel, or maybe an old-fashioned soda fountain theme.  But mostly, the popcorn would be delicious!

I like to play around with flavors and experiment with combinations, and my guilty-pleasure flavor is truffle oil with Parmesan cheese.  It’s a classic combination that’s been done over and over again, so I won’t bore you with that as my “recipe” for this week.  My other favorite, however, is applewood-smoked sea salt and chipotle.  It’s smoky (almost bacon-y), spicy, citrus spiked, and completely addictive!

First, pop your favorite kernels.  I love Rancho Gordo Crimson kernels on the stovetop in olive oil.  They pop up snowy white and fluffy, with hardly any unpopped kernels left in the pot.  Unfortunately, they are also hard to come by these days!  The company sells out every year.  If you haven’t experienced this popcorn yet (and you somehow manage to get your hands on some), don’t do it.  I’m not just saying this because I want it all to myself; you will never be able to stomach the microwave popcorn variety once you try this stuff.  It will ruin all other popcorn for you, and I can’t have that on my conscience!

Once the kernels have popped, add a squeeze of lime, smoked sea salt and chipotle.  Shake the pot a little to distribute the seasoning, taste, and adjust the flavors accordingly.  There’s no magic ratio.  It depends on your personal taste, how spicy you’re feeling that day, and how salty you like your popcorn.  Just remember, you can always add more chipotle if it’s not spicy enough, so don’t go overboard.  Enjoy!

Alyssa's No-Fuss Easter Menu

It’s just the two of us for Easter this year, so I’m going to make a slightly simpler meal than I normally would.  Usually I would pull out all the stops and make a traditional Italian feast with anise-kissed Easter bread (an ancient family recipe), wedding soup with homemade parmesan/egg croutons, and herb-crusted pork tenderloin.  But I don’t really want to deal with the dishes involved in something so elaborate!

Instead, here’s what I have planned:

1. Rosemary Lamb Chops with Balsamic Syrup recipe from Gourmet.  But I’ll omit the swiss chard, since the Hubby doesn’t care for greens! (image from Epicurious.com)

2. Roasted Asparagus, since it’s a favorite in our house and it positively screams “spring!”  This Bon Appetit recipe with a balsamic drizzle looks good, although 18-20 minutes seems like a long time to roast asparagus if you like it crisp-tender.  (image from Epicurious.com)

3. Fresh baguette from our local bakery to soak up all of those yummy lamb and balsamic juices.

4. Vanilla ice cream and macerated strawberries for dessert.

5.  And if I’m feeling really ambitious, I LOVE deviled eggs.  But they’re an awful lot of work, so I’m not sure if they’ll make it on the menu this year!  This Bon Appetit recipe uses one of my favorite spices, chipotle.  But it probably won’t pair well with the rest of the meal, so maybe I'll save that recipe for another time and go more traditional for Easter. (image from Epicurious.com) 

What's on your menu this year?

Alyssa's Mexican-Style Pickled Onions

One of my favorite ways to spend a day is preserving.  It starts with a trip to the market to buy boatloads of produce and ends with satisfying “pops” coming from rows of shiny, warm Ball jars.  Actually, it ends months later when you can pull a jar out of the cupboard and spread your own jam on a piece of toast or put your own pickles on a sandwich. 

Unfortunately, produce is really expensive in Japan!  A lot of it is imported, which is not wallet-friendly.  My days of buying crates of strawberries and cucumbers from the farmer’s market are on hold for now, but I can still justify making small batches of quick pickles.  They're cheaper and don’t require nearly the same time commitment (as you could probably tell from “quick” in the name).  No water baths, steamy kitchens and frizzy hair. You don’t need to heat the brine in many recipes, and you don’t even need to store the pickles in canning jars.  You can use Ziploc bags, Tupperware containers, bowls tightly wrapped with plastic wrap, etc.

My latest pickle adventure was Mexican-style pickled onions.  They add such balance to tacos when used to cut the richness of braised meats and creamy cheeses. They also add a gorgeous pop of pink to your dish (but I understand if you are not as delighted by this as I am).  I combed through a dozen or so recipes online, took the elements that I liked from each, and came up with this recipe.  The final product is citrusy, garlicky, acidic, salty and bracing.  

Plan on using them within a few days of making the pickles.  They start to lose their identity as onions and just taste like vinegar somewhere around day 4.  Which is not terrible for a pickle, but they’re certainly less subtle at that point!  I originally made them to be served with an assemble-your-own-taco bar, and then had leftovers on huevos rancheros the next day.   Yum!  Here are some other delicious ways to use these pickles:

• in summer salads, like bean salad, potato salad, pasta salad.
• on an egg salad sandwich
• on green salads
• on a steak
• on a pork chop
• on a cheeseburger or hamburger
• in chili
• on arepas 
• on pulled pork sandwiches

Pickled Onion Recipe

1 small red onion, thinly sliced

¼ c lime juice

1/3 c orange juice

3 tablespoons white wine vinegar

½ tablespoon sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1 garlic clove, smashed

½ tablespoon dried oregano

5 peppercorns

1 small bay leaf

Mix all of the ingredients except the onion in a medium bowl and whisk until sugar and salt dissolve. 

Add onions and let sit for at least an hour before serving.

Store in airtight container in the refrigerator.  The onions taste best if eaten within 3 days of making.

Alyssa's Roasted Broccolini, Chickpeas and Ricotta

I pinned this recipe on Pinterest the other day, and couldn't believe how many of my friends re-pinned it!  So I wanted to try it and see if it was as delicious as we all hoped.  I read the single review of the original recipe on the Whole Living website, then made a few tweaks based on the feedback that the broccolini took longer to cook than the recipe called for and that the chickpeas got grainy.  With a few adjustments, I LOVED this dish.  It was crunchy, creamy, salty, lemony and slightly bitter.  It quelled my vegetable craving while satisfying my hunger in ways that a salad never does!  (p.s. You should look for me on Pinterest! My username is MissLyss84.)

I can't find true broccolini in Japan, but there's a similar vegetable from the same family called nanohana. Instead of broiling it for four minutes like the recipe dictates, I decided roast it first then finish it under the broiler in hopes that the stalks would cook more thoroughly.  The single reviewer of the original recipe complained that the chickpeas were grainy, which I've found to be a side effect of dried-out chickpeas.  I added them halfway through the cooking time so that they didn't overcook.

This was a really simple recipe, and it only took about 15 minutes from start to finish (although your oven may take longer to preheat than my little Bree does).  I ate about half of this recipe for a light lunch, and can't wait to try the leftovers with a poached egg tomorrow.  It would also make a great side dish with roasted pork or a steak.

Roasted Broccolini and Chickpeas
1 bunch broccolini
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 can chickpeas, drained
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1-2 teaspoons red pepper flakes (based on your personal preference)
3/4 c ricotta cheese
fresh lemon
your favorite olive oil for drizzling
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Coat the broccolini in 2 tablespoons of oil.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Spread on a cookie sheet and roast for 4 minutes.
Toss chickpeas, garlic and red pepper flakes in the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil.  Add to the cookie sheet and roast for another 4 minutes.
Switch to the broiler and cook for another 4 minutes, or until the broccolini stems are tender (not mushy) and the leaves are crisp.
Squeeze fresh lemon juice over the cookie sheet (start with only a little, you don't want TOO much acid!).  Adjust seasonings to taste.
Serve in bowl, topping with the ricotta and drizzling with olive oil.

A few quick disclosures:
I could not find ricotta cheese.  I THOUGHT I bought ricotta, but it was actually cottage cheese.  Which I also have been searching for, but I just didn't want it TODAY!  This is a hazard of grocery shopping in a country where you do not speak or read the language.  But I just went with it, and decided to use it anyways.  It was delicious, and makes a perfectly adequate substitute (although I can only imagine how fantastic it must be with ricotta!).
Also, the recipe does not yield as much as it looks like it does from my photos.  I used a little trick to fill the bowl because I really, really wanted to use my new Staub ceramic salad bowl (thanks, honey!).  Forgive me?

Alyssa's 3 Random Facts About Me

My favorite shrine in Tokyo.

How many places have you lived and where?

I have a pretty random assortment of cities on my list, now that I list them out!  I grew up in an industrial town in Ohio about 30 miles west of Cleveland.  Then I moved to Chicago for college, and spent about three months in Rome during a study abroad program.  After college, I packed my bags and headed to the West Coast to work for a major clothing retailer in San Francisco.  That’s where I met my husband (and Carla!).  He got a job with a company that has a branch in Tokyo, so we had the pleasure of coordinating a move to a different country halfway around the world while planning a wedding.  But now that all of that stress is over, Tokyo is a fascinating place where we experience something new almost every day.  In fact, you’ll probably get sick of hearing about it in my posts!

A strawberry display at a local supermarket.

What are three things that make you happy right now?

1. Strawberries.  They’re really expensive here, and they’re one of my favorite fruits.  I refuse to pay so much for them, so my husband has taken to surprising me with them once in a while.  They make me very, very happy!

2. Seasons.  It’s been a while since I lived in a climate with four distinct seasons.  Not only does Tokyo have dramatic seasonal weather shifts, but the people here celebrate the seasons very, very enthusiastically!  There are festivals, parades and decorations everywhere.

3. Visitors.  Moving so far away from your family and friends to a place where you don’t know ANYONE can make you really appreciate having visitors. I love and appreciate the whole process: from getting excited when someone buys a plane ticket, to preparing the house for visitors, to the looks on their faces when they see some of the crazy things that are part of life here!

Our last visitor, Joel, with the police department mascot (and my husband).

What is your favorite book?

The Count of Monte Cristo. If you haven’t read this as an adult, you should definitely give it a shot. It's really cheap on Amazon and you can find it in most used book stores, since it's a classic.  It’s a LONG book and it starts a little on the slow side, but please don't take a shortcut and read the abridged version.  Hang in there a little and it will be worth it, I promise!  I love stories that are heavy on character development, and this one is no exception.  But it also has a prison break, hidden treasure, illegitimate children, poison, revenge and redemption.  In fact, I’m going to re-read this book right now.

Alyssa's Thoughts on Dining Alone

Counter-seating at our favorite tonkatsu restaurant, Tonki.  It's actually much easier to get a seat for one person with this kind of arrangement.

I have a tradition of taking myself out to lunch for my birthday.  The first year I did this, I sat at the bar at one of my favorite San Francisco restaurants.  I ordered a glass of wine and crab cellophane noodles from Slanted Door in the Ferry Building.  It was absolutely delightful.  I reflected on the previous year, thought about the year to come, and thoroughly enjoyed my own company ;).  Thus began my love affair with dining alone.

The opportunities to eat out alone were fairly rare in San Francisco.  I usually ate lunch at my desk during the day, and almost always had dinner with Franklin or a friend.  Dining alone was a treat.   It was something reserved for Saturday spa or shopping days, or maybe a trip to the farmer’s market when I could sneak away from my desk.  It was almost a guilty pleasure, and I always felt relaxed and rejuvenated afterward.

Unfortunately, not everyone seems to understand this in the States.  I would get curious looks from other diners, and see pity in the hostess’s eyes when I held up that index finger to indicated “table for one.”  I wanted to make a proclamation to the restaurant: “I am fine. I have friends and family and people who love me! Please do not pity me.  In fact, you should try dining alone once in a while!”  And I know I’m not the only person who feels this way, so it’s not just my absurd self-consciousness kicking in.

Now that we’re in Tokyo, I work from home and have a very flexible schedule.  My lunches are wide open.  I usually eat at home because I like to cook and it’s cheaper, but I try to get out for lunch a few times a week.  And I still love it, even though it’s not quite as much of an indulgent treat any more.  I can order whatever I want.  I can take my time or hurry through the meal.  I can order a beer or a glass of wine if I so desire (which happens almost never, unfortunately! Otherwise I would just doze through the entire afternoon…).  I can daydream, brainstorm or plan.  I don’t have to make conversation just because I’m sitting across from someone.

But most importantly, no one judges me here.  Dining alone is very common in Tokyo.  People work incredibly demanding hours and they are consumed by their jobs.  Sixty, eighty, even one-hundred-hour workweeks are not uncommon.  This makes it very difficult to maintain a social life and meet people or date (but we’ll save that treatise for another day).  Add the fact that many of the people who are married don’t make it home in time for dinner, and you end up with a lot of people dining alone.  This is a bit sad as a concept, but it’s a fact of life here that doesn’t seem to bother people.  It also means that there’s no stigma attached to eating by one’s self.  No one stares at you with that mixture of curiosity and pity.  In fact, many types of restaurants are better equipped to handle single diners and have to scramble to accommodate parties of two or more (such as restaurants with primarily counter seating, shown in the picture above).

Dining alone can be incredibly liberating if you have the right attitude toward it.  I wholeheartedly recommend that you give it a try.  Enjoy your own company and gather your thoughts.  Make a list of what you want to accomplish that day, that week, or that year.  Reflect on your day.  Maybe have a glass of wine.  What the hell, get dessert.  Take yourself out on a date.  I think you’ll find that you’re a pretty great dining companion.  And maybe next time you see someone eating alone you’ll smile at them with a bit of envy, rather than look at them with pity.

Alyssa's Bread Recipe: Rosemary Focaccia

Our apartment in San Francisco was a few blocks away from Liguria Bakery in the North Beach neighborhood.  This bakery exclusively makes focaccia, which is so delicious and popular that they usually sell out by 10 am.  They use a variety of toppings, such as green onions, thick tomato paste, garlic, and olives.  Rosemary is my favorite, but it also must be everyone else’s favorite since it’s usually the first to sell out!

Now that we live over 5,000 miles from that fantastic bakery, we miss their focaccia like crazy.  I made it my mission to figure out how to make a focaccia that we like as much as Liguria’s.  It took a few tries, but I came up with something that I think is pretty close.  In fact, we like it so much that I make it almost weekly!

I can’t tell you how easy this is to make.  Baking bread from scratch can seem overwhelming and messy, but this recipe doesn’t even require kneading it by hand as long as you have a stand mixer with a paddle attachment.  Your hands will hardly even get dirty!  And trust me, the heavenly smell of freshly baked bread in your home will make it worth every single second.  Oh yeah, it also tastes amazing.

You can get so creative with the toppings here, too!  There are endless combinations.  Caramelized onions, kalamata olives, goat cheese...gah! I'll be honest, I am so in infatuated with the rosemary version that I haven't branched out at all.  But I swear, someday I will...

While your active time with this recipe is minimal, it does take some time for the dough to go through its rising cycles.  Just make sure you start the recipe 3-4 hours before you want to eat the bread.  And here’s a tip: this bread is best the day it’s made.  Make it earlier in the day rather than later so that you leave yourself plenty of time to eat as much of it as possible! If you do have leftovers, the texture gets a little spongier.  Just pop the bread in the oven for a few minutes to crisp the top a little bit, rather than eating the bread at room temperature.

I know that using yeast can be intimidating.  But as long as you follow the recipe and use water at the right temperature, you should be fine.  Too much salt or sugar can kills yeast, so don’t go off-recipe with those ratios.  And in order for yeast to bloom properly (at least the dry active yeast called for in this recipe), your water should be between 105 and 115 degrees Fahrenheit when you add the yeast itself.  Yeast dies at 120 degrees, so just be careful that your water isn’t too hot!  Too cold and it won’t activate.  You’ll know within ten minutes whether it’s working or not.  When you add the yeast to the water, it should “bloom” or create a foamy-looking mass on the surface of the water.  And it will smell “yeasty.” If this doesn’t happen, something went wrong and you just need to try again.  And if you are really that afraid of yeast, then try Carla's biscuit recipe!

Last note: Focaccia is traditionally baked in sheet pans.  The pan that I use is an odd shape because I have a weird oven.  Just make sure the surface area is 130-180 square inches (surface area is length x width, just in case you forgot!).  Mine is 132 square inches and creates a really tall focaccia.  A bigger surface area will yield flatter bread.

Wondering what I mean by “weird oven?”  Japanese kitchens don’t traditionally have ovens.  They have fish broilers and stovetops, but no ovens.  This was unacceptable for someone who likes to cook as much as I do, so we bought a counter-top oven.   It looks like a glorified toaster oven, but it’s actually a really fantastic convection oven with a variety of settings. We named ours “Bree,” since it’s made by Breville.  Bree and I are in love.  Don’t judge.  She toasts, roasts, bakes, reheats, and keeps food warm.  She has settings for bagels, pizzas and cookies.  She is a total rockstar, even if she’s a little on the small side.

My kitchen

My stovetop with 3 burners.  The little window under the counter is the fish broiler!  The space where the oven should be?  Just a pull-out drawer.

Bree + Alyssa = true love forever

Rosemary Focaccia Recipe

The dough is based on an ancient Bon Appetit Recipe fromLidia Colavita (of Colavita olive oil), but the technique is mine.

2 cups water, 105-115 degrees Fahrenheit

2 teaspoons dry active yeast

2 teaspoons salt

4-5 cups of flour (I use all-purpose and can’t honestly give you advice for using any other type of flour)

Olive oil (probably ¾ cup or so? Depends on how generous you want to be with the oil)

2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

2-3 tablespoons flaky sea salt, such as Maldon

Use the paddle on your stand mixer.

Add water to bowl of stand mixer, making sure it’s the right temperature even after you add it to the bowl (if the bowl is cool then it can lower the temperature enough that your yeast might not bloom).  Run the mixer for a few seconds to dissolve the yeast into the water.  Let sit for 10 minutes.  Make sure your yeast has bloomed, otherwise start again!

Add salt and flour to the yeast/water mixture with the mixer on medium speed.  Start with 4 cups of flour and add 2 tablespoons at a time until the dough begins to pull away from the bowl, becoming elastic.

Coat a large bowl with olive oil.  Use a spatula to move the dough from the mixing bowl to the olive-oil coated bowl.  Turn the dough in the bowl to cover with oil.  Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm, dry spot until dough doubles in size.  This should take 60-90 minutes.

Coat your baking pan with oil. Transfer the dough to the baking pan.  Punch down the dough, spreading it out to roughly fill the pan.  Let rise in a warm, dry place until the dough doubles in size.  This should take 45-75 minutes.

Punch down the dough one more time.  Let rise 30 minutes in a warm, dry place. 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. 

Use your fingers to make indentations in the dough (this will make crevices to catch the yummy olive oil, rosemary and salt!).  Drizzle with 3 tablespoons of oil and sprinkle chopped rosemary evenly over the surface.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the surface is golden-brown. 

Brush the remaining oil over the top of the bread with a pastry brush.  Sprinkle the flaky sea salt over the surface.  Cut and serve warm.  Try not to eat the entire pan!