Listen, I've always been a fan of cooking. I've been obsessed with getting cookbooks and Bon Appétit test kitchen videos and trying everything I see. There's something about cooking that is just the right amount of stressful pressure to get it right, combined with the satisfaction when it's done that really gets me going. A stupid way to put it? Probably. Do I care? No.
Anyway! With the quarantine going on right now, I am trying to find the best in everything. This is the perfect time to take out every single cooking tool I have an start making things I've been thinking about making for so long. I am going to call this series The Quarantine Kitchen and I hope you'll follow along! I am hoping to write these maybe once or twice per month with an update on new things I will be trying. Maybe it will turn into something weekly, that would be great.
If you try anything I put here, please share photos with me and use the hashtag #TheQuarantineKitchen! I would love to see how everyone is making these recipes their own.
I am calling this edition "The F Words" because clearly, I was fascinated with the letter this month. The two things I decided to dabble in were focaccia and fudge.
I've been wanting to make focaccia for a long time. I keep finding recipes for it online but ultimately ended up using the one from Basically (a BA brand) as a guide. I wasn't nervous because what I like most about the BA recipes is that they are so easy to follow and helpful. You can check out the recipe that I was using here.
Below are a couple of pictures from my process. I am noticing now that I apparently didn't take a photo of the end result? Who am I? I always take a picture of the end result. I guess that's going to have to wait until next time.
First, of course the ingredients. This strays almost zero percent from what the recipe was actually asking for. I actually don't think anything was different at all except the wildflower honey instead of regular. What's best about this, is that you most likely have everything already except maybe the yeast. That's easy to find in most stores though, and probably very easy to order online if necessary!
I started whisking everything by hand because it almost seemed recommended? I don't know why because very shortly after I switched absolutely everything into my KitchenAid and wondered why I waited so long to do so.
I found a TikTok with some recipe for really easy fudge. Don't worry, a separate post with my feelings about TikTok is coming down the road. Some girl was talking about how "if you are stuck in quarantine, yould try and make her grandma's recipe for fudge," to be honest, I just watched and at the end all of a sudden go, "wow, im going to make that." Here we are. I just didn't really have anything sweet left in the house.
Shockingly, I had everything I needed to make the recipe. I didn't really document too much of this triumph because to be honest, I didn't think it was going to be a success for me. For sure, I thought that almond milk wasn't going to work, and I was going to over cook the chocolate on the burner. Nevertheless, here I am - with incredible fudge! I can't believe it. I can only imagine that with whole milk, it's probably much better. I don't care though, this tastes really delicious and I'm impressed.
Check out some of the process below and the TikTok I used for inspiration is here - I used the recipe by the half (she mentioned hers was doubled).
What things have you been cooking in your own Quarantine Kitchen? Share in the comments and with me on social media. I can't wait to see what inspires me next month - clearly my enthusiasm knows no bounds. 🤣
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