Focaccia

The cherries are getting better by the week, and I can't help but pick up some at the farmers market. Recently, I transformed a frozen pizza dough into a slightly-sweet-and-savory focaccia pizza that's topped with creamy ricotta and pitted cherries. I purchased fresh ricotta from my local grocer, but one could easily whip up your own! Next time, I'll make the focaccia with less sugar and more rosemary; the herb was a wonderful contrast to the sweetness of the ricotta and cherries. Trust me: cherry pizza pie? Now, that's amore! Get the recipe.

Every now and then, I find myself gravitating toward the pre-made tomato-topped focaccia bread in the bakery aisle of my Whole Foods. However, I always shy away, wondering, what I would do with it? Luckily, I found this recipe which turns focaccia flatbread into a scrumptious and flavorful French-bread pizza. It's topped with three of my favorite ingredients — sausage, spinach, and goat cheese — but if you prefer other items, use those instead.

To start your weekend with this dish, get the recipe after the jump.

The number of "I must make this, stat!" moments I have while watching TV chefs is getting out of hand. First it was Lidia's Neapolitan mac and cheese. Then Giada's Asian chicken salad. On another weekend, I made this herbed focaccia. I've never really tried any of Sandra Lee's recipes, since I tend to associate them with ingredients like canned soups and prepackaged spice mixes that play a role in her semi-homemade philosophy. However the focaccia, which I watched Sandra make on her new show, is different. It calls for refrigerated pizza dough, an ingredient that's reasonably fresh. I often keep pizza dough on hand, and happened to have some in the fridge. I'm grateful I seized the moment. The rustic bread, which I made with heirloom tomatoes and whole-wheat dough, is simultaneously soft and crunchy, with a nice acidity from the tomatoes. You, too, can make this easy, breezy recipe.

As a little girl, I used to love it when my mom declared that we were having "breakfast for dinner." This meal usually involved pancakes, bacon, and scrambled eggs. Nowadays when I enjoy breakfast for dinner, the menu is a little more sophisticated and always includes poached eggs. The next time I am craving eggs for dinner, I'll be making this vegetarian recipe. With its slab of broiled feta cheese and dusting of spicy ancho chili powder, it's a masterpiece of simple, elegant cooking. Briny olives, crispy focaccia, and fresh sage finish off the dish while providing a Mediterranean feel to the meal. To serve with a glass of chilled fruity Rosé, get the recipe and read more

It's been a while since I've visited Estela's Fresh Sandwiches, one of my favorite sandwich destinations in San Francisco. But when I found out a friend of mine is moving, I insisted that she simply couldn't leave the city without ever having gone to Estela's.

Though I normally shy away from sandwiches served on focaccia, this bread was perfect: pillowy soft and flavorful but not at all oily. What I really loved, however, was the giant mound of shredded parmesan, which gave the sandwich a sharp, cheesy crunch. Find out how to re-create it now.