About getting lost and finding Focaccia

breaelford — Wed, 27 May 2015 12:46:42 GMT

The funny thing about unforgettable experiences is that you actually end up forgetting a lot about them. You can forget the date and the time, you can forget where you were, and you can even end up forgetting the people you were with. That stuff doesn’t matter so much though, not really. Down the road, it’s the small details, like the sounds and smells and feelings, that you cherish forever.

I had been there for nearly two weeks and had already fallen head over heels in love with all things Italy. I had seen the winding canals of Venice, walked the halls of the Colosseum, and hiked the trails of Cinque Terre, but I couldn’t get enough. Enter Matera, Italy. Situated in South-East Italy, this small, UNESCO heritage town was unique and quintessentially ‘Italy’. In other words, just what I was craving.

The road leading down the hill to the Sassi was narrow, jagged and crumbly- but beautiful- it fit perfectly into the old, Italian town stereotype. The Sassi was empty, of tourists anyway, and I can only assume everyone was taking refuge from the heat. It was hot, sweltering in fact; the shirt I was wearing had melted to my skin and my flow-y pants were no longer flow-y.

I tried to find relief wherever I could: under a rope of laundry, pressed beside a cool, stone wall, while still absorbing every bit I could of this cave site. In my dramatic state, it seemed to me a very real possibility that this was the last bit of Italy I would ever see.

I stumbled on it then, my tiny bit of garlic-y, butter-y heaven. A perfectly dimpled, garlic smothered, slice of Focaccia, hand crafted and sent to me from my Italian angel. The owner, a long haired, bearded man, took one look at me as I all but crawled inside his café, pushed me into a chair, and brought me a slice. He then sat down next to me, with a concerned look on his face and a hand on my shoulder, and told me to eat. I have never eaten so well in my entire life. After I inhaled my food, I sat with the man for the rest of the day and we talked. He told me about his family, his music (he even played me some guitar!) and his café. I told him about my travels. And while we talked, I ate.

Ironically, his café was at the top of the road leading out of the Sassi, only a few more meters and I would have been out. But, I am grateful for my heat-induced delusion that day; otherwise I would never have met this man or tasted his Focaccia. Next time though, I'll visit Matera in December.

Passport & Plate - GG's Blonde Brownies

breaelford — Fri, 6 Mar 2015 03:28:14 GMT

Ingredients
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 tsp vaniila
1 egg

1 cup all purpose flour, sifted
1/8 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt

milk chocolate chips (more is better)

How to prepare this recipe
This is a fairly simple recipe, with a few key steps that make these brownies unforgettable.

In a medium sized bowl, sift together the AP flour and baking soda. Add the salt and mix together.

In a saucepan, melt the butter down to boiling. This is the key step that many people miss, that make these brownies so good. It is important to boil the butter for at least a minute, until it caramelizes. I always melt a bit more than a 1/3 cup of butter, because you will lose some as the butter boils, and you want all of the caramelized butter for the brownies.

As the butter is boiling, put 1 cup of packed (it must be packed tight!) brown sugar in another large bowl. Once the butter is melted, pour it immediately over the sugar, covering as much of the sugar as possible! This is the second key step. Mix these two ingredients well. Then, add the vanilla and egg. Mix together until all the egg is incorporated.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix together. Do not over mix though because then the brownies will be tough, rather than gooey, in the middle.

Grab a 9 X 13 pan (glass works best, so the bottom crisps up, but any kind is fine), and grease and flour the bottom and the sides. Pour the batter into the pan and use your fingers (butter them up so they don't stick) to push the batter to the sides. You can use a spatula, but I find my fingers work best- plus you get to lick the batter after!

Now, the most important part: Sprinkle as many chocolate chips as you want on top of the brownies. There is no wrong way to do this. Lots, or little, milk, or semi sweet... sometimes I even add some Skor bits along with the chocolate- whatever your preference is!

Put the brownies in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.

Wait until cool (if you can!), cut and serve. I promise they will not last long!

The story behind this recipe
First of all, I will never hear the end of it from my family for giving you guys this recipe- everyone who eats these brownies have come to know them as the "Lidbury Secret Recipe"!

Food is a universal language. It's a language of love. Acceptance. Welcoming. Understanding. Food is one of the world's best methods of communication. It brings people together.

I am 23 years old and do not remember a single family function, dinner, party or get together where a pan of these brownies have not been sitting in the middle of the kitchen table. My GG, born in Norway, was 95 years old when she passed away. I was not fortunate enough to spend lots of time getting to know her; in fact, I think the only place I remember ever visiting GG was in the senior center. Her room was so small. A bed, bathroom, a little burgundy, red, velvet chair. And brownies. Always, always brownies. I don't know how she managed to bake a pan each time we visited, but she did!

My grandma, GG's daughter, I have been lucky enough to be able to know her. I have grown up at grandma's house. Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries, vacations. No matter the occasion, big or small, we gathered at grandma's house. And again, front and center, there were always brownies. It's a simple recipe, but it has been passed down, kept a 'secret', from my Norwegian GG, to my grandma, to my mom, and now to me.

People are gathering around my table now, to talk, to laugh, to share, to eat. I travel, around the world, and am welcomed graciously into peoples homes and lives. They share with me who they are, what they do; often, we don't speak the same language. We are from opposite ends of the world. We have very little in common. I like to do something small for the people who show me hospitality, and more often than not, I bake them a pan of my GG's secret brownies. When they bite into a slice, and smile? Walls are torn down, and barriers, broken. We are connected.

Tastes of Home

About getting lost and finding Focaccia

Passport & Plate - GG's Blonde Brownies