Focaccia, Stuffed Zucchini, Orecchiette with Mini Chicken Meatballs, and Graduation Cake

Top Left: Stuffed Zucchini; Top Right: Orecchiette with Mini Chicken Meatballs; Bottom: Focaccia

I decided to cook a feast Friday for my brother's graduation, and let me tell you I was in the kitchen all day!  The madness actually started on Thursday night when I made the focaccia dough in order to let it rise overnight.  The recipe I used was from "Cooking Dinner" by Rima Barkett and Claudia Pruett.

Focaccia Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 1/4 cups club soda
1/2 cup olive oil divided (not extra virgin)

Night before:
Combine flour salt and yeast in a large mixing bowl.  Heat club soda to 120 degrees and add to dry ingredients.  Mix dough with your hands until the water is absorbed and the dough does not stick to the bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise overnight at room temperature.  (Instead of letting it rise over night, you can let dough rise for two hours in a warm place, such as an oven heated for just two minutes)

Before baking:
Cover bottom of a 9 x 12 x 1inch baking sheet with some olive oil.  Transfer dough to pan and gently spread it out, filling the pan.  With your fingers make dimples in the dough.  Brush remaining olive oil over the top of the dough.  Let rise in a warm place for one hour.

Preheat oven to 450.  Make more dimples in dough and sprinkle a little bit of extra salt on the top.  Bake focaccia for 20 minutes, until it is golden brown.  Let cool for 10 minutes, then cut into squares and serve the same day.

I couldn't find a good recipe for stuffed zucchini, so I improvised with what I had.  I didn't measure out all the ingredients (like a true Italian) since I had so much to make on Friday, but I'll give you an idea of how I made them.  The next time I make stuffed zucchini I will make sure to measure out all the ingredients, that way I am able to give you the exact recipe.

Stuffed Zucchini Ingredients:
8 medium zucchini
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
unflavored breadcrumbs (about 3/4 cup)
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
marjoram (about 1 teaspoon)
oregano (about 1 teaspoon)
1 egg
olive oil

Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil.  Add zucchini and cook over medium heat until barely tender, about 5 to 10 minutes.  Drain and rinse under cold water.  Trim ends off zucchini and slice in half lengthwise.  Scoop out pulp with a small spoon and reserve.  Combine zucchini pulp, parsley, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper, Parmesan, marjoram, oregano, and egg in a medium bowl.  Taste and adjust for seasoning.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Fill zucchini shells with pulp mixture and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  Place stuffed zucchini on a buttered baking dish and drizzle with olive oil.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until zucchini have a light-golden crust.

For the Orecchiette with Mini Chicken Meatballs, I used a recipe from "Giada's Kitchen" by  Giada de Laurentiis.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 eggs
1 tablespoon milk
1 tablespoon ketchup
3/4 cup grated Romano cheese
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 lb ground chicken
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
4 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
8 oz small fresh mozzarella balls, halved
1 cup basil, chopped
1 lb orecchiette pasta

For the meatballs:
Combine bread crumbs, parsley, eggs, milk, ketchup, Romano cheese, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl.  Add the chicken and combine well.  Using a teaspoon, scoop up the mixture and roll into a meatball.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat.  In the meantime bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the directions on the box.  Once oil is heated, add the meatballs and cook until brown on bottom, about two minutes.  Turn the meatballs and brown the tops also.  Add the chicken broth and tomatoes and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the tomatoes are soft and the meatballs are cooked through, about five minutes, making sure to stir occasionally.

Drain the pasta and transfer to a large serving bowl.  Add 1/2 cup Parmesan and toss to coat the pasta.  Add the meatball mixture, mozzarella, and 1/2 cup basil and combine.  Use the remaining Parmesan and basil to garnish.

After a busy day of cooking when it came time to make the cake I decided to cheat a little and use a boxed cake mix.  To make it special though I decided to fill it with a layer of strawberries and cut it out like a graduation cap.

To make the cake, bake two cake mixes separately in a 9 x 13 inch pan.  Once cooled, cut the top off the bottom layer to make the surface flat for the next layer, frosted the top, and placed a layer of strawberries on it.  Place the second cake on the first one and use a stencil to cut out the graduation cap (or whatever shape you want your cake).  Finally, frost the entire outside of the cake and decorate it as desired.

Congratulations Gian-Carlo!