Fetch me my walker

Culinary school, Day Four. Our first "real" day in the kitchen and it went pretty great. And by "pretty great" I mean: I didn't cut myself, burn myself, burn my bread, or cut or burn anyone or anything else.

I consider that a success.

We met our partners and set to work making our first bread -- focaccia. (I know, I know. I'm supposed to be making focaccia from "The Bread Baker's Apprentice" Challenge. I'll get to that one soon ... I promise.)

So, my new partner just graduated from high school. And I'm all like, "Ha, ha, I suppose I'm old enough to be your mother."

And she's all, "How old are you, if you don't mind me asking?"

And I'm all, "34." (Secretly thinking, ha, you might think I'm an old lady but I'm really quite young.)

And she's all, "Yep. That's how old my mom is."

And that's when my head popped off, rolled under the deck oven and asked the chef instructor for a shot of vodka.

Sooo, any-hoo, where was I?

Ah, yes, focaccia.

After our chef's suggestion yesterday, I brought in some red grapes from home to top this lovely, spongy and very easy focaccia bread.

It's a good thing I snapped a couple of pictures when I did. Even though everybody in class made focaccia, this one got gobbled up pretty quick.

Not bad for an old lady.

(There's an infinite number of fillings and toppings for this bread -- meat, cheese, veggies, you name it. This would've been even better, I think, with caramelized onion. The dough would also make a great pizza crust.)

Focaccia with Red Grape, Onion and Basil

From Chef Laura Vaughn, Washburne Culinary Institute, adapted from Prentice-Hall, Inc. 2005

Makes 1 half sheet pan

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon active-dry yeast

12 ounces lukewarm water

17 ounces all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling on top

3 ounces onion, chopped very fine

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons fresh basil, sliced into thin ribbons

1 cup red grapes, sliced in half

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl bowl, stir together sugar, yeast and warm water. Let sit a few minutes 'til bubbly and add the flour.

Add the salt, onion and basil. Knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth, about five minutes. Resist the urge to add more flour. The dough will be sticky and you may need a bench scraper to knead it.

Wipe out the large bowl and spray with cooking spray or smear with oil. Put dough in the container and swirl around so it's covered with oil. Cover with plastic wrap. Place in a warm area to rise until doubled. (This will likely take about 40 minutes to one hour, depending on the temperature of your room.)

Spray a half-sheet pan (or 13X9-inch pan) with cooking spray. Line with parchment. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of oil onto the parchment.

Gently turn the dough out onto a floured work surface. Grasping the sides of the dough, fold the left, then the right side, to the center. Then fold the top and the bottom to the center. Flip the dough over. Cover and let rest 15 minutes.

Put the dough in the prepared pan and spread it so it fills the entire surface. (Let the dough rest a few minutes if it resists shaping. Let the dough rest in a warm place for about 10 minutes, until puffy.

Using oiled fingers, make indentations throughout the dough. Drizzle with a few more tablespoons of olive oil.

Press sliced grapes firmly into the dough. Sprinkle with Kosher salt and let dough rise about 8 minutes longer, or until it puffs around the grapes, holding them in place.

Bake until light golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Cool a bit before slicing.