On May 5, 2022, at a meeting for my women’s church group, Relief Society, I hosted a “cooking and baking” table. There were 6 tables, each with a different type of hobby with a host and some display items. And everyone was given the chance to spend about 15 minutes at each of 3 tables.

I wanted to share some food, so I made two items: sourdough focaccia bread and chocolate-covered strawberries. This post contains links to a few of my favorite recipes!

Sourdough Focaccia

This is the recipe I followed from King Arthur Baking: Sourdough Focaccia recipe. I make this often, because it’s just so easy. The only difficult part of the whole thing is maintaining a sourdough starter (King Arthur’s sourdough guide is awesome, and if you live near me, ask me for some starter to get started).

You can slice focaccia lengthwise and make the most awesome sandwiches out of it. You can cut it into blocks to serve with pasta. It’s best the same day it’s baked, but you can keep snacking on it for a day or two more if you seal it in an airtight container.

Non-Sourdough Recipe

If you don’t have sourdough but want to make something awesome, try this Crispy Cheesy Pan Pizza recipe from King Arthur Baking. Also, here is a recipe for a gluten free version of pan pizza (my niece with Celiac disease loves it).

Chocolate-Covered Strawberries

I sort of combined two guides to make the chocolate-covered strawberries we snacked on during the meeting. Chocolate-covered strawberry guide #1 and guide #2.

My biggest cooking tip

My biggest cooking tip is to use a digital probe thermometer like the Polder thermometer from Amazon. If you always have a probe in your meat the latter part of its cooking, set to ring at the temperature you want your meat to come to, you will never have undercooked or overcooked meat again. And it will elevate the simplest dish. So I suggest you get one, and use it!

I loved visiting with the ladies in my neighborhood who share the same cooking interest as I do. I’d love to see what you love to cook and bake, too!