Especially if cooks follow the recipe from The Short Cut Cook: How to Make Simply Wonderful Meals With Surprisingly Little Effort, by the legendary chef and cooking instructor Jacques Pepin.

Pepin's recipe calls for using frozen dough to simplify the bread-making process. It is probably not what traditional Italian grandmothers used, but it's a worthy substitute, according to Mary Ann Brown, of Grantsville, who sent the recipe for Rochelle Lake.

"This is an excellent recipe," she said.

In its most basic form, focaccia, pronounced foh-KAH-chyah, is a flat bread brushed with olive oil and salt and then baked. It is eaten as a snack or served as an accompaniment to soups and salads.

There are dozens of variations, depending on the toppings. Herbs, such as rosemary and oregano, are popular as are cheese, onions, garlic and even chopped figs.

Requests: Mary Ann Keefer would like to make baked Alaska for her grandchildren. Can a reader share a recipe?

Stephanie Magid is searching for the perfect icing for sugar cookies. One that "tastes great, dries glossy and hard, so the cookies can be stacked for gifts."

Maria Soriano has misplaced her recipe for spicy eggplant pasta, which called for baking a whole eggplant for an hour. It was then skinned and chopped before being added to the dish. Red peppers, garlic and basil were other ingredients.

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Requests and responses must include first and last name and a daytime telephone number. Send to Cuisine Quest, c/o The Salt Lake Tribune, 90 S. 400 West, Suite 700, Salt Lake City, UT 84101, or e-mail to Kathy Stephenson at kathys@sltrib.com.

Focaccia

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1 pound package frozen bread dough

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 onion, peeled and sliced thinly, about 1 cup

3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced thinly, about 1 tablespoon

2 teaspoons fresh or 1 teaspoon dried oregano

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons grated Romano or Parmesan cheese

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Grease a cookie sheet, preferably one without a rim, with vegetable oil. Place frozen dough on cookie sheet, cover with plastic wrap and allow to defrost overnight in refrigerator or at room temperature according to package directions.

Oil a second round pizza pan or cookie sheet without sides with 1 teaspoon olive oil. Place thawed dough in center of pan.

Wet hands with cold water and press dough, extending it to form a circle 10 to 12 inches in diameter. The dough is elastic and will shrink back, so press firmly until the circle holds its shape. Prick dough about 10 times with a fork.

Combine onion, garlic, oregano and 3 tablespoons olive oil. Spread the mixture evenly over dough. Sprinkle with cheese and pepper. Let it rise at room temperature for 40 to 50 minutes.

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Bake bread for 25 minutes or until dough is nicely browned and onions are cooked.

Remove from oven and let cool on pan for a few minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. Cut into wedges and serve.

Makes 1 loaf.

- "The Short Cut Cook: How to Make Simply Wonderful Meals With Surprisingly Little Effort," by Jacques Pepin