Pizza Two Ways : Take Two

This picture doesn't do this pizza justice.  It was good...so so good.  Both sides were delicious...like, can't stop eating it, reaching for just one more nibble, oh-look-at-that-piece-wasn't-cut-straight-I-am-only-cutting-off-that-sliver-to-balance-it-out delicious.

I went with a thinner crust this time and browned up a bunch of Italian Sausage and then topped it with a whole ball of fresh mozzarella cheese.  All very good decisions I must say!  On one side I added red onion, spinach, and dollops of ricotta cheese...my favorite.  I left the ricotta off of one corner but I found out that it was an unnecessary step...the kids liked it with as well as without.

Sausage, Spinach, and Ricotta Cheese Pizza

for the dough (makes enough for two pizzas):

3 3/4 cups flour

2 1/2 t active dry yeast

3/4 t salt

3/4 t sugar or honey

1 1/3 cups water, room temperature

Mix flour, yeast, salt, and sugar in a medium bowl.  Add water and mix with a spoon until blended.  Cover the bowl and let rest at room temperature until doubled, about 2 hours.  Divide the dough into two portions.  

I like to sprinkle a bit of cornmeal on my sheet pan and then place the dough on top and press down with my hands.  This dough is meant to be thin and it takes a bit of elbow grease to get it stretched across the entire pan.  Keep working at it until you get it this and uniform.  Then spread your favorite sauce, cheese, toppings, and more cheese before baking at 500 degrees until cheese is melted and crust is browned.

Pizza : Two Ways

You know those times when you want to try something new for dinner, but you are unsure if the rest of your family will be as excited about a new food?  I have those days often and so I find myself creating a plan B if everything goes badly or compromising like I did tonight.  I knew a Thai Chicken Pizza would be tasty, but I was afraid the kids would shy away from the heat that I wanted it to have.  So, I decided to create pizza two ways.  Their side was a fresh mozzarella and ham pizza and our side was Thai Chicken with a spicy peanut sauce.  Both sides were equally delicious...and a hit with everybody. The kids tried the Thai Chicken side and said they liked it followed up with requests for milk refills!

This is also a great way to get rid of leftover bits in the refrigerator...I had two slices of ham leftover from breakfast, a container of fresh mozzarella balls, a few carrots from a veggie tray, and cilantro from a batch of guacamole.
Pizza : Two Ways

Pizza Dough
1 t active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water
1 T honey
1 T olive oil
1/2 t salt
2 cups flour
Combine water and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, let stand 5-10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and turn mixer on low.  Continue mixing until all flour is incorporated.  Dough should be firm and not sticky, add a little flour if needed.  Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour.

Peanut Sauce
1 clove garlic
1 T fresh ginger
2 T soy sauce
1 1/2 t sesame oil
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 t honey
1 T chipotle adobo sauce or 1 T sweet chili sauce
Combine everything in a small food processor bowl and process until smooth.

12 oz. fresh mozzarella
2 grilled chicken breasts, thinly sliced
1 cup shredded carrot
1 cup cilantro
1/4 c chopped peanuts

Heat oven to 500 degrees.  Spread a little cornmeal onto a half sheet pan and roll dough out to the size of the pan.  Place dough in pan and spread half with peanut sauce and the other half with your favorite jarred pizza sauce.  Next top regular pizza side with toppings of your choice.  Finish by topping entire pizza with thin slices of fresh mozzarella and baking until cheese is melted.

Finish Thai Pizza side with grilled chicken, shredded carrot, chopped cilantro, chopped peanuts, and drizzle with additional peanut sauce.  Enjoy!

Stuffed Pizza

These pizza rolls are a fun and interesting alternative to the normal pizzas that we enjoy around here. I used our standard pizza dough but I rolled it out thinner and then spread it with toppings/fillings before rolling. This one happens to be a sausage, cheese, and onion pizza roll...but nearly any combination would work. These are also great because each one can be individualized to meet each diners' taste.
Once they are filled and rolled they should be placed seam-side down, brushed with egg, topped with sesame or poppy seeds, and baked at 500 until golden. I would also suggest having a little extra sauce on the side for dipping.

Pizza Dough

¼ cup white wine
1 tsp. salt
1 cup warm water
1/2 Tbsp yeast
1 Tbsp honey
Flour
1 Tbsp olive oil

In a bowl combine everything except flour. Let mixture sit for 4-5 minutes. Next, stir in flour ½ cup at a time until mixture comes together and forms a ball. Continue adding flour until the dough is not sticky. Turn out onto floured counter and knead until dough forms a smooth ball. (2-3 minutes) Rub a small amount of olive oil on dough and place in a large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and then cover with a towel. Place in a warm spot for 1-2 hours. Dough should double in size.When you are ready to make the pizza, roll out dough and add desired toppings. Bake pizza in a 500 degree over until cheese is browned and bubbling.
(I never follow a recipe when I make this dough...so you may have to tinker with the measurements until you get it the way you like it.)

(This is a breeze if you have a stand mixer. Simply combine all ingredients except flour and mix with the dough hook. Then gradually add in flour until the dough forms a ball and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. After that just leave the mixer on for 4-5 minutes to knead the dough. Follow above instructions from this point on.)

BLT Pizza

This BLT pizza is a great alternative to the traditional pizza and toppings we usually opt for. This happens to be my favorite type of pizza when we go out to California Pizza Kitchen so I thought I would recreate it at home. It turned out just as tasty and was a hit all around. Needless to say, we'll be having it often!

BLT Pizza

1 lb pizza dough

2 cups mozzarella cheese

6 strips bacon, browned and drained (you can cut before cooking or crumb it afterwards)

1 tomato, diced

3 cups lettuce, shredded

1/4 cup mayonnaise

salt

pepper

olive oil

Prepare pizza dough and preheat oven to 500 degrees.. Brush flattened pizza round with olive oil and sprinkle mozzarella cheese evenly on round. Bake 8-12 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust is lightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool while preparing lettuce.

Toss lettuce with mayonnaise (use as much or little mayo as you like...we go for moderate) and spread on slightly cooled pizza. Sprinkle with bacon. Toss tomatoes with salt and pepper and then spread evenly on pizza. Enjoy.

Pesto Bruschetta II

I know, I know, this is my second pesto bruschetta post in a very short time. However, I had to share this version I made today because it was so yummy. Today was my day to host our playgroup friends. We usually get together and have a light kid-friendly lunch consisting of crackers, cheese, fruit, and meats. Today I made those trays and I also added a couple of things for the adults and this bruschetta was a hit. Tonight I'm going to make a smaller version of today's lunch. I know Joseph is going to love the bruschetta as well.
Pesto Bruschetta

1 french baguette
olive oil
4 medium-sized ripe tomatoes
¼ cup onion
½ cup fresh basil
2 cloves garlic
salt
pepper
1 cup fresh basil pesto

Cut tomatoes into 1/3 inch slices and then run your finger around each piece to remove the seeds and extra juices. Continue to dice tomatoes and place in a medium sized bowl. Add minced garlic, diced onion, and basil chiffonade (Remove basil from stems, roll like a cigarette, and slice into very thin strands.) Season to taste with salt and pepper. This can be done 10 minutes to 1 day in advance.


Cut the baguette into ¼ inch slices. Place on a sheet pan and brush with a light coating of olive oil. Broil on high for 3-4 minutes or until lightly brown . Remove from oven and let cool. Spread a layer of pesto on each piece of bread. Place a heaping spoonful of the tomato mixture on top and finish with a layer of freshly grated parmesan cheese

Restaurant Recreation

Have you ever eaten a dish at a restaurant and went home craving more? There have been many occasions when I've come home after a meal out and recreated things off of the menu. That is how I started making mushroom ravioli, chicken and bow tie pasta, waffles with strawberry sauce, paninis, and more. If anybody knows how to make green tea semi-freddo with chestnut beignets...I'm still working on recreating that one. Well, yesterday we encountered a great bruscetta appetizer and my husband and I (I bet Gabe would have agreed, if he could talk) said we could go for a little more of it for dinner. So, we stopped at the market on the way home and picked up a few ingredients for the recreation as well as some other things I just couldn't pass up. We also made a second stop at the wine shop to turn our meal into something a little more special.
I took a shortcut with the bruscetta and picked up a package of pita bread which I toasted under the broiler and I topped with the chopped tomato and basil mixture. After piling it high I topped that off with a few spoonfuls of some basil pesto that I had already made, hence the dark color. To accompany that appetizer I also made prosciutto wrapped figs that I grilled with a little drizzle of balsamic vinegar. The final additional was a mound of baby mozzarella balls coated in olive oil, salt, pepper, and more fresh basil.
These little appetizers were a cinch to throw together and they made a terrific light and easy dinner.

Stuff It - Rosemary and Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts

I really enjoy recipes that allow me to get most of the prep and clean-up done ahead of time. With a young baby it is hard to get dinner ready while watching him...especially since he can crawl. I find that he tends to follow me everywhere and crawl up my leg as I'm working in the kitchen. This makes moving around to get ingredients quite a challenge. He also seems to get frustrated if I dodge him and go around the island in the kitchen to avoid getting caught. So I try to get a lot of my cooking done when he is asleep. That means I have to use Gabe's afternoon nap to start dinner and get things prepared so that I can focus on feeding and entertaining him once he is awake. I find that this system works out pretty well. If I use my time wisely I can even get the house cleaned up and a load of laundry started as well - sometimes. Today Gabe slept really well so I got to work on dinner and even had some time to myself to spend blog-hopping. Yay!
Today I made stuffed chicken breasts, parmesan asparagus spears, and sauteed mushrooms. This worked really well. I really enjoy rosemary, so this dish was a big hit. The chicken remained tender and juicy because of the addes butter inside of the meat and the fresh cheese kept it's shape and didn't ooze out which has happened with other varieties. This is definitely a keeper and if I was in a huge time crunch I could stuff the chicken and put it in the fridge until closer to dinner or even until the next day.

Rosemary and Mozzerella Stuffed Chicken Breasts

3 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 Large Fresh Mozzerella Cheese Ball
1 T Fresh rosemary
3 T butter
1/2 c flour
1/2 c Italian Bread Crumbs
1 egg - beaten
salt
pepper

1. Pound chicken breasts until 1/4 inch thick. Lay flat skin-side down.
2. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and chopped rosemary.
3. Place 1/3 of cheese and 1 Tablespoon of butter on bottom half of breast. Tightly roll chicken over filling and secure all sides with toothpicks. (At this point it would be a good idea to refrigerator for 1 hour or up to 1 day before breading. This will give the chicken time to firm up and it will hold its' shape better.)
4. Make an assembly line of 3 dishes. The first with flour, the second egg, and the third bread crumbs. Cover each breast in flour, then dip into the egg wash, and finally cover with crumbs.
5. In a skillet, brown each breast in a little butter or olive oil. (I actually use a little of both - the butter for taste and the olive oil for the higher burn temp.)
6. Transfer browned chicken to an oven safe dish and finish cooking in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes.