Grilled Chipotle Chicken Pizza #SundaySupper

I'm excited to say that I have joined the #SundaySupper Movement! And this is my first participating post. Wouldn't you know it....it's all about Man Food! Is there much out there that men won't eat?

I think not.

At the bottom, you will find a list of other #SundaySupper blogger's Man Food recipes and links. You can check them all out and see what you find that'll make your man happy.

What man doesn't like pizza? There might be a few out there but I've never met one. This Father's Day, to celebrate the man in your life, rather than turning on the oven to bake your pizza (and getting the house all hot and uncomfortable), why not take a shot at it on the grill? The flavor that's imparted is wonderful, just like anything else that's BBQ'd. You know that tell-tale smokey flavor that announces 'summer' loud and clear. Grilled pizza is fun, quick, and so darned good!

As with all pizzas, there are 3 components: the dough/crust, the sauce, and the toppings. Most of which can be partially prepared ahead of time. Even a day beforehand. 

First I'm going to share a beautiful pizza dough recipe. I've used it several times over the past few years and for the life of me, I cannot remember where I originally got the recipe (which is really bugging me now cuz I really would love to give them credit). 

Pizza Dough:
Ingredients:

1 package of active dry yeast (comes out to 2 1/2 tsp)

3 cups of all purpose flour

1/2 TBS honey 

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup olive oil

1 cup warm water (about 110 - 115 degrees)

Directions:

Mix the honey and the water together. Add the yeast. Let sit for about 10 minutes, until it foams. Add salt and oil and give it a quick stir. Add the flour and mix well. Mix together with a wooden spoon or by hand. If it's too wet, add a bit of flour (1 TBS at a time) until its dry enough. If it's too dry, add a bit of water (1 TBS at a time) until its right. Turn out onto a well floured surface and knead until its nice and smooth. You might want to step away for a few minutes during kneading to let the dough rest. When you come back, it will knead so nicely and get all smooth and beautiful for you. 

Form the dough into a ball and put into a large oiled bowl. Cover with a clean cloth and let it rise in a warm area until it has doubled in size (about 35 - 45 minutes or more). Punch down and let it rise again until it has doubled in size (about 1 - 1.5 hrs). Punch it down. 

At this point, you can store it in the refrigerator in a lightly covered container, for a few days. Do not seal the container tight as the dough will still rise (albeit slowly) in the fridge and you do not want the gases to build up and cause an explosion. When ready to use, remove from the fridge and let it sit at room temp a bit before working with it. 

Turn it onto a well floured surface and prepare your dough for pizza. I divided it up into 4 balls and made individual sized pizzas. The number of pizza you get out of this dough will depend on how think you want your crust and how big you want them. 

Chipotle Pizza Sauce:
Inspired by The Neely's Chipotle Sauce

Ingredients:
1 cup sour cream (if you can get Mexican sour cream, all the better)
2 chipotle peppers, seeded
2 green onions, roughly chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/4 teaspoon cumin
Juice from 1 lime

Directions:
Place all of the ingredients in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth and creamy. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use. At least an hour or 2 would be good in order for the flavors to mesh together and get all warm and fuzzy.

Note: If you are sensitive to heat, then use 1 chipotle. If you like it really hot, then leave the seeds in.

Shredded Smokey Chicken:
Preheat the oven to 425' F if using the oven to bake the chicken, otherwise prepare your grill accordingly.

Ingredients:
3 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
juice from 1/2 lemon
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Rinse and pat dry the chicken.

In a small bowl, combine the chili powder, garlic powder and cumin.

Drizzle the chicken with lemon juice on both sides and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Rub the chili powder combo on the chicken, on both sides.

Bake in a hot oven on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray, for about 30 minutes, or until done. Or grill over medium-hot coals until the juices inside run clear.

Let cool first, then shred.

Toppings:
Shredded cheddar cheese
Shredded jack cheese
Grilled onions
Grilled bell peppers
Sliced avocado
Chopped cilantro
Lime wedges


Grilling and assembling the pizza:
Heat up your grill and make it hot. You want a even heat. If you are using charcoal, spread those hot coals evenly around, under your grate.

On a lightly floured surface, shape your dough as desired. Place it on a pizza peel that is lightly dusted with flour or cornmeal, if you have one. If you don't have a pizza peel, dust the bottom side of a cookie sheet and use that.

Slide the dough off the peel and onto the middle of your grill (this should be done in one full sweep). Cover and let cook for maybe 3 - 5 minutes? Check it and see what's going on. It all depends on how charred you want it.

It will bubble up and get all cool looking

When it's lightly browned, remove it using a couple of spatulas, flipping it over onto your peel.

The cooked side will now be the top of your pizza. Spread the Chipotle sauce over the crust

Add the cheese, shredded chicken, grilled onions and more cheese and then slide it back onto the grill.

Cover and grill for another few minutes, until the top is melted and bubbly and the bottom is a deep golden brown or even a bit charred, should you so desire.

Remove. Add the avocados, cilantro and drizzle with lime juice.

Slice and serve!

The cool cream in the sauce keeps the chipotle peppers under control. To a point. It's a bit spicy but that's what's so darned good about it. That smokey chipotle heat, which is also enhanced by the grill. The chicken is just plain good, especially with all that melted cheese everywhere. All in all, this is just a great combo of flavors that naturally go well together. Put it all on a deliciously homemade pizza crust and you can't go wrong.

Manly Starters:

• BBQ Chicken Nacho by Country Girl in The Kitchen
• Beer Battered Fried Mushrooms by Kudos Kitchen by Renee
• Burrata Bresaola and Arugula Appetizer by Family Foodie
• Chicken Satay with Spicy Peanut Sauce by Hip Foodie Mom
• Chipotle Pork Belly-Stuffed Jalapeño Poppers by The Redhead Baker
• Coconut Beer-Battered Prawns with Spicy Marmalade by The Wimpy Vegetarian
• Devils on Horseback by Nosh My Way
• Fried Pickles by Cookin’ Mimi
• Garlic and Herb Wine Jelly by What Smells So Good?
• Maple Sriracha Chicken Wings by Manu’s Menu
• Tomato Bacon Jam by Feed Me, Seymour

Manly Mains:

• Bacon Bourbon BBQ Burgers by The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen
• Bacon Cheeseburger Crustless Quiche by Cupcakes & Kale Chips
• Beef Barbacoa by Casa de Crews
• Beef Short Rib Sandwich by Life Tastes Good
• Beer Brats with Pepper Relish by Jelly Toast
• Beer Can Chicken by Curious Cuisiniere
• Chicago Style-Pizza by Small Wallet, Big Appetite
• Chili Dog Casserole by Simple Gourmet
• Chipotle Pork Chops by girlichef
• Coconut & Lime Grilled Shrimp Skewers by Take A Bite Out of Boca
• Colossal Burger by Jane’s Adventures in Dinner
• Gluten Free Lemon Pepper Wings by Gluten Free Crumbley
• Grilled Chipotle Chicken Pizza by Peaceful Cooking
• Grilled Lobster with Miso Butter by Kimchi MOM
• Grilled Sweet Guava Chicken by The Foodie Army Wife
• Ham and Pineapple Pizza Pockets by gotta get baked
• Huevos Rancheros Casserole by Pescetarian Journal
• Lacquered Short Ribs in the Slow Cooker by Shockingly Delicious
• Maple Chipotle Barbecue Pork Tenderloin by Flavor Mosaic
• Meatball Burger on Garlic Bread by Healthy.Delicious.
• Mom’s Slow Roasted Brisket by Food Lust People Love
• Perfectly Pan Seared Steak by Serena Bakes Simply From Scratch
• Pollo al Peperoncino by Run DMT
• Polish Coal Miner Piggies (Stuffed Cabbage Rolls- Golabki) by Rants from my Crazy Kitchen
• Red Chile Shredded Chicken Tacos. How to win over your man’s stomach and steal his heart. by Simply Healthy Family
• Ropa Vieja by Meal Diva
• Salt of the Earth Ribs by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Salisbury Steak w/ Loaded Mashed Potatoes and Mushroom Gravy by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Smoked Turkey Drumsticks by Cindy’s Recipes and Writing
• Stuffed Chipotle Bacon Cheese Burgers by Peanut Butter and Peppers
• Stuffed Pork Chops by The Not So Cheesy Kitchen
• Tex-Mex Gut Buster Chili by Bobbi’s Kozy Kitchen
• The Cleveland Hogg Burger by Seduction in the Kitchen

Manly Desserts:

• Beer Funnel Cake by Killer Bunnies, Inc.
• Black Forest Cake by Noshing with the Nolands
• Carob Chip Cookies by Pies and Plots
• Chunky Monkey Vegan Banana Bread by Ninjabaking.com
• Classic Cheesecake by Hot Momma’s Kitchen Chaos
• Fat Man’s Pie by Magnolia Days
• Mandarin orange cake aka southern pig pickin’ cake by Baking & Browning
• Pizookies by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Grilled Pound Cake Stacks with Roasted Strawberries by Melanie Makes
• Strawberry Rhubarb Pie With Mascarpone Cream by La Bella Vita Cucina

Wine Pairings for Man Food #SundaySupper byENOFYLZ Wine Blog

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Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.

« Last Edit: Today at 08:05:48 AM by Susan @ LittleRedKitchen »

Cheesecake with Strawberry Balsamic Glaze Topping, and then some

Where to start with this one (besides with a fork).

Sometimes one random ingredient can be the catapult to multiple delicious results. That was the case when I received a bottle of Mandarano Balsamic Glaze & Sauce,

I love balsamic vinegar. Having a whole bottle of the glaze on hand? Oh yes....I was in a little bit of heaven. The tangy sweetness beckoned to me on so many levels. From sweet to savory and somewhere in between.

The first thing I did when I got home from work and opened the box was to make a drink. Not just any drink...I mean...a real drink. And yes, I used the Mandarano Balsamic Glaze & Sauce in it.

Think...Arnold Palmer gone wild.

Grab a shaker, filled almost to the top with ice. Fill half way with some good limoncello. Add a teaspoon or two (depending on your preference) of Mandarano Balsamic Glaze & Sauce. Shake vigorously. Strain into a cocktail glass and top off with some club soda. (If I had had a lemon on hand, I would've garnished my cocktail with a wedge.)

Repeat as necessary.

The balsamic cuts the edge off the sweetness of the limoncello and adds a little something extra while the club soda takes the intensity levels down (as both balsamic and limoncello have very strong flavors). It was interesting to see how they all worked together rather than fighting each other to see who would overpower whom. Mmmm mmmm mmmm. Good stuff!

Next up...since I was in the height of tomato picking and I had mounds of basil... my taste bud senses and cravings where on a caprese level. Of course I used Mandarano Balsamic Glaze & Sauce on a standard caprese salad. That's a no-brainer. But what about a pizza? With some chicken that's been marinating in balsmic? No you're talking!

Instead of a marinara sauce, just drizzle the dough with olive oil. Add lots of mozzarella cheese, some tomato slices, the chicken, throw in some red onions for good measure, sprinkle on some roughly chopped fresh basil and bake. Just before serving, drizzle some of that Mandarano Balsamic Glaze & Sauce over the top and there you go. 

Btw....did you know that you can buy fresh pizza dough from Whole Foods? Don't go looking in the refrigerator or freezer section. Go to the "food court" section...right up to the pizza counter and they'll bag up a nice ole wad of dough for you. For a price of course...but hey....if you're there already and you don't have time to make your own when you get home...its way better than anything you can get at the other markets. 

And now for the ultimate balsamic glaze application of all.....strawberries. There's just something deliciously...I dunno, complete? that happens when you combine those two. Take it to another level by injecting a bit of scotch whiskey blend....then heap that whole hot mess on top of cheesecake....and......I have no words. 

I'll just tell ya what to do....

My cheesecake recipe is always the same as this is "the best cheesecake ever!" All I do is change the topping to whatever fits the mood. 

Cheesecake

Printable Version

Preheat your oven to 325'. Place a baking dish on the rack below where you plan on baking your cake. 

Crust:
1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
4 - 5 tablespoons melted butter
4 tablespoons sugar

Filling:

3 - 8oz packs of cream cheese at room temperature
4 eggs
1 cup of sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Sour Cream Topping:

16 oz sour cream
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla

For the crust:

Combine ingredients. Pat on the bottom of a spring form pan and up the sides a little. Place in the refrigerator while mixing the filling together.

For the filling:

Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Blend in remaining ingredients. Pour into your graham cracker crust. Place in the middle rack in your oven. Pour 1 cup of hot water into a dish (such as a roasting pan) on a rack below your cheesecake. Bake for 1 hour, turning the cake 180' halfway through. If needed, add another cup of hot water to the baking dish. This helps prevent big cracks by providing a humid atmosphere within your oven.

For the Sour Cream Topping:

Combing the ingredients and pour on top of the cheesecake. Bake for an additional 10 minutes. Cool and refrigerate for several hours or over night.

A few hours before serving, make the ultimate Strawberry Balsamic Glaze as follows:

1 1/2 TB cornstarch

1/2 water plus 3 TB

2 TB scotch whiskey blend

1 TB orange liqueur 

2 TB sugar
2 cups crushed strawberries
1 TB Mandarano Balsamic Glaze & Sauce
Whole strawberries for garnishing

In a small bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in the 3 TB water.

In a saucepan, over medium heat, bring the remaining 1/2 cup water,  the scotch whiskey blend, orange liqueur and sugar to a boil.  Stir in the cornstarch mixture and heat, stirring constantly until everything thickens.  If too thick, add a bit of water (1 TB at a time). If too thin, add a bit of cornstarch (1/2 tsp at a time). Stir in the crushed strawberries and balsamic glaze. If you want a stronger balsamic presence, add another TB. 

Pour everything into a bowl and set the bowl inside a larger bowl that contains ice water. Stir to cool. Spread over the top of your chilled cheesecake. Chill an additional 2 hours.

Or....just pour the whole thing over the top...and serve as is....one big beautiful hot nirvana-ish mess. 

And there you have it. Balsamic Glaze all over the place....from cocktail, to pizza to cheesecake. Hmm...I wonder how it would taste to have the balsamic glaze directly in the cheesecake. Well shoot...after all this...and my daughters dipping into the goods...I have none left to test that out. 

I think I need more. 

I want to thank Mandarano for sharing their delicious Balsamic Glaze with me. It has been a pleasure to play with and enjoy.  

Pizza Verde

HBin5 strikes again! Only I didn't follow the assigned recipe which was to grill a pesto pizza with grilled chicken and to make an oven baked whole grain pizza with roasted red peppers and fontina cheese. Not that I had anything at all against either of those pizzas. They both sound wonderful and from what I've seen from the other bread braiders in Michelle's HBin5 group....they look wonderful.

You can check out the correct assignment versions at Big Black Dog. This happens to be our 13th HBin5 post...and I think we have about 30 plus more to go....plenty of time to join in :)

Anyways....my reasons for doing what I did? It was Laker night (game 6 to be exact). There was nooooo way in hell I'd be able to drag Sir Sportsalot away from the television. I'm lucky he noticed that I walked in the door. I'm wondering if his friend hadn't said "Hi" to me as I walked in, if it would have even registered in Sir Sportsalot's brain that there was anything going on outside of that HDTV of his.

My other reason? I had some stuff leftover from my Tortilla Soup night and I had some dough in the fridge. It was a very spur of the moment dinner decision that was made on my way home from work as I was on the phone with an old childhood friend. This is one of the wonderful things about the dough recipes from the Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day cookbook. You mix up a batch, let it sit on the counter for a couple of hours and then stick it in the fridge for days and days and use it as needed / desired. Of course the number of days will vary depending on some of the ingredients in a particular dough....ie: eggs, the dough lasts 5 days. Basic whole wheat dough will last up to 2 weeks.

I had grilled chicken that had marinaded in mexican seasonings. And I had cheese. I didn't want to use marinara sauce. It's not my favorite thing on pizza. (is that weird?). I considered using the Tequila Crema that I had made for the Tortilla Soup...then remembered that there wasn't any left...damn! That would've been really good!! But.... I had some salsa verde. hmmm....how would that work? I thought. I wasn't too sure. So I hummed and hawed and gave it some deep thought. Then I spied the mexican crema that was in the fridge! Oooooh yes! Let's mix that together...making the salsa creamy and not so intense in flavor. Ok...now we've got a plan!

I rolled out the dough....spread the creamy salsa verde on, tossed on the grilled chicken (sliced)...added red onions, green chillies, jack cheese, cheddar cheese and queso fresco. Stuck it in a preheated very hot 550'F oven for about 8 - 10 minutes. Sprinkled on some cilantro and drizzled lime juice all over it....

OMG....incredible pizza. In less than 45 minutes I had 2 pizza's made and ready to serve.

Oh ya...and I had some fried tortilla strips left over that I threw on top too.

Now, I always feel bad that I can't share the recipe for the dough. So I try and have a recipe that I used with the dough for you. This time, it's my salsa verde that a very sweet lady of hispanic origin, shared with me several years ago.

Salsa Verde
Printable Version

1 lb of tomatillos
3 or 4 garlic cloves
3 jalapenos
3/4 cup of cilantro
1/2 sweet onion
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon salt

Tomatillos.....those funny little green things that resemble a tomato only different. They have these funny little paper like...I dunno....husks?

I like to use the small ones when I make my salsa. I was advised to do so by the farmer at the farmers market. I've used the larger ones as well, and can't really tell a huge difference. Maybe the small ones have more flavor? I think they're less tart. I know that they are in their prime, flavor wise, while they're still green. I dunno.....I just do what I'm told.

Remove the husks and rinse the tomatillos.

You'll notice that they are sticky. Don't worry too much about that. Cooking them will take care of that. I parboiled them until they changed color.

I've also grilled them....but these were tiny and there were a lot of them...and you really have to watch them. If you over cooked them, they start to leak.

If you can....grill the jalapenos and onions. It's a flavor thing...not mandatory.

If you're a wimp like I am....remove the seeds and ribs from the jalapeno. Throw everything into a blender

And whirl it around until its pureed....a minute or so.

Let chill for a little bit before serving. It's really cool cuz this stuff gels all on it's own. Must be something in the tomatillo. I tried looking it up but haven't found an answer yet. But it's great cuz the sauce doesn't drip off the end of your tortilla chip

Look at that color! Good stuff I tell ya!

Oh...one more thing!! Want a chance to win 2 lbs of Fresh Morels? I do!!! Just click on the Morel badge below and leave them a comment. You can do a couple of other things as well to give yourself more chances to win. But you need to hurry because the contest ends on Sunday, 6/20/10, at midnight.

Good luck!

Pesto Nut Bruschetta and Pizza

Remember that Garlic and Basil Pesto I made not that long ago? I mentioned that the next HBin5 bread assignment called for it, right?

YUM!!

Oh...in regards to the HBin5 Bread Braid....you can join any time. You don't even have to have a blog....you can just join to gain the knowledge and the knowhow and tap into the great wealth of information from the great bread minds that are involved. Not to mention the great leadership and organization from our fearless leader, Michelle over at Big Black Dogs.

Ok, now back to that pesto....well, it is the star ingredient of the dough for this part of the assignment and instead of making a loaf of bread....I made pizza and bruschetta

YUM!

Here's a picture of the ingredients

I can't tell ya how much or what to do with it. You'll have to buy the Healthy Bread in Five Minutes A Day Cookbook in order to find out.

The only think I did differently was to cut the whole wheat flour in half and replace it with all purpose flour. It seems to agree with my taste buds a lot more that way. Oh...and the whole wheat flour that I use? It's white whole wheat flour....same nutrients as regular whole wheat, only it's made with the lighter colored grains. Oh...and for the pine nuts....I toasted them first. And I didn't measure the pine nuts or the pesto...but I'm sure I added more than the recipe specified. In my book, thats not a bad thing.

Have I mentioned that the authors Jeff Hertzbert and Zoe Francois have a blog too? Oops...so sorry. I should have. You can see a lot of their recipes and tips and instructions over at Artisan Bread in Five

Ok...so I mixed the dough and fell in love instantly...I mean...the aroma. The color.....the anticipation..

yep...it had me on the first rise

After it sat on the counter for 2 hrs, I let it sit in the fridge for a while before I started playing with it. I decided to make pizza first. And then I remembered something awesome that Bob over at Cooking Stuff did....

CHEESE STUFFED PIZZA CRUST.....YUM!!!

So I cut some cheese into sticks and filled the crust, then loaded it with some goodies, like...garlic alfredo sauce, chicken, mushrooms, slivered garlic, red onions, chopped fresh basil, spinach, goat cheese, mozzarella cheese and a little jack cheese (cuz I ran out of mozzarella)

Let's just say.....this pizza was AMAZING!!!

The dough was great to work with....the aroma was enough to put your senses into a state of food coma anticipation, and the flavor.....pure heaven.

The best part? Well....let me tell ya....

I still had some dough left. So the next night I decided

BAGUETTE TIME!! 

Have I said YUM!!! yet?

I had made a "not so Italian, more Sandra Lee-ish" version of Chicken Cacciatori that I prefer not to share here as it was....mmm....not my choice.

But

With this lovely Pesto Baguette, I made my first ever bruschetta.

I'm soooo in looOOOOooove!

I melted some butter and olive oil with some sliced up garlic and let that all cook until the garlic was starting to get brown but the butter wasn't burning.

Fine line there.

I brushed the baguette slices with the garlic butter and let them toast in the oven then sprinkled a little mozzarella cheese on each one and let that melt.

I chopped up some tomato, onion and basil....drizzled with a tad of olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper.

And topped each toasted slice with the tomato mixture

Let me just repeat myself.....again.......YUM!!

And you know what? I still have some dough left. And rather than making something new...I'm going to repeat the bruschetta. The whole combo totally rocked! Even Sir Sportsalot had a remark...

"....."Those" were really good!" (from the mouths of men)

From Grilled Pizza to Calzone

For ages I had been wanting to try grilling pizza. I don't know what took me so long. Maybe it was my own mental block or my imagination.....I wasn't sure what Sir Sportsalot would think of the idea so I put it off.

I think the first time I had mentioned it to him, I got one of those faces that read...."wth? what kind of an idea is that! how the....why? You're insane."

The next time I brought it up, he wasn't in the mood for pizza.

The last time I brought it up, it wasn't a question. I said...We're going to grill pizza tonight and poof. no fuss, no muss. Thank God cuz I had this homemade pizza dough in the freezer and I really needed to use it. If you wanna check out the pizza dough recipes --->click here<--- Plus my friend Michele over at MyItalianGrandmother had done a really sweet blog about her pizza grilling experience...and well....I had the "pizza grilling bug".

Now...it was an interesting experience. I wasn't as successful as Michele is but it's worth perfecting. Thats for sure!!

We basically got the pizza dough ready...

And then flipped it onto the grill....

Once the first side had some nice grill marks, it was time to flip it over and add the goodies. Only I didn't bring all my fixins outside so I was going to take the crust into the kitchen...load it up and bring it back out.

My first crust....well....it bit the dust. Literally. Some how when I umm...put the crust back onto the plate, it just kept right on going. I was really irritated. I should've snapped a picture of it. But my mind was stuck on..."Crap, now I don't have enough dough to make enough pizza for all of us. Which one of us is going to bed without dinner tonight?"

Anyways....the next couple were successful. It all happened so fast that I didn't have time to take more photos...but here's one of the "clean" pizzas

It's a little rustic looking but man was it good! I think next time I'll use a thicker crust. But not too thick. If you want to know how to really do it up right, seriously check out Micheles blog (link above). Once I master this technique, I'll go into more detail.

Anyways as it turned out....I still had one ball of dough left (nope....no one went to bed hungry that night after all)...

hmmm...what to do with one lonely ball of pizza dough?

Why...you flatten that baby out and stick some soft scrambled eggs on half of it...

Then you add some mushrooms, onions and bacon...

And some avocado and tomato....

And some cheese....

and then fold it and crimp the edges...

Pop it into a 350 oven for about 30 mins or so until golden brown....

And have an amazing breakfast!!!

Pizza, Pizza, Pizza!!!

A good day is a day spent in the kitchen and it was a good day! I love a challenge so I took one today. I've made homemade pizza before but I've always used the pre-made, pre-cooked pizza dough from the grocery store...and was never really impressed. I found a couple of recipes for pizza dough and thought I'd try them out. 

Most of my experience with yeast has been with bread machines. I do have a great recipe for no knead bread that uses yeast, but that's another blog for another time. When making pizza you add the yeast to water and once it foams, you add the flour. I discovered, through trial and error that there's a bit more to it than that. I made two kinds of dough. One was a regular, all purpose pizza dough from a recipe I found on a blog and the other was for a whole wheat pizza dough that I found in a Martha Stewart Everyday Food magazine. I started off by making the all purpose pizza dough because it took longer to rise. It's a good thing I did because out of the two of them, it was the one with the correct instructions, as follows:

1 package of active dry yeast (comes out to 2 1/2 tsp)

3 cups of all purose flour

1/2 TBS honey 

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup olive oil

1 cup warm water (about 110 - 115 degrees)

Mix the honey and the water together. Add the yeast. Let sit for about 10 minutes, until it foams. Add salt and oil and give it a quick stir. Add 1 cup of flour and mix well. If you want to add some spices, now is the time. Add the rest of the flour. Mix together with a wooden spoon or by hand. If it's too wet, add a bit of flour (1 TBS at a time) until its dry enough. If it's too dry, add a bit of water (1 TBS at a time) until its right. Turn out onto a well floured surface and knead for a few minutes (1 -5). Form the dough into a ball and put into a large oiled bowl. Cover with a clean cloth and let it rise in a warm area until it has doubled in size (about 35 - 45 minutes). Punch down and let it rise again until it has doubled in size (about 1 - 1.5 hrs). Punch it down. Turn it onto a well floured surface and prepare your dough for pizza. I divided it up into 4 balls and made individual sized pizzas.

Now, for Martha's Whole Wheat Pizza Dough recipe.... The only issue I had with it was the instructions. The instructions only said to mix the warm water and yeast together and let it sit until foam appeared. My first batch was foamless so I tossed it and tried again thinking I had the water temperature wrong. Still no foam. Again I tossed it and tried again. No foam. By this time I figured I needed to do  some research and see what the problem was. This is where the internet really comes in handy!!! Apparently the yeast needs sugar or honey to feed upon in order to create that foam. There is sugar in the ingredients for Martha's recipe, so why didn't they instruct their readers to add the sugar to the water??? Once I added the sugar...the yeast mixture foamed beautifully! Here's how the recipe goes (correctly!!)

1.5 cups warm water (110 - 115 degrees)

2 packets active dry yeast (3 tsps)

1/4 cup olive oil (I actually used 1/3 cup)

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tsp salt

2 cups all purpose flour

2 cups whole wheat flour

Place water in a large bowl, mix in sugar and yeast. Let stand until foamy (about 5 - 15 minutes)

Whisk in oil and salt. Stir in flour with a wooden spoon until dough forms (I first stirred in about 1.5 cups of the flour then added the remaining flour). Transfer the dough to a large oiled bowl; brush the top of the dough with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm place until dough as doubled in size, about 1 hour. Turn dough onto a well floured surface. With floured hands, knead until smooth, about 15 seconds. Divide into balls.

Besides the awesome flavor of a homemade pizza dough, you get to put whatever you want on your pizza. You can even make individual sized pizzas and let everyone in your household make their own, just the way they like it. I chopped and shredded everything I could think of to give my family what they wanted. There was shredded chicken, pepperoni, sliced tomatoes, bell peppers, mushrooms, olives, onions, several kinds of cheese, sliced garlic, chopped basil, tomato sauce, alfredo sauce, pesto sauce, bbq sauce, fresh spinach. I forgot to get ham and pineapple. Guess I can't think of everything. 

Sooo......the first pizza shown at the top was made by my daughters friend. She didn't want any of the more unusual stuff on it...I guess you'd call her a purest. It had tomato sauce, cheese and pepperonis. The second picture is one of my daughters makings, using the whole wheat dough. Leave it to a teenage girl to make her pizza in the shape of a heart!!! LOL. I don't like tomato sauce on my pizza. I know...how weird is that?! If you've ever eaten at a California Pizza Kitchen, you may have had something like this first one. It had alfred sauce, shredded chicken, red onions, cheese and bbq sauce on it. YUM!!! My second pizza had the alfred sauce, cheese, mushrooms, sliced garlic and spinach. Loved it!!

I loved pizza when I was a kid (what kid doesn't!) but when I stopped liking the tomato sauce on it, I lost my taste for it. With the alfredo sauce, I have re-found my love for pizza! Oh, and I prefer my crust thin.