BBQ chicken pizza

  The 5pm sunsets have not been kind to my amateur photography skills and my little point & shoot Panasonic. I meant to share a lot of the pizza recipes we've been making, but the yellowy light in our dark kitchen has resulted in some truly terrible photos, and I've been quite frustrated. These weren't so bad so I just cheated and sepia-fied them.

Do you like Sweet Baby Ray's Barbeque Sauces? I love them. SBR's is the absolute best BBQ sauce, in my opinion--and no, this isn't a sponsored post. Although I wish it was, so I could get free BBQ sauce to try. We had two flavors on hand (Hickory & Brown Sugar and Honey Chipotle) so I asked Dane which we should use. His answer? "Both." That's why I love him.

BBQ Chicken Pizza
makes one 12" round pizza

for the crust:
3/4 cups warm water (~110 degrees F)
1/2 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp active dry yeast
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp evoo, plus more for oiling the bowl

for the toppings (amounts are approximate, since I usually just eyeball how much of each topping I want):
1/4 to 1/3 cup BBQ sauce
1/4 red onion, sliced
1 1/2 cups cooked, diced chicken breast
3/4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

To make my crust, I followed Bobby Flay's recipe with a few modifications. I halved the entire recipe, and since I used active dry yeast, I first proofed my yeast by combining the sugar & water and sprinkling the yeast on top. I set this aside for five minutes (the yeast should become foamy) and then combined with the dry ingredients and evoo. I then followed Bobby's steps for mixing & rising.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. After the dough has risen, gently press into a 12" round pizza pan greased with evoo. Using a fork, poke many holes in the crust (so you don't get air bubbles!) and bake for 6 minutes. Carefully remove the pizza crust, top with your sauce and toppings, and return the pizza to the oven to bake for another 6-8 minutes, until the crust is starting to brown.

Public Service Announcement: Always prebake your pizza dough to prevent soggy, drippy pizza.

pizza for breakfast

If you don't like pizza, you can probably just stop reading this right now and check back for my next post. Because I love pizza (and its cousin-- pizza rolls). I've been spoiled living in Chicago, where pizza is a second religion. After the move (only 22 days?!?!) Michael's Pizzeria down the street, where cheap pizza and cheap pitchers of beer are considered a great date night for us, will be sorely missed.  I am skeptical about pizza in California. Do they even have pizzerias? My pizza consumption may be limited to the ones I make myself. Any information you might have on this pressing matter is appreciated.

I appreciate both "pizza for breakfast" and "breakfast pizza" but posting about the former would make this blog less legit (it's very legit right now). So I will share this recipe for "breakfast pizza" that will allow you to justify to your parents, roommate, whoever, that it is completely acceptable to eat pizza before 10am.

Breakfast Pizza
makes 2 personal sized pizzas

1 tube of store bought biscuits (mine had 6 biscuits in the tube)
1/4 cup cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp pizza sauce
1/4 cup cooked spinach
2 eggs
approx. 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
parmesan cheese, for sprinkling
crumbled cooked bacon (I cheated & used bacon bits, because I had some leftover), for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Scramble the eggs and set aside. Use three of the biscuits, and press to form a large circle. Transfer to a cookie sheet sprayed with non-stick spray and bake for 6-7 minutes.  Remove sheet from the oven, and spread toppings on crust. The order I used was: cream cheese, pizza sauce, spinach, eggs, sprinkle of mozzarella. *Remember that this recipe makes two pizzas (using 3 biscuits per pizza crust), so ingredients will be divided in two. * Bake for an additional 4-5 minutes, or until cheese is melted and crust is beginning to turn golden brown. Top with a sprinkle of bacon and dust with parmesan.

For the record, I have nothing against cold leftover pizza in the morning, if that's your thing. Sometimes it's mine.

the easiest o-rings

What do ketchup, pickles, mushrooms, cranberries, and onion rings have in common? Did you guess, "foods Meghan hated as a kid but now enjoys"? Because that's the right answer. I won't hold it against you if you answered incorrectly; I'm still going to share my secret for delicious and easy homemade onion rings WITH a spicy dipping sauce. That's right, two recipes in one post. Everyone's a winner today!

Although I didn't like onion rings until a few years ago, I am making up for lost time. And I love to make them at home using this recipe because it's a breeze.

The secret?
Boxed Pancake Mix.

That's right, pancake mix. Not even a fancy kind--I'm talking "just add water" here. It's the best way to get a crunchy, delicious crust with the tiniest hint of sweetness. This would be classified as an "unhealthy" dish, if you were wondering. So don't eat them every day.

Onion Rings
1 large onion (I used yellow this time, but my favorite to use is red onion)
2 cups milk
about 1-1 1/2 cups prepared pancake batter (mix according to directions on the box, a.k.a add water. also, this recipe works best when batter is on the thin side)
vegetable oil

Spicy Dipping Sauce (loosely based on this recipe)
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 Tbsp ketchup
dash of hot sauce
dash of worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

for the o-rings:
Peel & thickly slice the onion. Set aside small or non-ringlike pieces & use for a different recipe. Place rings in a shallow bowl and cover with the milk. Refrigerate for at least 2 hrs, up to overnight. On medium-high, heat enough oil to fill a small pan 1/2 inch deep. Dunk onions in batter, then carefully place into hot oil. Fry 1-2 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Drain on paper bags or paper towels.

for the sauce:
Combine all ingredients. You can tinker with the amounts to your tastes.

Using the pancake batter gives the outside of the rings a nice crunch, but leaves the inside light & chewy. Don't worry if one side of your ring has more batter than the other (since we're cooking them one side at a time). I've found the taste and texture are not compromised by this--if it bothers you, these can also be deep fried to have a more even texture all the way around.

seared salmon & warm kale salad with honey dijon dressing

With Dane gone this past weekend, I was making meals for one--which usually consists of pasta, soup, sandwiches, or leftovers. However, we did have one lonely piece of salmon and a little kale in the fridge...so in a moment of (somewhat) healthy clarity I whipped up this little number.

Seared Salmon & Warm Kale Salad
salmon filet (mine was 4oz)
1 1/2 cup chopped kale
1/8 cup shredded cheese
sprinkle of bacon bits
1 tsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt & black pepper

Honey Dijon Dressing
1 Tbsp dijon mustard
1 Tbsp honey
a little less than 1/4 cup olive oil
pinch of salt, black pepper, & garlic powder

for the salad:
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the kale and cook until soft (8-10mins). Transfer kale onto plate and sprinkle with lemon juice, salt, & pepper (to taste). Using the same pan over medium heat, cook salmon 3-5 minutes on each side. Top kale with cheese, bacon bits, & salmon (or any other toppings you'd like).

for the dressing:
Mix mustard & honey in a liquid measuring cup. Add olive oil to the mixture until it reaches 1/4 cup. Add pinches of salt, pepper, & garlic powder and beat with a fork until well combined. Drizzle over salmon & salad.

This is a great light meal (but filling, thanks to the salmon & hearty kale) to have for a dinner if you've eaten a big lunch. And I definitely did NOT use my finger to lick up the rest of the dressing from the plate, so why would you even ask?

sweet pea & panchetta macaroni

 On a fancy schmancy date night a while ago, Dane took me to this cute Italian restaurant down the street that we pass on our way to the grocery store. They have two ceramic penguins sitting at the table in the window, so you know it's upscale, or why would they be wearing tuxedos? At our dinner, I ordered pasta (angel hair? spaghetti? something long and skinny) with panchetta and sweet peas, and whoa, it was delicious. The salty, chewy panchetta and the bright sweet peas perfectly offset each other, and the reheated leftovers tasted even better. So of course, I had to recreate it at home one of these days, with on sale ($0.88!) macaroni and with a little cheesy twist. I am from Wisconsin, after all.

Sweet Pea & Panchetta Macaroni
serves 4-6

1lb elbow macaroni
4 Tbsp butter
1/3 cup milk
1 cup panchetta, cooked & chopped
1 cup sweet peas, cooked
3/4 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
1/2 cup crumbled gorgonzola
parmesan cheese to garnish

Cook macaroni according to directions on the box. While macaroni is draining, heat the butter and milk over low heat in the same pot you used to cook the pasta. Once butter has melted, slowly incorporate macaroni into the liquid, stirring in about a cup at a time. Once macaroni is coated, turn off the heat. Fold the panchetta and the peas into the mixture. Add the cheeses and mix lightly. Once the shredded* cheese is mostly melted, portion, sparsely or liberally sprinkle with parmesan, and serve.
*in my pasta, the crumbled gorgonzola stayed pretty solid.

This pasta can easily be made vegetarian by substituting another veggie--try spinach to capture a similar saltiness. Invite some penguins over for your fancy dinner!