SMOKY BARBECUE CHICKEN PIZZA

My Italian ancestors might roll over in their graves if they knew that the first pizza recipe I was posting on my site was for barbecue chicken pizza.  But then again, this isn’t your ordinary freezer aisle, supermarket BBQ chicken pizza.

Gone are the dry-as-cardboard chicken breast cubes and sugary-sweet barbecue sauce.  Instead, I use succulent, shredded dark meat chicken bathed in a smoky, homemade barbecue sauce that’s flavored with bourbon and chipotle chilies.  If that wasn’t enough, each pizza is topped with sweet red onions and a healthy sprinkling of mozzarella and smoked cheddar cheese for an added dimension of barbecue smoke flavor.  Garnished with some fresh chopped cilantro and you have a barbecue chicken pizza so good you may never feel the need to visit a certain California-based pizza chain ever again.

SMOKY BARBECUE CHICKEN PIZZA

While I suggest you try making your own homemade barbecue sauce, you can easily substitute your favorite store-bought brand in this recipe.  I like to slowly poach my own chicken thighs in an aromatic broth for this preparation, but you can certainly use the meat from a supermarket rotisserie bird.  When it comes to topping a pizza, less is more.  If you opt to make your own sauce, you certainly will have more than you need for two pizzas.  Try not to the overload the dough with too much chicken or cheese — you’re looking for a balance of flavors, not maximum capacity.  I like to go easy on the smoked cheddar — it has a pronounced flavor that can easily overwhelm the pizza if used in too large of an amount.  Finally, if you’re at all serious about making pizza at home, a pizza stone is a must.

INGREDIENTS:

• 24 ounces homemade or store-bought pizza dough, divided
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, for dusting
  
• About 1 1/2 cups homemade sweet and smoky barbecue sauce (or store-bought)
• 1 cup cooked chicken, diced or shredded
• 1 small red onion, cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
  
• 2/3 cup grated, low-moisture mozzarella cheese
• 1/3 cup grated smoked cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup cilantro, coarsely chopped
  

METHOD:

1. Place a pizza stone in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 500°.  Allow the stone to heat for at least half and hour before baking pizzas.
2. Allow the pizza dough to come to room temperature.  On a lightly-floured work surface, form the dough into two large balls, collecting the sides and tucking them under to create a smooth outer surface.  Cover the dough with a damp towel and allow to rest for at least 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a saucepan combine the shredded chicken along with about 1 cup of barbecue sauce and cook over low heat until the meat is moist and warmed through.
   
4. Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a medium sauté pan set over moderately-low heat.  Add the sliced red onion and cook, stirring often, until slightly softened but not browned or caramelized, about 5-7 minutes.
   
5. Generously dust a wooden peel or the back of a sheet pan with flour or cornmeal. With lightly-floured hands, press the dough with your fingertips to form a flattened disk.  Lift the dough up and use the back of your knuckles to stretch and thin-out the dough into a circle with a diameter of 12-inches. Be careful to preserve the edge of the dough if you want a nice, chewy crust. Carefully position the stretched dough onto the prepared peel or baking sheet.
   
6. Using a ladle, spoon a thin layer of the extra barbecue sauce onto the dough and carefully spread it to the edge of it’s borders.  Top with an even layer of mozzarella cheese followed by pieces of the warmed chicken and softened red onion.  Top with light sprinkling of the smoked cheddar and a bit more of the mozzarella.  Lightly brush the exposed crust with a bit of the leftover olive oil.
   
7. Slide the pizza onto the preheated stone and bake until the crust is crisped and golden and the cheese is bubbling, about 6-7 minutes.  Remove from the oven and sprinkle with freshly chopped cilantro leaves and serve immediately.
   

Makes 2 Pizzas

SMOKY BARBECUE SAUCE

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 1/4 cup bourbon
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 2 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 canned chipotle chilies in adobo, roughly chopped
• 3/4 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 3/4 teaspoon ancho chile powder
• 1/2 bay leaf
• Pinch of ground allspice
• Small pinch ground clove
  
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 3/4 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup canned plum tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon honey
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  

METHOD:

1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan. Add the onion and cook over moderate heat, stirring until browned, about 10 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes, then add the bourbon and simmer for 2 minutes longer.  Stir in the vinegar, sugar, chipotle chilies, mustard, ancho chile powder, bay leaf, clove and allspice and bring to a boil.  Cover and cook over low heat for 30 minutes.
2. Add the chicken stock, ketchup and tomatoes, cover partially and cook over low heat until reduced by half, about 1 hour.  Remove from the heat and let cool.  Discard the bay leaf and transfer the sauce to a blender.  Puree until smooth. For a more velvety texture pass the sauce through a medium-mesh sieve.  Season the sauce with salt and pepper.  Add the honey and taste the sauce again.  Add more honey to taste if you wish to balance out the acidity of the vinegar.  The sauce can be refrigerated for up to 1 week.

Makes about 2 cups

FALAFEL SANDWICH

To round out my week of Middle Eastern cuisine, I present to you a vehicle for all those tasty homemade recipes — the falafel sandwich.  This is the kind of sandwich that makes me feel like maybe, just maybe, I could be a vegetarian.  Afterall, with a sandwich as filling and flavorful as this one, who needs meat?  With mixed baby greens, crunchy cabbage and carrots, this version is everything but authentic.
Admittedly, I don’t typically order the falafel sandwich — I prefer a loaded schawerma wrap most days — but that’s because most places serve their sandwiches with some wilted iceberg lettuce, chunks of flavorless tomatoes and the withered tennis balls they call falafel. As it turns out a good falafel sandwich is its own kind of wonderful, and as is the case with many things, all the much better when you’re the one deciding what goes into it.
I knew I wanted something a bit brighter than usual; something that included textures and flavors that would enhance the soft, savory falafel. The combination listed below promises balanced bites — the pepper and pickled turnips add a tangy kick, the cabbage and carrots the right kind of crunch and the tahini sauce and baba ganoush are creamy and bold without overwhelming the flavor of the falafels themselves — but feel free to throw in tomato, eggplant, Middle Eastern pickles or any other additions you think would be good. And if you come up with an inspired combination, don’t forget to share your secrets in the comments.

FALAFEL SANDWICH

The best part about making this kind of sandwich at home is that you can add as much or as little of just about any ingredient you want.  I’ve included a few selections below, but feel free to use whatever you have in your fridge.  Avocado, marinated eggplant and even fried potatoes would all make great additions.  Pink pickled turnips serve as a welcome crunchy counterpoint on top of this sandwich.  If you are having trouble finding them in the supermarket, make them yourself by peeling and slicing turnips into long, 1/4 inch thick planks and soaking them overnight in a vinegar, sugar and salt brine along with a few quarter-sized pieces of red beet root.  Mixed baby lettuces, cabbage and carrots are far from traditional, but I’ve found that they add a welcome contrast to the creamy spreads and light falafel.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 warm, sturdy pitas
  
• 8-10 warm, freshly fried falafel
• 1/2 cup baba ganoush or hummus
• 1/2 cup tzatziki or thick Greek yogurt (optional)
• 1/2 cup red cabbage, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup carrots, julienned
• 1/2 cup mixed baby greens
• 1 lemon
• 2 pickled banana peppers
• 4 pickled turnip spears
• Tahini sauce, for drizzling
• Hot sauce
• Kosher salt

METHOD:

1. Warm the pita bread in a low oven while you prepare the ingredients for the sandwich.
2. Dress the baby greens with a just bit of lemon juice and light sprinkling of Kosher salt and set aside.
3. When the pita are warmed through and pliable, remove from the oven and slice off the top third of each to create a pocket.
4. Slather the inside of each pita with half of the baba ganoush, hummus or optional tzatziki and stuff the pocket with 4-5 of the warm falafel.  Drizzle on a bit of tahini sauce/hot sauce and top with the dressed baby greens, carrot and cabbage.
5. Finish each sandwich with a garnish of one pickled banana pepper and a couple of pickled turnip.  Serve immediately with plenty of napkins.

Makes 2 large sandwiches

SPINACH, FETA & KALAMATA OLIVE STROMBOLI

I should start by saying that I’d never actually eaten stromboli before making this recipe.  After seeing a rendition on TV, I set out to make one in the style of Stuff Yer Face in New Brunswick, New Jersey.  Where most versions seem to be rolled into a pinwheel-like log, this version is more like a burrito — er, Hot Pocket.  Not quite a pizza, almost like a calzone, stromboli seemed like a perfect hand-held version of one of my favorite foods.  Then again, I’m the kind of person who likes to fold my pizza slices in half before biting into them — there’s just something so satisfying about biting into gooey cheese surrounded by crisp then chewy dough.
Sure enough, the ‘boli satisfied this particular craving. Cheesy, salty with tart feta cheese, chalk full of wilted spinach and steaming hot, if you even kind of like pizza (and who doesn’t?), then you’re going to like biting into one of these. Plus, if you have the dough on hand already, they’re easy enough to put together for a lazy weeknight dinner.

SPINACH, FETA & KALAMATA OLIVE STROMBOLI

This recipe uses a your classic Italian-American, New York-style pizza sauce.  If you were hoping for a light, San Marzano sauce, look elsewhere because this one is packed with basil, oregano and tomato paste.  Even so, choose your tomatoes and paste wisely as each brand can vary dramatically in terms of acidity and sweetness so use your taste buds and adjust for the sauce for balance after it’s been processed.  A six ounce can of paste might seem like a lot, but keep in mind that this is a thick, sweet pizzeria-style sauce.  A good melting cheese is key for these stromboli.  Look to use a low-moisture mozzarella or a blend of mozzarella, provolone, fontina or Parmesan for a fantastic final dish.  If kalamata olives, feta cheese and spinach aren’t your thing, go with hand-sliced, quality pepperoni from an Italian deli for an upscale riff on the classic Hot Pocket.

INGREDIENTS

For the Pizza Sauce:

• 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
• 1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped basil or 2 teaspoons dried
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt
• Red wine vinegar to taste
• Olive oil, for brushing
  

For the Stromboli

• 24 ounces homemade or store-bought pizza dough, set out at room temperature
• 1 – 1 1/2 cups, sauce
• 4 cups loosely packed spinach leaves
• 4 cups mozzarella cheese, or other good melting cheese
• 1 cup pitted kalamata olives, halved if desired
• 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled

METHOD:

1. Make the sauce: Place all of the sauce ingredients in a food processor and blend until well incorporated. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more salt, sugar or vinegar to balance the flavor. Set aside.
2. Assemble the Stromboli: Preheat a pizza stone in a 500° oven for at least 1/2 hour. Divide the dough into 4 equal-sized pieces, roll them each into tight balls and allow them to rest at room temperature while the oven heats.
3. Working on a well floured surface and using a rolling pin, roll each dough ball into a 1/8-inch thick, 12×6-inch oblong oval shape.  Spread 1/4 cup of the pizza sauce into the center of each dough round and top with 1 cup of spinach leaves, 1 cup of the mozzarella, 1/4 cup of kalamata cheese and a couple of tablespoons of crumbled feta cheese.  Working as if you were rolling up a burrito, stretch the dough a bit towards the center of the stromboli and wrap the edge closest to you around the filling and roll the whole thing up like a log — pinch the seam firmly to ensure a good seal.  Lightly score the top of each stromboli to allow them to vent slightly during the baking process.
4. Brush the stromboli with olive oil and bake them directly on the pizza stone until golden brown, about 5-7 minutes.  Remove them with a pizza peel and allow to rest for about 5 minutes before going in.

Makes 4 Stromboli