back in the valley of the sun

Connor is safe and sound and cool in beautiful Flagstaff and I am trying to settle back into my new routine of blogging. As promised here are the pizza recipes from Connor’s “Last Supper” (I know, how dramatic can a mom be?!?) You’ll notice that the dough/crust recipe is the same for all pizzas… that is because this is my favorite and most reliable crust recipe. There are different techniques for each baking, but any and all can be done whichever way you prefer. On Monday night, I baked all pizzas on a stone in a 500-degree oven. When I feel like going outside (I did not on Monday, since it was sweltering outside!) then I prefer to use the grill, directions for grilling pizza can be found in the Barbecue Chicken Pizza recipe below. But until the evenings cool off, you won’t find me out there unless the pool is also involved!

Connor’s California Club Pizza

Dough
1 tablespoon or 1 package dry yeast
2 cups flour, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon milk
1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups sliced rotisserie chicken breast
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup cooked thick bacon, crumbled-about 8 slices
3 cups chopped iceberg lettuce
1 cup chopped romaine lettuce
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
4 large tomatoes, two diced, the other two each sliced into 8 slices
1 avocado, sliced into 16 slices

Dough: In the large bowl of a standing mixer, combine 1/4 cup of lukewarm water, the yeast, and 1/4 cup of flour. Let stand for 20 minutes, this is called the sponge.

Add the remaining 1 3/4 cups flour, 1/2 cup lukewarm water, olive oil, milk, and salt, and mix thoroughly. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth, elastic, and a little bit tacky to the touch, about 8 minutes.

Place the dough in an oiled bowl and turn the dough over to cover with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap…

and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Place a pizza stone in your oven and preheat to 500 degrees.

Divide the dough in half. Form each half into a 10-inch circle on a lightly floured surface.
Place one round of dough onto a pizza pan or a pizza peel that will be used to slide the dough onto the hot pizza stone. Be sure to dust the pizza peel liberally with flour or cornmeal so that the assembled pizza will slide off easily. Bake for 7 to 8 minutes or until crust just begins to brown. Repeat with the remaining half of the dough.

Brush the pizza crust with olive oil. Sprinkle 1 cup of shredded mozzarella on the crust, followed by 1/2 of the crumbled bacon and 1/2 of the chicken. Return to oven until cheese is melted, about 3 minutes. Repeat with remaining crust.

Assemble: Combine the iceberg lettuce with romaine lettuce in a large bowl. Stir in mayonnaise and mix until lettuce is well coated, then gently stir in the diced tomatoes.

Cut each pizza into 8 slices. Top each slice of pizza with a slice of tomato and 1 slice of avocado. Top each with lettuce mixture and serve immediately.

Makes 2 pizzas, 8 slices each

California Pizza Kitchen Thai Chicken Pizza

Pizza Dough
1 tablespoon or 1 package active dry yeast
2 cups flour, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon milk
1/2 teaspoon salt

Spicy Peanut Sauce
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon peeled and minced ginger
2 tablespoons roasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon chili sauce
2 tablespoons water

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

4 green onions, slivered diagonally
1/2 cup white bean sprouts
1/4 cup shredded carrots
2 tablespoons chopped, roasted peanuts
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

Dough: In the bowl of a standing mixer, combine 1/4 cup lukewarm water, the yeast, and 1/4 cup of the flour. Let stand for 20 minutes, this is called the sponge. Add the remaining 1 3/4 cups flour, 1/2 cup lukewarm water, olive oil, milk and salt and mix thoroughly. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth, elastic, and a little bit tacky to the touch, about 8 minutes.

Place the dough in an oiled bowl and turn the dough over to cover with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Sauce: Combine all sauce ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring the sauce to a boil. Remove from heat and divide sauce into 2 equal portions. Chill one portion, set aside the other.

Cook the chicken in olive oil over medium-high heat, stirring, until just cooked; 5 to 6 minutes, do not overcook. Coat the chicken with portion that was set aside. Place chicken in refrigerator.

Divided dough in half and form each half into an 8-inch pizza, place on baking sheets that have been sprayed with Pam. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Spread half of the remaining sauce evenly over one of the pizzas to within 1-inch of the rim. Cover sauce with 3/4 cup cheese. Distribute half the chicken pieces over the cheese followed by half the green onions, bean sprouts, and carrots. Sprinkle an additional 1/4 cup cheese over the toppings and top the pizza with 1 tablespoon chopped peanuts. Repeat with remaining ingredients for a second pizza.

Transfer the pizzas to oven and bake until crisp and golden and the cheese is bubbly, 9 to 10 minutes. Remove pizzas from oven. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro over the surface of each pizza.

Makes 2 pizzas

Barbecue Chicken Pizza

Dough
1 tablespoon or 1 package dry yeast
2 cups flour, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon milk
1/2 teaspoon salt

Chicken
5 boned and skinned chicken breast halves
3 cups tomato-based barbecue sauce, divided

1/2 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cups shredded Fontina cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded smoked Gouda cheese
1/2 small red sweet onion, very thinly sliced and separated into rings
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Dough: In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup lukewarm water, the yeast, and 1/4 cup of flour. Let stand for 20 minutes, this is called the sponge.

Add the remaining 1 3/4 cups flour, 1/2 cup lukewarm water, olive oil, milk, and salt and mix thoroughly. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth, elastic, and a little bit tacky to the touch, about 8 minutes.

Place the dough in an oiled bowl and turn the dough over to cover with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Chicken: Combine the chicken and 1 cup of the barbecue sauce in an ovenproof dish and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours (or as long as overnight). Return the chicken to room temperature before cooking.

Cover the marinated breast with foil, and cook in a preheated 325-degree oven until tender and just past the pink stage inside, about 30 minutes. Let the chicken cool, then cut the meat into bite-sized pieces. Preheat grill to high heat.

Knead the risen dough, place on a baking sheet that has been sprinkled with cornmeal and shape into a 12-inch circle. Brush dough on one side with olive oil and place oiled side directly on grill grates, while this side is cooking brush “up” side with olive oil, grill for 1 to 2 minutes and turn over, grill the second side for another 2 minutes. Remove from grill and top with a layer of each of the cheeses, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edges. Using the remaining 2 cups of barbecue sauce, spoon a layer of sauce over the cheeses. Arrange the chicken and onion rings on top and drizzle evenly with olive oil. Return to grill grates and cover grill, heat for 3 or 4 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Remove from the grill to a cutting board. Sprinkle with the cilantro; slice, and serve immediately.

Serves 8-12