Furikake Pizza Genoa

Definitive fast food.  Global?  Oh yes.
2 prepared pizza dough crusts
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cooked and shredded
Sriracha or other favorite hot sauce
1/4 lb Genoa salami cubed
1 dozen kalamata olives, sliced
1 small jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and sliced
1/4 lb dill havarti cheese, cubed
1/4 lb fresh mozzarella cheese, cubed
4 Tbsp fresh ricotta cheese
red pepper flakes to taste
Furikake Japanese seasoning to taste

Preheat oven to 450F. Lay pizza crusts on oiled baking sheets. Scatter with chicken and sprinkle with hot sauce to taste. Now layer on the remaining ingredients in order.

Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the pizza is cooked through, bubbly and brown.

Served 4.

Cook’s Note: You can use any leftover chicken you have, for example from last night’s rotisserie chicken. I always have a cooked breast or two frozen on hand for dishes like this. If you only have a fresh chicken breast; simply poach chicken in a small amount of water on the stove top for about 10 minutes, until just cooked through. Drain and cool before shredding.

Furikake is a Japanese seasoning mix, a staple used especially for rice and fish.  But I find it a great complement to many other dishes. There are many varieties you can experiment with.

Pesto Tuna Niçoise Lavash

Lavash, an unleavened Middle Eastern flatbread, makes a great base for what Italians might call piazza.  But of course the varieties of toppings peg the meter.  Here I use tuna with Mediterranean herbs and flavors - pesto, olives and onions.  A nice appetizer, or light meal.
1 can tuna, drained
2 Tbsp good real mayonnaise
1 green onion, sliced
1 Tbsp lemon juice

2 sheets lavash flatbreads
1/4 cup pesto
1/2 purple Bermunda onion, sliced
1 cup grated Monterrey Pepper Jack cheese
1/4 red pepper, finely diced
1/4 orange pepper, finely disced
1 small can sliced black olives

Preheat oven broiler. Mix the tuna, mayonnaise, green onion and lemon juice together in a bowl. Set a side.

Lay lavash sheets on individual oiled baking sheets. Spread pesto evenly about the two lavash sheets. 

Top with the tuna mixture and the purple onion.

Follow with the cheese, peppers and olives.

Broil lavash sheets about 4-5 inches from broiler elements, for about 5 minutes, or until browned and bubble. Watch carefully so as not to burn. Remove from broiler and slice to serve.
Serves 8 as an appetizer.

Pizza Pollo Margherita

The great thing about pizza - besides the fact that everyone seems to love it - is that there are so many different ways to make it, that you basically can't screw it up!  And like I always say, don't ever worry about screwing it up - you can always order pizza.  So order this up - at home.  And if you don't have one of the ingredients, substitute another.

Ajvar (aye-var), a middle eastern spread made from roasted eggplant and red pepper, makes a fine sauce base - but use your favorite pizza sauce if that's all you've got.
2 boneless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/2-inch thickness
1/2 cup favorite vinaigrette or Italian dressing

2 large prepared flatbread pizza crusts
1/4 cup Ajvar, red pepper and eggplant spread
1 cup fresh ricotta cheese
1/4 lb sliced Jarlesburg cheese
1/4 lb sliced aged cheddar cheese
1 fresh ripe tomato, cubed
8-10 fresh basil leaves, chopped
2 green onions, sliced
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Marinate the chicken breasts in the dressing for at least an hour, if not overnight in the refrigerator. When ready to cook, return the chicken to room temperature.

Heat a grill to high. Grill the chicken about 3-5 minutes per side, turning several times.

Allow the chicken to just cook through and develop nice grill lines. Remove the chicken to a platter and allow to rest and cool to room temperature - at least cool enough to handle.

Meanwhile, heat oven to 450F. Spread the ajvar evenly about two flatbread pizza crusts on baking sheets. When the chicken is cool enough, shred into strips.

Layer the cheese and the chicken evenly on top of the ajvar. Top with dollops of the ricotta and scatter the tomatoes and basil on top. Top with green onion and the Parmesan cheese.

Bake pizza for about 15 minutes, or until the cheese is molten and bubbly.

Serves 4.

Cook’s Note: You can use any of your favorite cheeses for this. If you can’t find Ajvar, you can use Trader Joe’s red pepper and eggplant spread - which is basically Ajvar under a different name.

I usually cook 2-3 times the amount of chicken I need for recipes like this and freeze the grilled chicken, ready for use with other dishes at a moment’s notice.

Ratatouille Pizza Pi

A dull ratatouille is such a letdown. Don’t just make ratatouille, make outstanding ratatouille. And there is a winning strategy for this. It is, quite simply, to brown (read caramelize) each of the veggie groups separately, and then combine only at the end to meld and infuse flavors. Because of the varying water contents of the different vegetables used, adding all of them together in the pot at once can only end in tears.  Dull, boiled, and very uninspired.

So get a competent crust platform - there are many great ones ready in the store, or go ahead and make your own. And make one of the best pizza pi’s (oh sorry, pies) possible, on pi-day, 3-14!
1 recipe ratatouille
2 pizza crusts, fresh or prepared
1 lb fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced

Prepare ratatouille, ideally the day before.

Preheat oven to 450F. Bring ratatouille to room temperature. Prepare the pizza pi crusts by rolling out, or unwrapping pre-baked crust. Spread ratatouille evenly about the crusts. Top with mozzarella cheese, distributed evenly. Sprinkle with fresh herbs if desired. Depending on your pi crusts, you may or may not have leftover ratatouille. If you do, use wisely, for example with eggs the next morning!

Bake for about 15 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly and just beginning to brown.

Remove from oven, slice and serve. Serves 4-6.

Clam Pizza Verde

What more could you want for the Super Bowl than a great pizza, some spicy, gooey chicken wings, or a platter of crispy, cheesy nachos (see tomorrow's post!)?  Too hard to decide?  Just make 'em all.

This pizza is something to make Pepé's Pizza in New Haven, Connecticut sit up and take notice!
1 pizza dough
1/3 cup salsa verde
One doz fresh shucked clams, or 1 can clams, drained
3/4 cup Monterrey Pepper Jack cheese sliced into matchsticks
3/4 cup Mozzarella cheese, sliced into matchsticks
10 grape tomatoes, sliced in half lengthwise
Palmful cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
1 avocado, peeled, pitted and sliced
Dash red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 450F. Roll the pizza dough out to a round to fit your pizza pan or stone. Place on pan or pizza peel. Slather the salsa verde evenly on the pizza dough. Distribute the clams and cheese evenly about the pizza followed by the grape tomatoes and the cilantro leaves.

Place pizza in oven and bake for about 15 minutes, until the pizza is bubbly and the crust is browned.

Remove pizza from oven and transfer to a cutting board. Distribute the avocado slices about the pizza and sprinkle with red pepper flakes. Slice and serve.

Makes one large pizza.

Buffalo Chicken Enchilada Pizza

When you are 15-20 at dinner during the holidays, as we were several days in a row this season, you need to keep the hungry throngs at bay so you can finish preparing the dinner.  If the hungry crowd comes into the kitchen before you are really ready, you are asking for nothing but trouble!

Try this for crowd control, but serve it far away from the kitchen, so you can finish your main job - dinner.

Here, I used a nice store-bought pizza crust, but you could also use fresh dough.  You could use red enchilada sauce, or a salsa verde just as well.  Also, you can cook up some fresh chicken as described, or use leftover chicken to get done so much faster.
2 prepared pizza crusts, I used nice rectangular ones
1/2 can enchilada sauce, about 1/3-1/2 cup
2 chicken breasts, fresh or cooked
1/4 lb jalapeño Jack cheese, grated
3 oz blue cheese, crumbled
4 Tbsp fresh salsa or pico de gallo
palmful cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 400F. If cooking fresh chicken, set two cups of lightly salted water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the chicken breasts and cover. Simmer for about 10 minutes, turning the breasts once.  Simmer until the breasts are just cooked through. Remove the breasts to a plate and allow to cool. Reserve cooking liquid for another use, such as soup.

While the chicken cools, slather the sauce evenly about both pizza crusts. Using your fingers, shred the chicken breasts, along the grain, into 1/-inch strips. Distribute the chicken evenly over the pizzas.

Then follow with the cheeses, salsa and half the cilantro.

Bake about 15 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and browned. Remove from oven, cool a few minutes, garnish with remaining cilantro leaves, slice and serve.

Makes 2 pizzas to serve 8-10 as appetizers or 4 as a meal with salad.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

This pizza was definitely NOT invented in Italy :-))
12 oz cooked chicken breast
1/4 cup Tabasco, Texas Pete’s or other favorite hot sauce
2 Tbsp butter, melted

1 prepared pizza crust
1/2 cup salsa verde
1 dozen grape tomatoes, quartered lengthwise
2 cups arugula, or baby spinach
palmful fresh basil leaves
1/2 lb mozzarella cheese
2-3 oz blue cheese

Preheat oven to 450F. If your chicken breast is not cooked, just poach it in a few cups water for about 10 minutes, until cooked through. Cube the chicken into bite-sized pieces and mix with the hot sauce and butter in a bowl.

Roll out the pizza crust and lay on baking sheet. Spread the salsa verde about the crust. Top with the chicken, and the remaining ingredients, spreading evenly about the crust. Bake for about 10 minutes, until the pizza is browned and bubbly. Slice and serve.

Makes one large 14-inch pizza. Serves how ever many you think this serves!

Artichoke Pizza Margherita with Fresh Ricotta

In Florence, Italy, you will find Pizza Margherita - tomato, cheese, fresh basil.  But after several trys, you might want a variation.  Here's one with a bit of artichoke and ricotta - both very Italian.  And a crust that is at the same time light and crispy, and nutritious.  Use ground flax seeds so your body can access their omega-3 oils.  Whole flax seeds aren't processed by the body and the omega-3 value is largely lost.
Crust:
3-1/4 cups general purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup ground flax seeds, or ground bran or wheat germ
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
2 tsp granulated baker's yeast
1 Tbsp olive oil
1-1/2 cup water, warmed to 105F

1 14-oz can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
2 dozen leaves fresh basil
1 lb mozzarella cheese, sliced into matchsticks
1/2 lb Monterrey Pepper Jack cheese, sliced into matchsticks
16 oz fresh ricotta cheese
3-4 cups favorite tomato sauce

About 2-3 hours before you are ready to eat, start the dough by mixing the dry ingredients together in a blender fitted with a dough hook. Turn blender on medium and add the oil then slowly drizzle in the water, adding only just enough to let the dough pull together. Depending on your flour and the weather, you may not need all the water. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, until it is shiny and elastic. Form dough into a ball and roll in a bowl with about a dash of olive oil until completely coated. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit in a relatively warm spot.

When the dough has risen to at least twice it's size, preheat oven to 500F. Remove dough to a well- floured counter. Cut in two and roll each half out to a 12-14 inch disk to fit your pizza pan. (see Cook’s Note if you want to do a pizza roll). Spread sauce evenly about the dough.

Top with cheese, artichoke, ricotta and basil leaves, interlacing everything to form several ‘layers’.

Bake each pizza separately for about 10 minutes, until brown and bubbly.

Makes 2 pizzas.

Cook’s Note: Another way to prepare this dish is to make a pizza roll, which is similar to a Calzone, in that the filling is baked inside the dough, instead of on top. For a pizza roll, roll out the dough to about a 9x13-inch rectangle. Lay out the filling on top of the dough.

Roll up the dough and seal the edges by pinching together, and bake about 15 minutes at 450F, making sure the dough does not burn.

Slice on a bias and serve.

You could of course make this pizza with your favorite crust - there is no magic between the combination of these fillings and the rich whole grain crust. Though if you are going vegetarian, you should look for nutrients in everything, including pizza crust!

Florence, Italy

Spinach Red Pepper and Caramelized Onion Pizza

Pizza is made for Christmas Eve as everyone finishes wrapping and preparing.  Flexible, warming and festive - this pie has the right colors for the season.
Crust:
4-1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
2 tsp granulated baker's yeast
1 Tbsp olive oil
1-1/2 cup water, warmed to 105F

2 red peppers, sliced
1 lb mozzarella cheese, cut into matchsticks
8 cups baby spinach leaves
4 large onions, sliced
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

About 2-3 hours before you are ready to eat, start the dough by mixing the dry ingredients together in a blender fitted with a dough hook.  Turn blender on medium and add the oil then slowly drizzle in the water, adding only just enough to let the dough pull together.  Depending on your flour and the weather, you may not need all the water.  Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, until it is shiny and elastic.  Form dough into a ball and roll in a bowl with about a dash of olive oil until completely coated.  Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit in a relatively warm spot.

Meanwhile, caramelize the onions by tossing the, into a very large skillet with a tablespoon olive oil.  Turn the heat to at least medium high to allow the onions to sizzle and begin to brown.  Then turn the heat to low and cook for the next hour, stirring every 10 minutes or so.  Watch them carefully and adjust the heat to achieve a slow simmer, making sure they do not brown.  This process should take at least an hour.  When they have achieved a dark, rich brown color, remove from heat.

While the onions are cooking, sauté the red pepper in a bit of olive oil in another,large skillet, until the slices begin to brown and soften a bit.  Remove from heat.

Just before the dough is ready, wilt the spinach by tossing the leaves into a large skillet or pot with just a dash of olive oil.  Stir constantly for about a minute or two as the leaves soften and release all their water.  Remove from heat.

When the dough has risen to at least twice it's size, preheat oven to 500F.  Remove dough to a well- floured counter.  Cut in two and roll each half out to a 12-14 inch disk to fit your pizza pan.  Place pizza dough on pan and distribute the onions evenly between the two doughs. Top with the spinach leaves, then the peppers, and then the mozzarella cheese.

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and bake about 10-12 minutes, until brown and bubbly.  Remove from oven, slice and serve.

Serves 6-8.

Pizza of a Southwestern Persuasion

This is a Southwestern variation on the pizza theme, with a cumin-infused sauce and Monterey Jack cheese, paired with Ricotta and caramelized onions and sweet peppers.  The dough is made with a bit of coarse cornmeal, further underscoring the Southwestern feel, and imparting a wonderful aroma.
Pizza dough:
4 cups white flour
1/2 cup coarse cornmeal
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp Herbes de Provence
2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp yeast
1-1/2 cups water, heated to 105F
1 Tbsp olive oil

2 large onion, sliced
12 mini sweet peppers, red, yellow and orange, sliced in half and seeded
2 tsp cumin seeds
4 cloves garlic, minced

2 10-oz cans Rotelle diced tomatoes and chilies, drained

1/2-3/4 lb mozzarella cheese, sliced into matchsticks
1/2-3/4 lb Monterrey Jack cheese, sliced into matchsticks
15-oz ricotta cheese
Large palmful cilantro leaves
1 avocado, peeled, halved, seeded and sliced

Blend the dry ingredients of the pizza dough together in a bowl.  I use a Kitchen Aid blender with a dough hook.  Heat the water in a microwave for about a minute; it should get to 105F - an instant read thermometer is really good for making sure.  Heat in the microwave until you achieve 105F.  With the machine running on slow, add the water slowly as the dough mixes together.  Add only enough water to make an elastic dough.

Knead the dough for 5-8 minutes on low, or by hand.  Lightly oil a bowl with olive oil.  Gather the dough in a ball and tip into the bowl, and swirl to coat the ball with oil.

Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a relatively warm place for 2 hours. It should about double in size.

During the second hour of rising, sauté the onions in a skillet with a bit of olive oil.  Cook, stirring often, for at least 10-15 minutes.  Then add the peppers and continue cooking over low heat for at least another 10 minutes.  You want the onions and peppers to be very nicely caramelized, and slightly browned, but not burnt.  Add the cumin seeds and garlic and cook another 5 minutes.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat oven to 500F. 

Meanwhile, pulse the drained tomatoes in a small food processor to make a smooth sauce. Reserve the tomato liquid for another use.

Divide the dough in half and form each half into a large pizza dough round, about 14-inches in diameter.  Place each round on a pizza pan or prepare for a pizza stone.  I use pizza pans with 1/4-inch holes, to brown the bottom well.  This works very well.  Divide the sauce evenly about the two pizza crusts.  Top with half the cheese, the onions and peppers, and then dot the ricotta evenly about the pizzas.  Top with the other half of the cheese, and sprinkle the cilantro leaves evenly about both pizzas.

Bake pies for about 12-15 minutes, until the cheese bubbles and the crust browns to your liking.  Top the pizzas evenly with the sliced avocados.

Cook's Note: Some people simply swear by Rotelle diced tomatoes.  They're great but not the only thing that can work.  You can use regular diced or canned tomatoes (15-oz can) and it will work just fine.  You may want to augment, however, with a dash of red pepper flakes and/or a small can of green chilies.

And if you want a meat-eater's pizza, just add 5-8 inches raw chorizo sausage, sliced into the skillet with the onions and peppers. Saute with the veggies until well browned.

Pizza Adorned with Fresh Egg

Our son and I love the fact that the French will put an egg on anything - even pizza! We had this pizza in a small village visiting the fantastic chateaus of the Loire valley. I made my version replacing tomato sauce with my favorite eggplant spread (Sacla - from Italy), but there are other great varieties, for example from Trader Joe's (with red pepper) or from Hungarian, Bulgarian or middle eastern shops (look for example for Zahluk - Tunisian/Morrocan or Ajut - Serbian or Caponata - Italian). The list of eggplant spreads is endless. And of course the ways to make pizza are endless. That's nice because you really almost can't go wrong and end up with egg on your face. That is, as long as you end up with egg on your pizza.

My Version:
Kip's version:Original version in France:pizza dough for 2 pizzas
1/2 lb bulk sausage
1 ripe tomato, thinly sliced
1 lb fresh mozarella, sliced
favorite tomato sauce or eggplant spread
2 eggs
2 green onion, sliced, or 1/2 purple onion, sliced
dash red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 450F. Prepare pizza dough for 2 pizzas according to directions, or use store-bought dough (some of which is really very good these days). In a skillet, saute sausage until crumbly and browned. Roll dough out for two pizzas. Spread tomato sauce or eggplant spread about dough. Top with sausage. Distribute tomato and cheese slices and onion about pizzas. Sprinkle to taste with red pepper flakes. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until nicely browned.

Tomato Crustade

This was inspired by a great blog, A Taste of Beirut - so very Lebanese in style, but definitely French influenced with lavender and mustard. I have fresh lavender in my herb garden but also have tarragon, which would work beautifully as well (as would basil chiffonade). A great little appetizer when tomatoes are in season - our Greenfield Hill Farm is swarming with tomatoes already - and this requires the best tomato you can find - none of those tasteless, factory tomatoes you find in large supermarkets will do here.

1 12”x12” section puff pastry
2 large ripe gorgeous, unctuous, delicious fresh ripe tomatoes, VERY thinly sliced
1 Tbsp small capers
1 Tbsp fresh lavender or tarragon leaves (I use lavender here)
2 Tbsp really very good Dijon mustard (I use a mix of Dijon and Country-style Dijon)

Preheat oven to 375F. Lay out the puff pastry on parchment paper on a baking pan. Slather the mustard on the pastry. Top with the tomatoes, overlapping each by a bit. Scatter the capers and the lavender on top. Salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle tomatoes with a good dash of olive oil. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until the tomatoes are well roasted and the crust is browned nicely. Cool slightly and slice across diagonals to make individual serving wedges.

New Year's Eve Pizza

For years now our family has had a New Year’s tradition of congregating at Thierry and Julie’s, our brother and sister in law in Montpellier, Vermont, for a few days of skiing, reunion, skiing, snowballing, skiing, sledding, skiing singing, and lots and lots of cooking. Home of the New England Culinary Institute, there was plenty of good cooking vibes in the air, which we flavored with smoke from the pizza oven Thierry built in his driveway.

On New Year’s Eve, Chef Peter – now crafting specialty flavors for an ice cream concern in the area – would be responsible for pounds and pounds of dough, while I worked with numerous brothers in law to dress the pizza rounds Peter would toss us. With dozens of toppings we created untold new varieties of pizza each year. We prepared the pizzas in the garage with both doors opened (no matter the temperature!) on a ping-pong table – the only surface big enough for the job. We’d then transfer the prepped doughs to Thierry’s pizza peel for delivery to the oven outside. There he would cook them, holding court in the driveway as friends and neighbors poured in to enjoy fresh hot cooked pizza on blistering cold Vermont first nights. On our best night we cooked over 60 pizzas!

All year long this inspired me to cook pizza, and Friday nights became pizza night for many, many years in our family. We first used a bread making machine to prep the dough, but then found that a great dough can be made by hand or with a Kitchen Aid mixer very, very quickly.


There is no end to the variety of pizzas you can come up with, with or without red sauce, and we even invented interesting desert pizzas. Here’s a start with a simple dough recipe, that I often spice up with a tablespoon or so of dried diced onion, or minced garlic or a teaspoon of dried herbes du Povence – or all of the above! The only advice I’ll give is to keep the amount of sauce under control, cook at high heat (at least 450F) and either use a pizza stone (I usually don’t) or a pizza pan with large holes throughout the bottom – this is my favorite for a nice browned crust.

Pizza Dough
4 cups bread flour
2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp breadmaker granulated active dry yeast
1½ cup very warm water (about 105F)
1 Tbsp olive oil

In a mixer fitted with a dough hook and set on medium, mix together the first four ingredients (and any herbs you night wish to add). Add the water and then the olive oil. Allow the dough to form a ball that has taken up all the flour. At that point, knead on medium-slow speed for 5 minutes. Place 1-tablespoon olive oil in a large bowl. Form dough into a ball and turn into the bowl. Roll dough ball around to assure all surfaces are coated and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let sit about 2 hours in the kitchen. I don’t find that a ‘warm, dry’ spot is necessarily needed. I have never had a problem simply placing the bowl on the counter top and walking away – and we live in New England! Makes enough dough for two 14-inch large pizzas.