kitchen katastrophe: homemade bbq chicken pizza

welcome back my lovelies! kit kat is back! one might think that there have been no kitchen katastrophe posts in a while because there have been no kitchen katastrophes. if only that were the case... alas, i have not improved in the kitchen. this makes me avoid cooking more and more. but i shall prevail! or, more accurately, attempt to prevail and record my misadventures here.

to begin, i thought i would write about a recipe i made that was so perfect until literally the last second.

at the lovely hornbachers grocery store (yes, that's really the name) in fargo, north dakota, where my parents live, i found a fun pre-made pizza crust. it was whole wheat, which makes me feel like i'm eating healthily, so i bought it wondering what i could make with it. and then it hit me: homemade pizza! possibly one of the easiest things ever - how could i screw up? if you are short on time and want to throw something easy together, use this recipe for a delicious barbecue chicken pizza:

"Homemade" Barbecue Chicken Pizza
Ingredients

1. two chicken breasts
   
2. shredded cheese - i prefer colby jack blend
3. pre-made pizza crust (e.g. boboli or whatever hornbacher's sells)
4. barbecue sauce (i recommend hunt's original)
5. jalapenos, onions, or other veggies you like
   

Directions

• Cook the chicken breast in oil with some salt and pepper to taste. Cut into pieces about the size of a quarter
  
• Spread barbecue sauce on the pizza crust - use as little or be as liberal as you like - depends on how much barbecue you like
• Place the chicken on the barbecue sauce, cover with cheese and any veggies you like
• Follow baking instructions on the pizza crust label
• Enjoy!
  

i call this "homemade" in quotations because nothing is really MADE per se - you could make your own crust, but i don't know how to do that.

bbq chicken pizza is quite possibly my favorite food if done correctly. i LOVE it. so on the night that i was making this for my mom and i, i was quite excited. i splurged and bought organic chicken (which is really expensive in remote fargo), all natural cheese and put jalapenos on half of the pizza since my mom doesn't like them. we were so hungry waiting for it to bake. the directions suggested i bake it on a cookie sheet, which i did. i took it out of the oven and let it cool on the counter for a bit. i grabbed the rolling pizza cutter and starting cutting - not realizing the cookie sheet was not fully on the counter. as i drew the cutter towards me, it tried cutting pizza that wasn't balanced on the counter and all of a sudden, before i could blink - the pizza was all over my shoe, the floor, the shelves below the counter... my mom was standing next to me and we stared at each other with mouths agape. after picking it up, here is what it looked like:

of all my kitchen katastrophes, this was the one with which i was the most disappointed. we were shocked and dismayed and hungry. in the end, it was arby's roast beef for us. such a sad compromise.

what is your backup dinner?

Roasted Tomatillo and Chili Salsa

This is a variation of a recipe a friend gave me last summer; with the original all you have to do is throw all the ingredients into a blender and then serve, ending up a with an extremely fresh and zingy green salsa (add chilis depending on taste!). This roasted winter version turned out sweeter and thicker. Very different but just as good! Can be served with everything; as a snack with corn chips, on any mexican food (obviously), with eggs in the morning, in sandwiches, soups, what have you...

• 11 medium tomatillos
• 1 serano chili
• 1 jalapeno
• 1 pasillo chili (dried works as well)
• 1 clove garlic
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 bunch coriander/cilantro
• a little olive oil and salt

(Makes around 1 and 1/2 medium jam jars)

1. Preheat oven to 220 degrees celsius. Peel the husks (if still attached) off the tomatillos and quarter them. Together with the chilis throw them on a roasting pan with a little olive oil and salt.
2. Roast for around 25 mins or until tomatillos are soft and beginning to brown. Mine were in between a solid state and an almost carmelized one.
3. Deseed the chilis to taste, I removed about two thirds from each chili.
4. Place tomatillos, chilis, garlic, lime and coriander in blender and blend to desired consistency.
5. Serve still warm or cool, store in fridge, not sure how long it keeps as we usually finish it within three days...
   

South West Grilled Chicken and Green Beans

With a little prep you too can make this tasty yet healthy meal... Just kidding, I'm not that pretentious and neither is this meal, though it kinda taste like it, and I meant that in a good way.


Ingredients:

• 1 Sachet of southwest seasoning (or make your own: cumin, pepper, chilli powder, onion powder, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, bit of hot sauce)
• 2 Chicken breasts
• 1/4 cup of chicken broth
• 3 large handfuls of green beans

Instructions:

Step 1: Marinate the chicken overnight in the seasoning. i.e. put it in a ziploc bag with a couple tablespoon of white vinegar, a 1/4 cup of canola oil, and half a cup of water.

Step 2a and 2b: Heat your grill pan and oven to 350

Step 3: Place the chicken on the grill (or saute) pan


Step 4: Turn the Chicken after about 5-7 minutes (once one side is brown). Let the other side brown.


Step 5: Put it in the oven for about 20 minutes. It really depends on how thick the breasts are. These were some big honkers so your are quite as massive maybe 15 minutes.

Step 6:Pull chicken out of the oven and set aside. Now, take a look at all of that browned gook at the bottom of the pan....


Step 7a: It's actually goodness. Place the pan back on the stove at med high heat, splash some chicken broth on it and move it around. I think this is what they call deglazing....

Step 7b. throw those green beans in. They should cook up in about 7 minutes.


Step 8a, 8b, 8c: Slice Chicken, Serve and Enjoy

Baked feta and tomato

This is so quick and easy, and SO tasty - its perfect for throwing together when you don't have the energy for much else.

Ingredients:

• Feta cheese or goats cheese
• Vine tomoatoes
• Rosemary
• Oregano
• Black Pepper
• Olive Oil
  

Also can use:

• Fresh Basil
• Balsamic Vinegar
  

Serve with salad, as done here, or on a toasted ciabatta or brown soda bread.

Can be baked at 180C or grilled.

1. Preheat the oven or grill. Slice the tomatoes and feta.

2. Put the feta and tomato into a dish with olive oil, season with the rosemary, oregano, and black pepper. Optionally add some balsamic vinegar.

3. Bake in the oven, or grill, for 20 minutes.

4. If using bread, add in for last 5 or 10 minutes.

5. Serve the feta and tomato on the bread and/or with salad. Make sure to scoop out all the olive oil from the dish and drizzle it over the top. Finish with the fresh basil, chopped and sprinkled on top.

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Ouzi: National Dish of Jordan

For those of you who aren’t aware I’m having a love affair with middle eastern / african food, and wanted to share my recent introduction to a wonderfully flavorful new dish from Jordan I had while enjoying live Belly Dancing, Shisha and microbrews: Ouzi, sometimes referred to as Mansaf. At its core, the dish is just your basic chicken and rice, but with all the flavors, it is truly much more. Enjoy!



Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
• 8 Chicken thighs
• ½ cup low fat, plain yogurt, divided
• 2 tbl Four Spice mixture (equal parts Ginger, Cloves, Nutmeg and Black Pepper)
• 1 cup brown rice
• Pinch of Saffron
• ¼ cup each almonds and pine nuts
• ½ cup shredded carrots
• ½ cup frozen peas, thawed
• 3 cloves garlic, minced and divided
• ½ bunch parsley, chopped and divided
• 2 tbls Lemon Juice, divided

Directions:

Prep ahead:
1. Prep the Chicken: Wash and clean thighs; marinate 12 - 24 hours in a combination of ½ yogurt, ½ garlic, salt and pepper
2. Toast and chop almonds and pine nuts: prep a medium skillet over medium heat, add almonds and pine nuts, watching carefully. As soon as they start to brown, remove pan from heat, cool and store up to 3 days.
3. Make the Dressing: Mix 1/4 cup yogurt, minced garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and parsley well, and store up to 3 days.

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 375 F
2. Prepare brown rice as directed, using low sodium chicken or veggie stock for extra flavor.
3. Preheat a medium skillet with 2 tbls of olive oil, wipe excess yogurt and garlic from chicken thighs. Dust skin side with four spice mixture.
4. Put thighs skin side down in skillet until crispy, turn over, dust with spice mixture and repeat. Remove excess fat and place in oven while remainder of dish is prepared.
5. Mince onion and garlic, sauté until translucent in butter. Add rice, 1/4 cup of stock, saffron, and remaining lemon juice, mix well, simmer for 2 - 3 min. Add in carrots and peas, mix well, remove from pan and let cool 2 - 3 min. Add in toasted nuts and remaining parsley.
6. Serve on a platter with chicken on the bed of rice and drizzle with yogurt dressing.

Alternatives: traditionally, ground lamb is added into the rice mixture; remove chicken skin for lower fat alternative; use ½ water, ½ stock for lower sodium; add feta to the rice for some extra tang and creaminess

Creamy Pumpkin Pasta

Thank you to momadvice.com via craftzine.com for introducing me to this Creamy Pumpkin Pasta recipe! The recipe calls for sausage but it can easily be omitted for a vegetarian dish.

Creamy Pumpkin Pasta

• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 pound package of Sweet Italian Turkey Sausage (removed from its casing)
• 2/3 cup to 2 cups pumpkin puree (depending on your personal taste)
• 1 can chicken broth
• ¼ cup half & half
• ½ cup sour cream (low-fat or fat free)
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp salt
• ¼ tsp white pepper
• 1 tsp sage
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
• ¼ cup Romano Cheese, shredded
• 1 pound penne or rotini pasta

In a large skillet sauté the garlic in the olive oil on medium heat. Add the turkey sausage and cook until no longer pink, breaking the meat up with your spoon as you cook it. Remove turkey sausage and garlic from the skillet. Pour the chicken broth into the skillet and deglaze the pan using a wire whisk, to bring up all of the flavors stuck to the pan. Whisk in the half and half, sour cream, pumpkin, and seasonings. Simmer for ten minutes. Meanwhile, boil the pasta in salted water until al dente. Drain pasta and stir into the pumpkin mixture along with the turkey sausage, simmering for another three minutes or until the sauce thickens and hugs the pasta. Stir in parsley and garnish with Romano and more parsley.

Side Note- If the sauce is too thick, thin it with a little addition of chicken broth until you get it to the right consistency.

Easy Berry Pie

We've been thinking about this pie ever since trying it at a dinner party last summer. Aside from being impressed with the taste, we were blown away that someone actually made their own pie crust in a Brooklyn kitchen. And though, like many people, making a pie from scratch struck fear into our hearts -- the mess, the cracking, and oh, the lattice crust! -- we begged for the recipe.

And it's really freaking easy.

The dough didn't stick, the crust didn't tear, and the fruit stayed sweet and not-mushy. Perfection. This is our new every-time crust recipe, and we figure it would be easy to substitute four cups of any fruit you want -- we're thinking next time some seasonal strawberry rhubarb goodness might be in order.

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups blackberries
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 cup quartered strawberries

Wash and dry the fruit; toss it in the sugar and flour. Then, the crust:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup Crisco

Mix the flour and salt. Cut in Crisco (a potato masher works well) until the lumps are pea-sized. Move the dough over to the side, then add cold water one tablespoon at a time, moving the wet dough to the other side (mixing large and small lumps) until it's all moist. (About 10 tbsp; add flour if it's too damp.) Flour your hands; knead until it doesn't stick.



Form two balls, one bigger than the other. Roll out the larger ball for the bottom crust and place in pie pan. Roll the smaller one and cut into long strips. Then just layer them on top of each other, or feel free to weave them through to make the lattice extra perfect (the crust will probably hold up enough to do this without much trouble). Crimp the edges with a fork; trim the crust at the edge. Slide a few small corners of butter under the lattice.

Cut a circle in tinfoil and pinch it around the edges of the crust. Bake for 20 minutes at 375, then remove the foil and bake for 20-30 more until the edge is golden. Brush on some warm water.