culinary capers – bacon

I’m not sure there are enough words to convey how excited I was when my dear friend Kathy (who blogs over at Friday Night Family) announced this week’s big ingredient. Truth be told, I asked her to marry me on the spot. Forget that she’s engaged and I’m already married to the love of my life. That’s how much I love bacon.

I spent quite a bit of time waffling back and forth (mmmmm… bacon waffles!) and finally settled on a take on a focaccia recipe I’ve been eyeing for a while.

Stay with me on this, friends… thin crust pizza with caramelized pears and onions… gorgonzola… and candied bacon. Quite possibly one of the best flavor combinations I’ve ever had the pleasure of consuming. Promise me you’ll try this one sooner rather than later. It’s perfect with a spinach salad and a glass of chardonnay.

Caramelized Pear and Onion Pizza w/ Gorgonzola and Candied Bacon
2 tablespoons butter
2 medium pears, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 large onion, sliced thinly
1 ball of your favorite pizza dough
1 batch skinny alfredo sauce (recipe follows)
1/4 cup shredded Italian Cheese Blend
3/4 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese
5 slices candied bacon (recipe follows), chopped

Place a pizza stone in your cold oven and preheat oven to 475 degrees F.

While oven preheats, melt the butter in medium skillet on medium heat. Add brown sugar and pears. Cook 3-5 minutes until melted sugar coats the pears evenly. Remove from skillet and set aside. Without cleaning pan, add onions to leftover melted sugar and reduce heat to medium low. Allow onions to caramelize for 7-10 minutes until soft and golden. Remove pan from heat and allow to cool while you start on the crust.

Form crust to the thickness desired. Place on hot pizza stone and pre-bake for 5-7 minutes. Remove from the oven and spread with alfredo sauce. Sprinkle with caramelized onions and Italian cheese blend. Top with caramelized pears, then crumbled gorgonzola, and finish with chopped bacon.

Reduce oven temp to 400 degrees F and return stone with pizza to the oven for 10-15 minutes or until topping is golden and bubbly. Cut and serve immediately.

Skinny Alfredo Sauce
1/2 cup skim milk
3 wedges Laughing Cow cheese
1 tablespoon shredded parmesan
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
freshly ground pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and whisk over low heat until  smooth. If mixture is too thin, thicken with a cornstarch slurry (you’ll want it to be pretty thick to serve as the “sauce” for your pizza). Adjust seasonings to taste.

Candied Bacon
4 slices bacon
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and place a cooling rack on top. Place bacon slice on the rack and bake for 15-20 minutes until slices reach desired crispness. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Friday night comfort food

After a particularly long and hectic week, which culminated (by the way) in a twisted, swollen, and bruised ankle, I was ALL about a little comfort food tonight.

Yep. Despite the fact that I’ve already done plenty of damage to my attempt at a healthier diet this week, the pizza gods were calling my name. There was just no denying it. So, I poured myself a drink. Then I pulled a ball of frozen pizza dough from the freezer and let it thaw on that magical warm spot on top of my pre-heating oven while I surveyed my topping options.

A leftover chicken breast. A nearly overripe red bell pepper. A few stray slices of red onion. Cheese. BBQ sauce. Sounds like a BBQ chicken pizza to me!

Every bit as good (better, I say) as those “commercial” pizzas. Though, to be fair, we’re no strangers to the local pizza delivery guy! It’s just really nice to be able to control the toppings… the quality… the crispness of the crust. And, really, it doesn’t take too much longer than the pizza guy on a busy Friday night.

BBQ Chicken Pizza
1 lb. pizza dough, homemade or purchased from your favorite pizza joint
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, thinly sliced
3-5 tablespoons BBQ sauce, depending on how you like it
1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup red onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, sliced into rings
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded OR Sargento’s chipotle cheddar cheese
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
cornmeal for dusting

Place pizza stone in oven and preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

In a medium frying pan, saute the chicken breast until just cooked through. Set aside to cool slightly.

Roll, throw, or otherwise shape your pizza dough into the desired shape. Spread with BBQ sauce and top with chicken. Sprinkle over tomatoes and onion, and lay down the red pepper rings. Cover pizza with cheeses.

Sprinkle hot pizza stone with cornmeal and transfer pizza to stone. Cook until crust is crispy and cheese is bubbly, approximately 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and enjoy!
(This makes an 8-10 inch pizza, but results may vary depending on how much dough you use and how thick you want your crust. Adjust your toppings accordingly.)