Week #11:Hawaii - Polynesian Pineapple & Pork Pizza

On Udi's Gluten-Free Crust

State: Hawaii

So I have never been to Hawaii before and I do not know the culture.  I could have took the easy way out and did a Papa John’s style Hawaiian pizza, but that is not how locals would make their pizza’s in the state.  Upon my researching of the state, Hawaii has so many different ingredients that are not native to any other state.  There are pages devoted to Polynesian and Hawaiian cooking, which helped me thing about what I was going to do for this pizza.  I took parts of recipes and ideas, then added them into one pizza.  The taste was amazing and I hope you really like it.

Ingredients Needed for 1 Pizza:

1/2 yellow onion – diced

1 pizza dough

1 pineapple or already sliced pineapple (not canned, fresh)

1 lb pork shoulder

1 orange pepper - diced

½ cup or to your preference, cheddar cheese

Polynesian sauce:

¼ tsp ginger powder

¼ cup of soy sauce (if soy allergy, use Coco aminos – Whole Foods)

1 tsp minced garlic

½ cup sugar

1 tsp oregano

Sauce:

I made my own Hawaiian sauce for the base of the pizza, which is a combination of Teriyaki, Shoyu, and Huli Huli recipe ingredients.  Combine all ingredients listed above, and whisk together.  You will use 1 ladle full to coat the pizza and save the rest for the meat.

Meat:

Cut pork into small stew size pieces.  In a medium pan, heat canola or vegetable oil and add pork meat.  Sear on both sides of the meat and add yellow onion.  Stir until onions become transparent.  Then add in the remainder of the Polynesian sauce and cook until sauce renders into the meat.  Set aside and allow meat to cool.

Pizza:

Apply sauce for the base.  Place pieces of the pork onto the pizza, spacing apart.  Add peppers.  Then add cheddar cheese.  Drizzle any remaining sauce on top of the pizza.

Pairing:  Hawaii is not really known for craft beer.  The beer that I would recommend that I was able to find is from Kona Brewing Company was the Koko Brown.  This is a good beer to pair with or you could always do the Fire Rock Pale Ale.  For wine, since this is a sweet pizza, I would recommend a good soft red wine such as Chianti or a Cab. 

Learning Moments:

This pizza challenged me with cooking from a different culture and tradition that I am familiar with.  I love learning, so this challenge is helping me try different techniques and ingredients that I am not use to combining together in cooking.  I hope you enjoy it! 

Using WF Naan Bread

Week #5: California - Cobb Salad Pizza

On Naan Bread

On Udi's Gluten-Free Crust

State:  California

I have never been to the West Coast as of yet.  I know that there are many different cultures that have influenced cooking in the great state.  For me, I was trying to think of a staple food that comes from California and the Cobb salad came to mind.  The cobb salad is a healthy version to a pizza and  I haven’t ever seen a Cobb pizza before.  One of my friends did a BLT pizza before, so he inspired me to do this verison for California. 

Ingredients Needed:  For 1 Pizza

2-3 Hard boiled eggs – cut in long quarters

1 cup of coarsely chopped romaine lettuce

2 medium tomatoes chopped

½ avocado chopped

1 cup cooked and diced chicken meat

3 strips of cooked bacon - crumbled

½ cup of Blue Cheese

For the Dressing:

3 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce (Did not use due to soy allergy)

1 small clove garlic – minced or 1 tsp of garlic powder

¼ tsp sea salt

¼ tsp black pepper

Whisk all ingredients together to make the dressing. 

Base:

For the base of the pizza, I used enough of the dressing to coat the bottom of the pizza.  The remainder of the dressing will be slightly drizzled over the top when finished.   

Meat:

Chicken – For this recipe, I used rotisserie chicken and cut into little pieces to put on top of the base.  Spread out along your pizza so you will have room for other ingredients.

Bacon – Spread out the crumbles on top of the base

Pizza:

For the pizza crust, I used Naan bread and a gluten-free pizza crust from Udi’s.   After putting the base on and applying the meats, I added on the cheese.  Cook at 410 degrees (depending on oven) and cook for 8-10 minutes, just until the crust gets brown around the edges.  Take out of oven and then apply the rest of the ingredients.  Evenly distribute the tomatoes, eggs, and lettuce.  Then drizzle the dressing over the top of the pizza. 

Pairing: 

This is by far one of the best states in America for pairing either a wine or craft beer with a pizza. For wine, I would recommend something lighter to balance of the high-acidic salad ingredients.  You can choose a Californian wine such as a Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, or Chardonnay.  For craft beer, you have excellent selections in California.  Great breweries like Mission, Green Flash, Anchor Steam, Sierra Nevada, Lagunitas, Ballast Point, Anderson Valley, and many more.  For this pizza, I would chose a lighter craft beer such as a Pale, Blonde, Saison, Session, Belgian, Heifewezen or Amber style ale.  I decided to go with the Sierra Nevada’s Torpedo, just because I like it hoppy!!   

Learning Moments:

This pizza was very tasty and I didn't feel guilty about eating it.  I actually overate on this pizza because it tasted so good.  I would say that this is one of the first pizza’s that helped me think differently about the toppings or styles of pizza to make.  This was a very good pizza and I would recommend it for you.  Cheers and Buen provecho!! 

Week #10: Georgia – BBQ & Fried Chicken Pizza on Cornbread Crust

State:  Georgia

So I have only been to Georgia a handful of times and it usually involved driving through the state, having a layover to my next flight, or a very quick trip.  I have never experienced a vacation or the fun life of Georgia.  My dad's parents were both from Stone Mountain, GA, so I tried to remember what my grandmother used to cook for us when we were kids.  My grandmother could throw down in the kitchen with some mean southern recipes.  My mom, sister, and I all use her recipes to this day.  

This pizza was in honor of my grandparents.  I used her friend chicken recipe, minus the cast iron skillet.  I know, it is almost a travesty!!  Either way, this pizza turned out pretty good and the sauce was very tangy.  Heres to Georgia!!!  
Ingredients Needed: 1 Pizza Serving Size

2 Serving Sizes of Cooked Grits (see package)

3 Chicken Strips

1 cup of freshly grated Cheddar cheese

4 leafs chopped Collard Greens

1/2 cup of Brown rice flour

Salt & Pepper to Taste

1/4 Tsp of Ground Red Pepper

For the sauce:

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar (Recipe called for 1 ½ cups of apple cider vinegar, which was way too much)

½ cup yellow mustard

½ cup ketchup

⅓ cup dark brown sugar

1 tsp. kosher salt

½ tsp. ground black pepper

¼ tsp. cayenne

2 cloves garlic or 1 tsp garlic powder

Pizza Crust:
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plain yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt $
3/4 cup cold butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces $
1/4 cup chilled shortening, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
8 to 10 Tbsp. chilled apple cider

Meat:

Since my wife has food allergies, I made gluten-free fried chicken strips.  They key here was to brown rice flour, salt, pepper, and a little bit of red pepper to give it some heat.  I did a simple olive oil glaze, and then tossed in the flour mixture and into the frying pan.  I did not deep fry but merely fried the sides of the chicken.  You do not want to overcook the chicken when baking it.  

Crust:

For the pizza crust, I made a cornmeal crust.  See ingredients above for details.  I added an extra 3-4 tbsp of cornmeal to make it more like a cornbread, but the texture came out a little flimsy and probably should have stayed with the original recipe.  Here is the preparation:

1. Stir together first 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Cut butter and shortening into flour mixture with a pastry blender until mixture resembles small peas. Mound mixture on 1 side of bowl.
2. Drizzle 1 Tbsp. apple cider along edge of mixture in bowl. Using a fork, gently toss a small amount of flour mixture into cider just until dry ingredients are moistened; move mixture to other side of bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining cider and flour mixture.
3. Gently gather dough into two flat disks. Wrap in plastic wrap, and chill 1 to 24 hours.

Pizza:
After cooking the crust for 5 minutes, I spread out the grits on the crust and a layer of the BBQ sauce on top of the grits.  Then, I added the cut up pieces of fried chicken to the pie and pieces of collard greens on to the pizza but with enough space between each piece.  Finally, I sprinkled the cheddar cheese on top and put it in the oven for 10 minutes at 415 degrees.  

Please Note:  Each stove may vary.    

Pairing: 

For Georgia, there are a few craft beer companies that are really growing.  For this pizza, I chose to go with a Terrapin Pumpkinfest Ale, only because it was the only Terrapin beer that I could find at Whole Foods that night.  I would recommend pale ale or something hoppy from Terrapin, such has Hi-5 or Recreation Ale.  

Learning Moments:
I learned that going by a recipe when baking is very essential and unless you have been baking for a long time, stick to the measurements.  When I added the extra cornmeal, it changed the texture of the pizza.  It wasn't as firm and was a little flaky.  You couldn't tell the first night, but the crust was breaking apart the following day.  The second learning lesson from this pizza was that when a recipe calls for a lot of vinegar, do a taste test before adding the whole amount in.  When this person made the recipe, they must have bad taste buds.  The vinegar was burning the back of my throat when I would taste it.  It is like hot sauce, use cautiously!   Hope you try this recipe and hopefully you are inspired from this one!! 

Week #8: Delaware – Old Bay Seafood Bisque Pizza

State: Delaware

Delaware is known for chicken, corn, and seafood.  I tried to find something that was specifically a food staple of the state, but couldn't find anything in particular.  My parents have a beach house in Long Neck or Loews, DE near Rehoboth Beach.  I was thinking of the restaurants and places to eat nearby.  When I think of Delaware, I think of salt water taffy, Thrasher's Boardwalk Fries, and Fisher's Popcorn.

After researching, DE has a lot of different types of shellfish and fish species.  I was very surprised to see that you can find lobster there.  Since my wife is allergic to corn, I wanted to go the seafood route.  So I decided to make seafood bisque, focusing on some of the flavors and shellfish of the state. Overall, this was a good pizza.

Ingredients Needed:

1 can of clams (fresh if possible)

1/2 lb of scallops

1/2 lb of cod

1/4 cup of diced parsley

1 pizza dough

Please note: If low on time, try a prepared pizza crust or dough from the store.  I prefer Naan as it reminds me of the Oyster crackers.

Bisque:

1/8 cup finely minced shallot

1/8 lb butter

1/8 cup all-purpose flour or Brown rice flour for gluten-free

1/4 qt of water

1 cup of chicken stock or 1/4 tbsp chicken base

1/4 cup of heavy cream

1/4 cup of half-and-half

1/8 cup cooking sherry

Salt & Pepper to taste

Bisque:

The bisque is gluten free, made with brown rice flour and is from scratch.  I made the seafood stock by quickly boiling the cod, clams, and scallops for 5 minutes.  The bisque is made with shallots, cream, sherry, parsley, celery, garlic, old bay seasoning and mozzarella cheese.   Please follow instructions for cooking:

1. Sauté minced shallots in butter until soft.

2 Add the flour and stir with whisk for 5 minutes on low heat, set aside.

3 Bring one quart of water to a boil.  Add chicken stock, clams, scallops and whole pieces of cod.

4 Return to boil, lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

5 Strain the stock, reserving the seafood.

6 Stir the shallot mixture into the stock.

7 Add the heavy cream and half and half to the stock, bring to a simmer on low heat and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes.

8 Chunk the salmon and cod and add all of the seafood back into the soup pot.

9 Add the sherry and heat through, no more than 3 minutes.

Seafood:

I chose to go with clams, cod, and scallops.  I was going to use blue crab, but I didn't have time to pick the crabs. Since I am in Florida, I can't buy DE clams, so I just got the clams from in the can at Whole Foods.  DE also has scallops and I tried finding fish that are native to the state, but it is hard in FL.  

Pizza: 

In order to save time for the pizza, I used Naan bread for the crust. I cooked the Naan for 5 minutes to get and then added the sauce on top, then strategically placing the cod, clams, and scallops on the pizza.  I finished off the pizza with Romano cheese on top and added the diced parsley.

Pairing:

Delaware is known for great craft beer, due largely to Dogfish Brewing Company.  There beer has attitude and great taste, which makes the pairing more enjoyable.  With a seafood bisque, I would go with a winter and beer that is great for bring out the flavors of the pizza.  In this case, I would go with a dark style beer like a Burton Baton.  I decided to go with the 90 Minute, which tasted great with the pizza.  If you are in Delaware, check out Fordham Brewing Company.  They have a "Morning Glory" espresso style stout and "Double D IPA", which would also be great with this pizza.

Learning moments:  Making bisque and cooking the ingredients take some time.  I think what I will do next time to make a stock, is to use shells from shrimp, the clam juice, or buy a stock to make the shellfish more presentable.  I would rather sear the cod and clams to make them more presentable then letting them cook in the stew.  

Pizza Night Challenge

50 States on 50 Plates

This is my first time blogging, so please bear with me.  I have decided to blog about my new kitchen cooking adventures.  Every weekend, my wife Monica and I have Pizza Night.  This has been an ongoing tradition for us, but in the last few years, I have challenged myself to cook with creativity and purpose.

Every week, when I make a new pizza from each state, I will blog about my research and will guide you through the adventures of making an inspired pizza.  Warning, I do not measure ingredients.  I usually eyeball them and cook to taste, look, and texture.  I will do my best to make sure I provide “ballpark” measurements.  :)

Let the adventures commence!!

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Week #6: Colorado - Chili Pizza

On Gluten-Free Crust

State: Colorado

I have never been to Colorado before, so my goal was to do as much research as I could.  I know Colorado has a strong Mexican culture influence and is well known for Organic foods.  After doing a Google search on cuisines of Colorado, it seems that Chili is one of the most popular dishes.  The only challenge with making a Colorado style chili was the trying to find the right types of peppers to make the sauce with.  From what I understand, Colorado uses “Hatch” green chilies and “Big Jim’s” medium hot peppers. Unfortunately, these peppers are not accessible in Tampa, so I did a different take on peppers and went with my own.  So this is a Colorado Chili inspired Pizza dish.

Ingredients Needed:

½ lb of Beef Chuck Roast (Preferably Organic – Whole Foods)

3 small or 2 medium Smoked Chipotle peppers (remove seeds)

1 Pizza dough (Naan is great to use if low on time or prep)

1 Jalapeno with seeds

1 Poblano Pepper (remove seeds)

½ Green pepper

½ can of tomato paste

1 tsp of cumin

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp minced garlic

1 can of pinto or ranchero beans (optional)

Water to cook smoked peppers – save for puree mixture – add more to your preference of texture

Sauce:

First, I found a recipe on how to make a Colorado chili and utilized similar, as well as different ingredients for the recipe.  The recipe called for 2 different types of peppers, green pepper, onion, garlic, and a few other ingredients (salt, pepper, cumin, etc).  I substituted the peppers for a smoked Chipotle pepper (Fresh Market), poblano pepper, and jalapeno peppers.  I first cooked smoked chipotle pepper in a glass of water in the microwave to soften the pepper and removed the seeds.  I then processed all the peppers, including the green pepper with the chipotle water, garlic, olive oil, and onions.  For some reason, I don’t have a blender, but if I did, I would use it to puree or liquefy into a broth.  For me, the mixture needed something to add depth to it.  I added in a little tomato paste and water to make it a little more robust. The tomato paste gave it more depth and with the dry spices, it turned out amazing.

Meat:

The second step I did was I took beef chuck roast and cut it up into stew size pieces.  After searing both sides, I added the mixture sauce to the pan and boiled for 5 minutes, then reduced it down to a simmer.

On flour crust

Pizza:

After cooking the sauce and meat, I used the sauce as the base of the pizza.  Then I added the toppings and a layer of shredded Mexican style cheese.  You can always use a Monterey jack or sharp cheddar to enhance the flavor of this dish.  Finally, I finished off the pizza with green onions for a topping.

Pairing:

When think of Colorado, you think of great craft beer such as New Belgium Brewing Company.  With a strong spicy dish, I would recommend an IPA or American Pale Ale to balance the flavors of your pallet.   For this pizza, New Belgium “Rampant” is a great beer choice.  For wine, you could always do a white wine such as a Chardonnay or a Pinot Grigio.

Learning Moments:
One of the best things about making this pizza, was that I learned how to make chili completely different from the way I made it.  I used to make chili the easy way.  You know, open up cans of crushed tomatoes and beans, throw it in a crock pot with some ground beef.  Then I would add seasonings and call a day.  No, this chili forced me to use more veggies and make a sofrito style base.  Sofrito in Puerto Rican culture is a base made from onions, peppers, and tomatoes.  It makes a perfect starter for soups and other dishes.  Since making this pizza, I made a white chicken chili by using the same method of processing different peppers and veggies to make a base.  It makes a world of difference in your cooking.  I love this challenge! 

Week #7: Connecticut - Yankee Pot Roast Pizza

State: Connecticut

I researched as much as I could about the state and most of the recipes are traditional to the New England area, but I already have ideas for MA, ME, and Vermont. I know that Connecticut is known for Yankee Pot Roast.  I have family in Hartford and I grew up eating my grandmother's pot roast, so this was a walk for me down memory lane.  I first had to make the pot roast and it calls for a lot of cooking time, so I had to alter the recipe.  This is not new to me, since I always alter and go off the recipe instructions.  I am a cooking rebel, so why start following recipes now?  :)

Here are some of the ingredients used to create the Yankee Pot Roast:

½ lb of Beef Chuck Roast (Preferably Organic – Whole Foods)

2 Shallots

2 cups of beef broth

1 tbsp of diced parsley

1 lb of Boston Beef butt roast – cut in stew size portions

¼ cup of olive oil

Flour for dredging (rice flour for gluten-free)

8 baby carrots cut into 1 inch pieces

2 ribs of celery (I forgot to buy the celery)

1 tsp of thyme or more to taste

2 tbsp butter

¼ cup of red wine – Cabernet or Merlot

1 Pizza dough (Naan is great to use if low on time or prep) or Udi’s Gluten-Free Pizza Crust if allergies

Salt and pepper to taste

Meat:

First sautéed the shallots to a golden color in the olive oil. Dredge the beef in the flour until all areas of the beef are covered.  Add the dredged beef to the shallot and olive oil mixture.  Cook the beef until all sides are browned.  

Sauce:

Add the carrots, celery, beef broth, wine, thyme, pepper, and salt to the beef.  I did not have the time to wait for 3 hours till the beef got really tender, so I let it simmer on low for 1 hour.  The beef was tender and tasted great.  Add the butter to the mixture and stir until it looks more like a gravy. 

Pizza:

With a ladle, I scoped the gravy and spread it out across the pizza to make the base.  I then added the beef and carrots around the pizza evenly. I sprinkled some mozzarella cheese and the parsley.  BAM, now you have a New England style Yankee Pot Roast Pizza, which is amazing by the way!!

Pairing:  For wine, definitely go with a red wine like a Merlot or Cabrenet since it is already in the pot roast.  If you want to do a light wine, I would recommend a Pinot Grigio since this is a rich and hardy dish.  For the craft beer, I would think a lighter style pale or blonde ale to balance out the richness of the pizza.  Since Connecticut does not have a lot of craft beer in Florida, I decided to go with a Samuel Adams Winter Ale.  With a nice warm hearty dish, winter ale was good.  You can also go with the Boston lager or Nobil Pills for this pizza.  Hopefully soon, breweries like New England Brewing Co and Thomas Hooker will export beers to the state of Florida. 

  

Learning Moments: 

This was my first ever Pot Roast, so it was exciting to make it.  I felt like I channeled my inner Julia Childs, or the male version of Julia.  This pizza was really good for the kind of chilly weather (50 degrees) we had here in Tampa that weekend.  This pizza has challenged me in my cooking and combining foods that normally would not go together go together.  I am looking forward to the next challenge.  

Week #9: Florida – Citrus and Mango Seafood Pizza

State: Florida

Blog:

So I moved down to Florida from Maryland almost 11 years ago this month.  I feel like I have a solid understanding behind the various types of Florida cuisine.  Florida has a lot of Spanish, Native American, Greek, Mexican and Italian influence in cooking, so I was hoping to incorporate this in my pizza.  I wanted to use Grouper, as it is a Tampa favorite for fish and I wanted to focus on a tropical or Key West style theme.  Florida is well known for produce and great Seafood.  This was the first time that I ever ate Stone Crab claws before.  They were really good and I thought the flavor of them enhanced the pizza.  I hope you will try to make this at home and I hope it inspires you to challenge your Pizza Night creativity!!

Ingredients Needed: Serving Size 2

2 Stone Crab claws

½ lb of Key West Pink Gulf Shrimp

1/4 lb of Grouper

Cilantro according to taste

1/4 Tbsp of Butter

Salt & Pepper to taste

Citrus and Mango Compote

¼ cup of Florida sugar

1 tbsp of distilled white vinegar

1 mango

½ Florida Orange – seeds removed

½ lime

¼ tsp of minced garlic

¼ green pepper

1 strand of scallion

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tbsp of fresh basil

Base: For the pizza base, I made a citrus and mango compote (please see recipe).  I altered what the real recipe called for and went with my taste buds, so my recipe above is a ballpark idea.  I put the basil, mango, orange, and scallion in the processor.  I processed enough to ensure everything was a smaller size.  I then put the mixture into a small sauce pan and cooked on medium until the mixture softens.  I then added the remainder ingredients, cooking for another 3 minutes or so.  Let cool and add to pizza crust later.

Seafood: 

Grouper:  For the protein, I seared the grouper in butter with a little salt and pepper. After searing both sides, I sliced the fish into small-to-medium slices.

Shrimp:  When cooking the shrimp, I seared on both sides in olive oil.  I then tossed in some cilantro, lime juice, and left over processed mango and green peppers mixture.

Stone Crab Claws:  For the claws, since they are already cooked, I did a quick reheat in the oven at 350 degrees for 3-5 minutes.  I left these untouched, as I wanted the crab to taste like crab.

Cooking the Pizza:

I preset the oven for 415 degrees (varies depending on your oven).   First, I covered the pizza crust with the citrus and mango compote.  I then baked the pizza crust for 5 minutes.  Next, I added the shrimp, grouper, scallions, jalapenos, and a handful of mozzarella cheese to the pizza.  I baked for another 5 minutes.  Finally, I added a little cilantro and scattered the stone crab meat around the pizza.  Please see photo for how to position the toppings.  The goal is to make sure every slice has equal amount of toppings.

Pairing:

If you are looking for a great beer to pair with this pizza, look no further than Cigar City Brewing Company, which is located here in Tampa. Cigar City makes strong, slap you in the face type beers that would pair beautifully with this pizza. For this pizza, I would recommend Cigar City’s Jai Ali, Invasion Pale Ale, or the Florida Cracker. For a wine pairing, a Pinot Noir would work out really well with the flavor contrasts and textures of this pizza. Cheers!

Learning Moments:

This pizza challenged me and took me about 2 hours to make, as there was a lot of prepping and intricate details when cooking the seafood toppings.  I learned that I really like Grouper and Stone Crab Claws.  The compote was amazingly delicious as well and you can put that on anything and eat it.  I feel like I am growing as a cook by taking on this challenge.  This challenge was one of the best decisions I have made in the kitchen so far!