Week #47: Washington - Apple Cider Glazed Salmon & Apple Pizza

State: Washington

Washington is a coastal state, which focuses on seafood and produce.  When I think of the state of Washington, I think of apples and salmon.  So I found a recipe for an apple cider glazed salmon.  I definitely had to try this out and embrace the cooking of the West Coast.  I hope you enjoy this pizza, because it was excellent!  

Ingredients:

Apple Cider Glazed Salmon:

1 cup unfiltered apple cider

1 tbsp. honey

1 salmon fillets (1/2 lb.)

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. butter

Salt and pepper to taste

1 pizza crust
2 Green onion strands - diced

1 Washington apple – diced

¼ cup of Mozzarella

Glaze:

In a small pan and on medium heat, bring apple cider and honey to a boil.  The mixture reduces by about half, leaving you with a little more than 1/4 cup of glaze. Let the glaze cool down for a minute. 

Meat:

Arrange the salmon fillet skin-side down in medium in width bowl in a rimmed dish large enough to fit the fillet. Pour half of the honey cider glaze over the salmon and let it sit for 5 minutes. Leave the other half or 1/4 for the pizza crust.  Turn over the salmon, coating the other side and allow filet to sit for another 5 minutes in the glaze.  Heat olive oil in a medium skillet on medium-high.   Sprinkle the flesh side of the salmon fillet with salt and pepper.  Place the fillet flesh side down in the hot pan.  Cook for 2 minutes on medium high heat and while cooking, brush the sides of the fillet with some of the glaze.

Turn the salmon fillet over and brush with the remaining honey cider glaze.  Lower the heat to medium and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes or until the salmon is just barely cooked through.  Remove the pan from heat.  With any remaining juices, collect with a spoon and pour over top of the fish fillet.  Set aside for later. 

Pizza:

Preheat oven to 450.  Cook crust for 10 minutes or until slightly browned.  Turn down heat to 400 degrees.   Coat the base of the pizza crust with the saved apple cider glaze.  Next with a fork, flake apart the fish into smaller pieces.  Sprinkle fish across the base of the pizza.  Add diced apple and green onion.  Make sure to spread out, so each slice will have equal amounts.  Add cheese and place pizza into the oven for 3-5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.  Remove from heat and set aside for pizza to cool.

Pairing:

For this beer, I would recommend an IPA or something citrusy.  With seafood, a good pale ale or IPA can go a long way.  Cheers!

Learning Moments:

Before this challenge, I have never used salmon on pizzas and never made an apple cider glaze before.  This challenge is definitely opening up my cooking styles and will help me for whatever challenge lies ahead in the kitchen.  I will be ready to throw it down in the kitchen!   Enjoy! 

Week #45: Vermont - Maple & Pumpkin Breakfast Pizza

State:  Vermont

When I think of Vermont, I think of maple syrup and bacon.  So when deciding what to do for Vermont, I had to do a breakfast pizza.  I know some people are not a fan of breakfast food, but I LOVE me some bacon, sausage, and eggs for breakfast. Since it is the fall season, I had to add pumpkin into the pizza!  My goal was to bring sweet and salty flavors together for a pizza.  I hope you try out this pizza, because you are going to love it!

Ingredients:

1 sausage patty - diced into bit size pieces

4 scrambled eggs - I add black pepper to my eggs

3 strips of bacon

1 carton of pureed pumpkin

1 tsp of cinnamon

1 tsp of nutmeg

1 tsp of allspice

1 tsp of ginger

Maple syrup to taste

1 pizza crust (Added sugar to make it a sweet crust)

1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

Sauce:

In a small bowl, add pumpkin, allspice, nutmeg, and cinnamon together.  Add in 2 tablespoons or so of maple syrup.  Mix well and set aside.

Meat:

Cook both the bacon and sausage normally.  Use a paper towel covered plate to absorb excess grease.  Cut into small pieces and set aside.

Pizza:

Preheat oven to 450.  Cook crust for 10 minutes or until slightly browned.  Turn down heat to 400 degrees.  First, cover the pizza crust with the pumpkin sauce base.  Next, add the meat and eggs, spreading out to cover all the areas of the pizza.  Then add the cheese as a topping.  Put pizza back into the oven for 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.  Remove from heat and allow to cool before eating.

Pairing:

For this pizza, I would recommend an oatmeal stout for this pizza.  I went with a stout and I went with a pumpkin beer from Magic Hat Brewing Company.  Magic Hat is one of the most recognized craft breweries in Vermont.  Cheers!

Learning Moments:

I realized with this pizza that you cannot go wrong with pumpkin, bacon, cheese, eggs, and sausage.  Any of those ingredients on a sugary pizza crust is amazing.  I cannot wait to make this pizza again, as it was amazing!!  Enjoy!

Week #44: Utah: Funeral Potatoes & Pastrami Pizza

State: Utah

I have never been to Utah, so when I was researching, I looked for dishes that are popular there.  With Salt Lake City being a large Mormon population, I found out that Funeral Potatoes is a very popular dish there.  Just like with most small churches, there is always some type of casserole dish.  When my father passed away, the Baptist Church had at least 5-8 different casserole dishes there.  They are comfort food and for funerals, it is all about helping people get comfortable.  Apparently, Pastrami burgers are very popular in Utah as well, so I decided to use Pastrami for the meat of the pizza.  With this challenge, I had to give it a whirl and I really enjoyed this pizza.  I hope you like it.  

Ingredients:

Utah Funeral Potatoes (Mormon Funeral Potatoes):

2 tbsp of butter, divided

1/2 cup diced onion

1/2 a bag (32-ounce) of frozen shredded hash browns, thawed

1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

1/2 (8-10 ounce) box of organic cream of chicken soup

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 pizza crust

Additional Cheese for topping pizza

1/4 lb. of pastrami

Funeral Potatoes:

In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large pan.  Cook according to the instructions on the bag.  Basically, brown both sides of the potatoes and add salt/pepper.  Remove from heat and allow potatoes to cool.  In a mixing bowl, add potatoes, butter, onion, soup, cheese, and additional salt & pepper.  Mix thoroughly and set aside for pizza recipe.

Pizza:

Preheat oven to 450.  Cook crust for 10 minutes or until slightly browned.  Turn down heat to 400 degrees.  With a spoon, add potato mixture to the base of the pizza crust and spread out like icing on a cake.  Add pieces of pastrami, spacing out to ensure all slices will be covered.  Then add cheese on top.  Place into oven and bake for 5-7 minutes or until cheese is melted.  Remove and allow pizza to cool before eating.

Pairing:

When you think of Utah, you normally do not think of great craft beer. However, Utah has a great brewery named Uinta, which produces some excellent beers.  My favorites are Hop Nosh and Dubhe IPA.  For this pizza, I went with an Imperial black IPA.  The goal is to balance out the cheesy and salty with a nice malty and hoppy finish.  Cheers!

Learning Moments:

I learned that casseroles are huge in America and every function in a church has some type of casserole or 1 dish recipes.  This one was a little different than Minnesota's version, because it had pastrami on it.  The pastrami really balanced out this dish.  This pizza was really good and is a must try!  Enjoy!

Week #43: Texas - Lone Star Brisket and Queso Pizza

State:  Texas

I traveled once to Texas for a business trip, but really did not get to experience what the state offers.  I went to Dallas and Houston airports, but did not see the cities.  I did stay in El Paso, TX for a couple of days and I tried to explore, but you really need a car to see some of the historical sites.  What I do remember most, is the great Tex-Mex food and definitely Queso!  So I wanted to make a pizza focused on traditional homemade queso.  I hope you enjoy, because we surely did!!

Ingredients:

Chile Con Queso:

1/2 onion diced (about 1/2 cup)

2 tsp of minced garlic

1 tsp of cumin

1 jalapeno pepper diced

2 tablespoons of butter

2 tablespoons of flour

1 cup of whole milk

1 bunch of chopped and minced cilantro

½ lb of White American Cheese – Ask the deli to cut in blocks, then cut in squares

2 tomatoes, peeled and diced (about 1/2 cup)

Salt and pepper to taste

Queso:

1. Melt butter in a sauce pot on medium-low heat, and then cook the onions & peppers for about five minutes or until onions are translucent.

2. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.

3. Whisk the flour into the butter, vegetable mix and cook for about 30 seconds.

4. Add the milk to the pot, and cook on medium, whisking constantly until sauce is thick, about five minutes. Stir in the cilantro, cumin and tomatoes.

5. Turn heat down to low, and slowly add the cheese stirring into the white sauce until completely melted. Repeat.

6. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Meat:

So this step was very easy.  I didn’t have 8-10 hours to slow cook a brisket, so I ordered from Holy Hog BBQ here in Tampa.  When I get a nice smoker, I will definitely do my own brisket.

Pizza:

Preheat oven to 450.  Cook crust for 10 minutes or until slightly browned.  Turn down heat to 400 degrees.  With a ladle, scoop out queso and ensure to cover all of the crust.   Tear up pieces of the brisket and lay onto pizza spreading out accordingly. Put into oven for 5 minutes to warm up queso and brisket.  Remove from oven and allow pizza to cool before eating.  Enjoy!

Pairing:

So when pairing a beer with this pizza, I would go with an IPA or Imperial stout.  I would usually pair a citrusy beer with this pizza, so it will balance out well.

Learning Moments:

So I learned how easy it is to make queso and not with Velvetta.  Seriously, if you are using synthetic processed cheese, you are not going to make it far in life.  That stuff will kill you!  Anyways, off of my ranting about synthetic cheese.  I really love fresh queso and using fresh ingredients, you can alter it to the way you want it.  I love cooking and this challenge is definitely helping me get outside of the box.  Hope you enjoy it too!

Week #42: Tennessee - Nashville Hot Chicken Pizza

State:  Tennessee

When thinking of Tennessee, you think of BBQ, Elvis, and Country music.  After researching, I learned that the Hot Chicken Sandwich is very popular in TN.  Since I love heat and chicken, I had to make a pizza out of this.  Since the sandwich is usually accompanied with fries, I had to put them on the pizza as well.  Here is my tribute to the state of Tennessee.  I hope you enjoy it!  It was very good.  

Ingredients:

1 lb of chicken fingers

1 cup of cooked French fries

1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 large egg

2 cups buttermilk or whole milk

2 tablespoons vinegar-based hot sauce (such as Tabasco or Texas Pete)

1 cups all-purpose flour

Canola Oil (enough to cover bottom of pan) - I am not deep frying the chicken fingers

6 tablespoons cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder or minced garlic

1 teaspoon paprika

Hot Chicken:

Sprinkle salt and pepper over top of the raw chicken. Next, whisk the eggs, buttermilk, and hot sauce in a large bowl.  In another bowl, combine flour and 2 teaspoons salt.  Add chicken fingers into egg and milk mixture, ensuring all sides are covered.  Then, dredge chicken into flour mixture, ensuring all sides are covered.  Continue the process one more time or three times if necessary. In a large frying pan, add enough oil to coat the bottom and turn on medium heat.  Cook on both sides of chicken until it reaches a dark brown.  Ensure chicken is cooked through at 170 degrees.  Remove from pan and allow chicken to dry on a plate with paper towels.  Allow chicken to cool, then cut into bite-sized pieces and set aside. 

Hot Sauce:

Whisk cayenne, brown sugar, chili powder, garlic powder, and paprika in a medium bowl.  Carefully whisk in 1 cup frying oil and mix well. Brush fried chicken with spicy oil.  Save a little bit of oil mixture for crust. 

Pizza:

Preheat oven to 450.  Cook crust for 10 minutes or until slightly browned.  Turn down heat to 400 degrees.  Brush remaining oil onto pizza crust (See Learning Moments section).  Add a layer of cheddar cheese and add the cooked fries on top of the pizza.  Then, add the pieces of chicken across the pizza to ensure the pizza is covered appropriately.  Add a little more cheese and put back into oven for another 3-5 minutes to heat the cheese. 

Pairing:

With the heat of the chicken, the cheese and fries, this pizza screams for something acidic like an IPA.  For TN, I didn't have a beer from there at the time.  I will update this section very soon with a beer from TN.  Cheers!

Learning Moments:

I really enjoyed the pizza, but I wasn't a fan of using oil to coat the chicken finger.  When you put the pizza in the oven, it dried the chicken a little.  So, with that said, I would change from being oil base to more of a sauce based coating for the chicken.  I will probably take another stab at this pizza and use sweet potato fries instead.  The sweetness and the heat would make this pizza zing off the charts.  Overall, I enjoyed it, but with a hot sauce instead of oil, it would have been much better.  Hope you enjoy!  

Week #41: South Dakota - Sioux Falls Chislic Pizza

State:  South Dakota

So I have never been out to any of the Dakotas, so doing a pizza for this state took some research.  I do know that South Dakota is the nation's leading state for Bison and has a strong history of Native America influence in the cuisine.  When researching, I also found out that there is a strong German population that migrated to the Dakotas and Chislic became very popular.  Chislic is a seasoned meat, which could be Venison, Beef, Bison, or lamb. I decided to do a Bison Chislic, so I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/2 pound of ground Buffalo meat or steak

2-3 potatoes cut thin

1 pizza crust

1/2 cup of cheddar cheese

1/2 cup of a creamy cheese (optional) - I did a Sarvechio from Italy

2 skewer sticks

Seasoning

1 1/2 tsp. Worchester Sauce

3/4 tsp. Chili Powder

1/2 tsp. Salt

1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder

1/2 tsp. Onion Powder

1/4 tsp. Ground Black Pepper

Meat:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  So for the Chislic, I decided to do ground bison instead of steak.  For the simple reason, that a pound of ground Bison is $10 and Bison steak is $20 a pound.  So, with that said, I went with the ground Bison.  Combine ground Bison, seasonings and Worcestershire sauce together.  Mix well and form into long style meatloaf.  With a teaspoon of olive oil, grease the skewer sticks and gently slide them in the center of the meat mixture.  Cook the Chislic for 20 minutes or so or until meat reaches 160 degrees.  Remove from heat and allow meat to cool.  Cut into small bite size pieces. 

Pizza:

Preheat oven to 450.  Add a layer of olive oil to the crust.  Cook crust until slightly browned and remove from heat.  While the crust is still warm, add a layer of creamy cheese to the base.  Add slices of potatoes to the pizza and spread out evenly. Next add meat pieces on top of the potatoes and then add a layer of cheddar cheese.  Cook pizza in the oven for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.  Remove from heat and allow pizza to cool before eating.

Pairing:

For this pizza, I wasn't able to find a beer from South Dakota.  However, I was able to find a nice coffee stout to go with this pizza.  I would recommend a stout or imperial ale.  For wine, a Chianti or Pinot Noir would go very well.  Cheers!

Learning Moments:

So, if I could change a couple things on this pizza, I would have gone with the steak and I would have created some type of sauce.  It was a little too dry, so I had to put some extra Worcestershire sauce on it.  The pizza needed some type of sauce, so maybe a cheese sauce would have been great.  With that note, the meat tasted really good and the pizza was almost close to being amazing.  Hope you make a few tweaks and make it your own!  Enjoy!

Week #46: Virginia - Brunswick Stew Pizza

State: Virginia

Living in Maryland, I have visited many parts of Virginia.  All the way from Arlington to the southwestern part of Bristol.  Virginia is a beautiful state with mountains, valleys, farmlands, and apparently is for lovers.  I used to have a 1967 VW Bug and would go to the Bug In's with my dad in Manassass, VA.  Some other fun places to go in VA is Kings Dominion, Busch Gardens, and Williamsburg.  The Busch Gardens in my opinion is better than the one here in Tampa.  After doing research, I realized that the Brunswick Proclamation Stew is very popular in Virginia.  I have never made it or tasted it, so I figured that I would give it a try and I am glad I did.  This pizza was very tasty.  Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 lb chicken breast cutlets (2-3)

1 small onion - diced

2 ribs celery - diced

Water to cover

1 large can crushed tomatoes plus their juices

2-3 medium white potatoes - peeled (about 1 pound total)

1-2 cups of lima beans (Your Preference)

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

1 Pizza crust

1/2 cup of Mozzarella cheese

Stew:

First, combine chicken cutlets with onion in a medium stockpot.  Cover with water and bring to a boil over high heat. With a spoon, skim off and throw away any foam that forms on the surface. Add the celery and reduce the heat to medium to maintain a low boil. Cook uncovered for about 15 minutes or so.

Transfer the whole chicken, celery and onion to a bowl to cool.  Use a slotted spoon to remove any bits of fat and/or skin from the broth. Add tomatoes with juices, lima beans and diced potatoes. Cook uncovered over medium heat for 15 minutes or until the potatoes and lima beans are tender.

Season the stew with salt, black and cayenne pepper. Stir thoroughly, cover and cook for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Next, chop the chicken up into bite sized pieces and add back into pot.  Cook for another 10 minutes and remove from heat.

Pizza:

Preheat oven to 450.  Cook crust for 10 minutes or until slightly browned. Remove from heat and turn down heat to 400 degrees.  With a slotted spoon, scoop out pieces of the stew and arrange evenly along the pizza crust.   With a slotted spoon, scoop pieces of the soup and put across the crust.  Make sure that you have pieces spread out evenly so each slice will have equal amounts of the mixture.  Next, with a ladle add about 1/2 of the stew along the crust. Please Note: Don't put too much stew broth onto the crust or it will leak over into a hot oven surface.  Finally, add the cheese on top and place into oven for 3-5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Remove from heat and allow to cool before serving. 

Pairing:

For this pizza, you have to go with a stout or some type of porter.  This stew is made for the cold winter days and with a stout, it will keep you nice and warm.

Learning Moments:

At the step where the potatoes were tender, I should have taken out half of them and mashed them in the stew.  This would have thickened it a little better.  Either way, the stew and taste was really good.  When you added the mozzarella cheese, it made it taste amazing!  Enjoy!