Pumped Up Polynesian Pig Pizza

Aloha!  I’ve been on kind of a pizza kick lately.  For instance, the other day, we made a pizza with pesto, caramelized onion, mushrooms, prosciutto, mozzarella, and arugula.  That was some TASTY business.  THIS pizza was also insanely awesome.  How could it not be, with a name like “Pumped Up Polynesian Pig Pizza?”

This was a bit of an experiment a month or so ago, since I had pizza dough to use and I was ready to get creative with a new pie.  Liz loves Hawaiian pizza probably more than any other kind, so I decided to go in that direction.  When I think about the different kinds of hawaiian pizza we’ve had from different places, a lot of them seem kind of boring.  A lot of times it’s literally just cheese, ham, and pineapple.  Which, you know, whatever.  It’s going to taste good however you slice it.  But I got to thinking, there are so many more creative things I could add to this!  My brainstorm took me from a simple ham and pineapple pizza to a pizza that included all kinds of trimmings:

• 1 medium onion, sliced and caramelized (see below)
• 1/2 green bell pepper, diced and sauteed
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1/2 pre-cooked and packaged ham steak, diced
• 1 C. fresh diced pineapple
• 1/4 C. fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1-2 C. shredded Mozzarella cheese (or pizza blend, mozzarella and provolone)
• 1/4 C. crumbled Feta cheese
• 6 strips cooked, crumbled bacon
• Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning
• Olive oil
• Marinara sauce
• Butter
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Pizza dough (for dough recipe, see: Mexican Chipotle Chicken Pizza)

So here’s how this goes.  There’s a good deal of prep to be done, and it’s a little time consuming, but it’s worth it, I promise.  Here’s the way I would do things.

1. Preheat the oven to 400.  After you roll out your dough and get it onto a sheet, you’re going to need to prick it all over with a fork and brush a little olive oil on it.  At this point, also season it around the edges with the Creole seasoning.  You won’t be sorry– Cajun crust is awesome.  Just bake the dough part-way, for about 5-8 minutes until it’s partially baked and the sauce won’t make the dough soggy.  Once you take it out of the oven, crank the oven to 500 degrees.  Not kidding.
2. Slice your onions into ribbon-like slices.  With a tablespoon or two of butter, sautee them on medium (or just under medium) until they’re soft and a little transparent.  Then, add the 1 tsp. of sugar and stir.  Continue cooking until they’re nice and brown all the way through (this takes quite a while, so leave them alone a little and prep your other veggies).
3. Sautee green peppers with a little oil and salt.  When they’re pretty tender, throw in the diced ham and minced garlic.  Just let that sweat together for a minute or so.  Remove that from heat and set it aside.
4. Spread a layer of marinara over your prepared crust.  You can use however much you like; I happen to like a little less sauce. Sprinkle some of the mozzarella over top, not a lot. Then, top with caramelized onions, sauteed peppers/ ham, feta, more mozzarella, bacon, and pineapple.
5. Bake it off for about 10 minutes in the 500 degree oven, or just until the cheese is all melted and starts to brown slightly.  Remove it from the oven and top with the fresh cilantro.  You could also elect to save some of the pineapple for after the baking process, as it will retain more of its “fresh” sweet flavor.
6. Enjoy it, yo!

Pacific Shrimp Tacos

There are a few things in my repertoire that I feel particularly proud of.  These are one of those things– and these can also be made with breaded tilapia.  In fact, these are pretty similar to my famous fish taco cups, which make a great party appetizer, and they always have everybody talking for months.  That, though, is a recipe for another day.

My Pacific Shrimp Tacos have a chipotle slaw and juicy chunks of mango that give the blackened shrimp a spicy, savory, sweet flavor.  Add to that the texture of the creamy, buttery avocado, and you have a killer bite.  Here’s how to do it:

SLAW:

• 2 C. Shredded Cabbage/ Slaw mix (you can use pre-bagged or slice your own.  I recommend Napa Cabbage if you slice your own)
• 1 tbs. Sauce from a can of Chipotles in Adobo Sauce
• 1/2 C. sour cream
• 1 tbs. fresh lime juice
• 1/4 C. pureed avocado (just use a couple slices from 1 whole avocado)
• 1 tbs. cilantro
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• Sea salt

When you’re making the slaw, combine everything but the cabbage in a food processor and pulse until smooth.  Then, in a medium bowl, toss the cabbage in the mixture until it’s evenly coated.

SHRIMP (cook these last so they don’t get cold and gross):

• Uncooked shrimp (if you can get it peeled and deveined, awesome.  If not, you’ll have to do that.  See the video below)
• Blackening Spice (pepper, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, thyme, oregano, basil, onion powder)
• Olive Oil

If you have never peeled shrimp for cooking, here’s a tutorial.

His shrimp still have the head on them, but I’ve never used whole shrimp like this.  One additional step is that you’re going to also want to pinch the tail off of these, or you’ll be biting into shrimp tail inside your taco, which would be nasty.  Basically, once you’ve got the shrimp peeled/ deveined, toss them in olive oil and sprinkle them with blackening spice.  You can put them in a freezer bag and shake to coat if you like, to save on the mess.  Then, spread them on an oiled baking sheet and put them under a broiler at 500 degrees.  You’re going to have to watch these, because they cook up pretty quick.  When the ends touch and they’re opaque white and pink, they are done.

ACOUTREMENTS/ TRIMMINGS:

• Taco-sized flour tortillas (Mission brand are good… and be careful to buy good, soft ones if you’re not making them yourself)
• Fresh Cilantro, chopped (comes in a huge bundle for less than a dollar)
• Fresh, Ripe avocado, cut into slices (Tutorial for cutting an avocado below)
• Fresh, ripe mango, diced into 1/2″ chunks (Tutorial for cutting/ peeling a mango below)
• Fresh Lime
• Diced red onion (optional)

How to pit/ slice/ peel an Avocado:

How to cut/ peel a Mango:

SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED:

1. Once you’ve got your slaw and cold ingredients all prepared and ready to go, go ahead and cook up your shrimp.
2. Lay out your tortillas and put some slaw on those bad boys.
3. Next, you’re going to put some mango and a few slices of avocado on them.  If you want onion, go ahead with that too.
4. Get 4-5 of those shrimp and line them up on your tortilla (remember, you’re going to fold this over so you can eat it)
5. Top it off with some cilantro and a squirt of lime juice.   Time to enjoy the fruit of your labor. 🙂

Mexican Chipotle Chicken Pizza

This was the bomb.  Like, really good.  There are several parts to it though, so bear with me.  I would say the thing that makes this dish so good is its “authentic” Mexican ingredients, like lime juice, cilantro, avocado, and adobo sauce.  Then, add to it the homemade pizza crust, and you’ve got one killer bite.

Not that nobody else has ever made a Mexican pizza, but I did not refer to a recipe for inspiration on this one.  The thing that started the idea wheel turning this time was that we recently got a KitchenAid mixer, which made the whole dough-making process a lot less daunting and actually, really easy.  Even without one though, you can do this at home without too much trouble.  People have been making dough for hundreds of years without the use of a KitchenAid mixer.  Or, hey, you could even just use a pre-made crust from the store if you’re not feeling particularly ambitious.

Then, there’s all the components that go on the pizza.  Luckily, many of those things are things you may have around the kitchen already.  In any case, it makes this particular pizza kind of time-consuming and potentially expensive to make.  Here’s a list of things you need:

SHOPPING LIST:

• 1 ripe (soft) avovado
• Fresh cilantro (chopped)
• Small can of corn (drained)
• Can of black beans (drained)
• Mexican cheese blend
• Marinara sauce (most any kind will do, since you’ll be using salsa too)
• Salsa (again, any kind you like)
• Lime juice (you can use the kind in a little plastic lime if you must)
• Sour cream
• Whole wheat flour
• All-purpose flour
• Rapid-action yeast packet
• Salt
• Sugar
• Frozen pre-grilled chicken strips (Tyson)
• Olive Oil
• Seasonings (cumin, coriander, seasoned salt, pepper)
• Adobo Sauce (from small can of chiles in adobo sauce)
• onions and peppers (sometimes you can get these pre-sliced and mixed in the produce section)

Step 1: Make the dough. 

My dough was a recipe I found online, nothing terribly different, difficult, or special about it.  Here it is:

• 1 tsp. rapid-action yeast
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 C. hot tap water
• 1 C. whole wheat flour
• 1 1/4 C. all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbs. E.V. Olive Oil
• 1 tsp. Salt

In a measuring cup, get your hot water from the tap and dissolve the sugar.  Then, put the yeast in the cup, so that it distributes across the surface of the water.  Leave to sit for 10 minutes, until yeast activates and becomes foamy.  Then, add the olive oil and salt to the mixture.  In your mixing bowl, combine the mixture with all of the flour.  kneading with oiled hands or using a dough hook in a stand mixer, knead the dough until smooth.  Adjust the consistency as needed by adding warm water or extra flour.  Then, form into a ball, leave in the bowl, and cover with a damp cloth.  Let it rest for about 15 minutes, until it’s noticeably larger in size.

Step 2: Make the components for the pizza.

1) The peppers & onions: In a pan, heat a tablespoon or a little more (I always eyeball everything) of olive oil.  Then, add the onions and peppers and salt them lightly.  Sautee until brown and soft.

2) The chicken: I buy the Tyson brand pre-grilled chicken (and now Giant Eagle has their own brand too!) to save time, but this would be even better if you marinated and grilled your own chicken breast.  Here’s how I did it.  In a medium saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Then, add enough of the chicken to evenly cover a pizza.  Sautee until lightly browned and no longer frozen.  With a spatula, chop into equal-sized pieces.  Now, the fun part.  Season with 2-3 tablespoons of the adobo sauce, 1 tsp. cumin, 1/2 tsp. seasoned salt, and 1/2 tsp. coriander.  Stir until evenly coated.  Taste, and adjust seasonings.

3) Lime cream sauce: This is reserved for after the pizza is already baked (so is the fresh cilantro and avocado).  I also make this sauce whenever I make my famous fish tacos (for a later post).  It’s easy.  In a food processor, combine 1/4 C. sour cream, 2 Tbs. lime juice, a pinch of cumin, a pinch of salt, 1 Tbs. cilantro, and 1/4 of a ripe avocado.  Process until smooth and uniformly creamy.

Step 3: Pizza time.

Preheat the oven to 425.  Roll your dough out onto a surface lightly coated in corn meal (if you have some, if not, use A.P. Flour.  Transfer to a pizza pan.  Lightly coat the dough with marinara sauce, and then spoon and evenly distribute some salsa along with it.  Then, add the peppers and onions evenly.  Sprinkle a thin coating of Mexican cheese blend on top of that.  Next, evenly distribute the chicken on the crust.  Top that with the black beans and corn; you will NOT use the whole can of either of these.  Just eyeball it.  Top liberally with more cheese.  Bake for 15 minutes, then drizzle with lime cream sauce, sprinkle with chopped cilantro, and top with slivered avocado.

You’ll be the belle of the ball if you serve this to your guests.  Or the… hottest gringo at the fiesta… or something…