Amazing Pizza

There is a pizza place in Houston that has amazing pizza! Everything that we have had there has been delicious. So tasty that I tried to replicate one of their pizzas at home and it worked! All I did was look at the menu online and bought all the necessary ingredients. Y'all, I tried to replicate one of their specialty pizza at home and it worked! It's just as tasty as what you would get in the restaurant.

Amazing Pizza

(Inspired by Capone's Pizza in Houston) 

Basil Pesto Alfredo Sauce (recipe below) 

Prosciutto, thinly sliced

Arugula

Anjou Pears, peeled and thinly sliced

Goat Cheese

Mozzarella

White truffle oil 

Roll out your favorite pizza dough spread the basil pesto alfredo sauce evenly over the dough. Sprinkle mozzarella over the pizza, place thin slices of Anjou pears over the cheese, sprinkle prosciutto slices and goat cheese on the pizza. Bake at 425 for 20 minutes. Top the pizza off with fresh arugula and drizzle with white truffle oil if desired. 

Basil Pesto Alfredo Sauce

(Souce: Olive Garden Website) 

3 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

2 tablespoons All Purpose Flour

1 1/2 cup milk

1 1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup imported Parmesan cheese, grated

1/2 cup imported Romano cheese, grated

Salt and black pepper to taste

1/2 cup of your favorite store bought pesto (my addition)

Sautee the butter and garlic in a saucepan on medium heat. Cook for 1 minute, stirring occasionally.

Add the remaining ingredients to saucepan and stir occasionally until the sauce begins to simmer. Remove from heat. Stir in 1/2 cup of pesto.

**Note: This makes a lot of sauce so you can use half for the pizza and use the other half for pasta.**

Buttermilk Fried Chicken

I was watching Ina Garten on the Food Network a few weeks ago when I saw her make a batch of Buttermilk Fried Chicken. I saved the recipe because Dr. Sweetpea is a huge fried chicken fan. I'm glad I did because this recipe was a massive hit in our household. The only change that I made to the recipe is using bone-in and skin on chicken thighs and the chicken was so juicy and flavorful. Definitely a keeper in our household!

Buttermilk Fried Chicken

(Source: Ina Garten) 

2 cups buttermilk, shaken

1 shallot, peeled, halved lengthwise, and thinly sliced crosswise

2 garlic cloves, smashed

1 jalapeño pepper (with seeds), halved lengthwise

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 boneless chicken breasts (I used bone-in skin-on chicken thighs)

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

2 1/2 teaspoons smoked Spanish paprika

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon celery salt

2 (48-ounce) bottles canola oil

Bunch of parsley, for garnish

For the marinade, in a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, shallot, garlic, jalapeño, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon black pepper. With a rolling pin or a meat mallet, pound the chicken breasts between 2 sheets of parchment paper until they are evenly 1/2 inch thick. Slice each chicken breast in half crosswise so you have 2 pieces approximately the same size. Add the chicken to the marinade, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 8 hours but not more than 24 hours.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, celery salt, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper and set aside. When ready to cook the chicken, preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Place a sheet pan with a baking rack on it in the oven.

Pour the oil into a medium (9-inch round x 4 1/2-inch high) Dutch oven, such as Le Creuset, fitted with a candy thermometer, until the oil is 2 inches deep. Heat the oil over high heat until the temperature reaches 350 degrees. Meanwhile, lift the chicken from the marinade, dredge it well in the flour mixture, submerge it again in the marinade, then dredge again in the flour mixture, dusting off the excess. Transfer the chicken to a plate or sheet pan until ready to fry. When the oil is 350 degrees, lower three pieces only(!) carefully into the oil with a slotted spoon and adjust the heat to keep the oil at 350 degrees. Don't crowd the chicken! Cook for 5 minutes exactly, turning once to brown evenly. With the slotted spoon, transfer the chicken to the sheet pan in the oven to keep warm. Fry the remaining three pieces, sprinkle all the chicken with salt, and serve hot.

***Chicken needs to cook for much longer than 5 minutes for bone-in skin-on chicken thighs***

Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic

I first heard about how delicious this meal was back in 2014 but didn't actually make it until recently. Y'all, I'm regretting that it took me 4 years to make this dish even though I've known about it for so long. It's SO damn tasty and if you're a garlic lover like Dr. Sweetpea and I, you will also go over the moon for this meal. Dr. Sweetpea told me this is the best homemade chicken dish that he's ever tried!

Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic

(Source: Ina Garten) 

3 whole heads garlic, about 40 cloves

2 (3 1/2-pound) chickens, cut into eighths

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 tablespoons good olive oil

3 tablespoons Cognac, divided

1 1/2 cups dry white wine

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons heavy cream

Separate the cloves of garlic and drop them into a pot of boiling water for 60 seconds. Drain the garlic and peel. Set aside.

Dry the chicken with paper towels. Season liberally with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat the butter and oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. In batches, saute the chicken in the fat, skin side down first, until nicely browned, about 3 to 5 minutes on each side. Turn with tongs or a spatula; you don't want to pierce the skin with a fork. If the fat is burning, turn the heat down to medium. When a batch is done, transfer it to a plate and continue to saute all the chicken in batches. Remove the last chicken to the plate and add all of the garlic to the pot. Lower the heat and saute for 5 to 10 minutes, turning often, until evenly browned. Add 2 tablespoons of the Cognac and the wine, return to a boil, and scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Return the chicken to the pot with the juices and sprinkle with the thyme leaves. Cover and simmer over the lowest heat for about 30 minutes, until all the chicken is done.

Remove the chicken to a platter and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup of the sauce and the flour and then whisk it back into the sauce in the pot. Raise the heat, add the remaining tablespoon of Cognac and the cream, and boil for 3 minutes. Add salt and pepper, to taste; it should be very flavorful because chicken tends to be bland. Pour the sauce and the garlic over the chicken and serve hot.

Prosciutto and Fontina Stuffed Chicken Breasts

We recently went to a restaurant where Dr. Sweetpea ordered Prosciutto Stuffed Chicken. The meal was delicious and was Dr. Sweetpea was finishing his meal, I was thinking about how I can replicate the meal at home. Thankfully, a quick google search brought me to a recipe that's very similar to what what Dr. Sweetpea had and the homemade version was just as tasty as what we had at the restaurant. Definitely will be on our regular rotation! 

Prosciutto and Fontina Stuffed Chicken

(Source: FineCooking.com)

4 large boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (8 to 9 oz. each)

4 thin slices prosciutto (2 to 3 oz.)

1 cup lightly packed grated Fontina (3 oz.)

3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

2 large eggs

2 Tbs. Dijon mustard

1 1/2 cups fresh breadcrumbs

4 tsp. dried sage leaves

Kosher salt and freshly ground black  pepper

2/3 cup olive oil

If the chicken breasts have tenderloins, remove them. Trim, rinse, and pat the breasts dry.

Make a pocket on the thicker side of each breast. Using a sharp boning or utility knife, cut into the breast about 1/2 inch from one end. Create a pocket, slicing to within about 1/4 inch of the other side. Lay a slice of prosciutto lengthwise inside each pocket. Stuff each pocket with about one-quarter of the Fontina, distributing it evenly throughout the pocket and to the ends. Press on the top of each breast to close the pocket. Line up three wide shallow dishes. Fill the first with the flour. In the second, whisk together the eggs and mustard. In the third, toss the breadcrumbs with the dried sage leaves, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Season the breasts generously on both sides with salt and pepper. Dredge one breast well in the flour, shaking off any excess. Dip it into the eggs, turning to coat evenly, and then dredge it in the breadcrumbs, pressing to make the crumbs adhere evenly. Gently shake off any excess. Set on a plate and repeat with the other breasts. Refrigerate for at least 5 minutes and up to 3 hours to let the breading set. Discard any leftover flour, egg, or crumbs. Heat the oven to 350°F. Heat the olive oil in a heavy 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is very hot, carefully add two of the breasts to the pan and cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. If the oil seems to get too hot, reduce the heat to medium. Transfer the breasts to a baking sheet. Repeat with the other two breasts. Bake until the chicken and filling reach 165°F on an instant-read thermometer, about 15 minutes. Serve immediately.

Snickerdoodle Creme Brulee

This post is a few months late, but you know what they say, "It's better late than never".
Dr. Sweetpea loves loves LOVES creme brulee. It's one of the desserts that he's always asking me to make. So when his birthday came up in April, he asked me to make creme brulee. Coincidentally, I had just saved this Snickerdoodle Creme Brulee recipe just the day before, so I went ahead and made it for him. I don't have any pictures to accompany this post, but I can say Dr. Sweetpea loved his creme brulee and it'll stay in our regular rotation.

Snickerdoodle Creme Brulee

(Source: People Magazine)

2 cups half-and-half

4 large egg yolks

Pinch of table salt

½ cup plus 1 Tbsp. granulated sugar, divided

1 tsp. ground cinnamon, divided, plus more for serving

1 tsp. vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

Boiling water

Preheat oven to 325°. Bring half-and-half to a simmer in a saucepan over medium; remove from heat.

Whisk together egg yolks, salt, 1/2 cup sugar and 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon in a medium bowl. Gradually pour 1/2 cup hot half-and-half into egg-yolk mixture, whisking constantly, to temper. Gradually add remaining half-and-half, whisking constantly. Pour mixture through a fine wire-mesh strainer into a large measuring cup or bowl; stir in vanilla.

Place 6 (5- to 6-oz.) ramekins in a large roasting pan; divide custard mixture among ramekins. Place pan in oven, and pour boiling water into pan until it reaches halfway up sides of ramekins (be careful not to splash water into ramekins).

Bake in oven until sides are set but still slightly jiggly in the center, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove pan from oven; let cool 10 minutes. Remove ramekins from water bath to cooling rack, and cool completely. Wrap ramekins in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours or up to overnight.

Remove ramekins from refrigerator. Using a paper towel, gently blot any condensation from top of custard. Stir together remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkle top of each custard with 1/2 teaspoon of the sugar mixture, and tap and shake gently to cover surface.

If you have a kitchen torch, use it to heat the sugar topping until dark golden brown. Otherwise preheat broiler to high with an oven rack 6 inches from heat. Place ramekins on a baking sheet, and broil, rotating pan as needed, until sugar bubbles and turns golden brown, 2 to 5 minutes. Serve immediately with an additional pinch of cinnamon, if desired.