Showing posts with label Cheesy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cheesy. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

White Pizza with Balsamic Glaze

This pizza is my signature pizza. While my husband's signature topping combo is pepperoni, pineapple, and banana peppers (which is phenomenal, by the way), my go-to is caramelized onions, goat cheese, chicken, red pepper flakes, and balsamic glaze. All of the flavors are pretty strong, but somehow they still complement each other in the best way.

The caramelized onions are the perfect embodiment of sweet-meets-savory. Throw in a little tangy creaminess from the goat cheese (not to mention mozzarella and salty Parmesan), a touch of heat from the red pepper flakes, and top it all off with a drizzle of tart and sweet balsamic glaze (reduction), and you've covered all your bases! I usually add shredded chicken too (a great way to use up a rotisserie chicken!) but I've also skipped it when vegetarian friends are around and the pizza is just as delicious.

This recipe is also VERY easy and weeknight appropriate if you use leftover or rotisserie chicken and store-bought pizza dough (which I did here)! The caramelized onions take about 30 minutes, but it's really just occasional stirring, ain't nothin' too bad. And the balsamic glaze is basically just whisking and you've got yourself a decadent syrup (OMG PUT IT OVER BRUSSELS SPROUTS TOO).



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White Pizza with Balsamic Glaze
Balsamic glaze, three cheeses, caramelized onions, and shredded chicken come together in a decadent take on white pizza.
Ingredients
  • 1 medium yellow, sweet, or Vidalia onion
  • 1 chicken breast, cooked
  • 12 - 14 inch pizza crust
  • 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp white sugar
  • 4 oz goat cheese
  • 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 6 oz shredded mozzarella
  • 1 Tbsp grated Parmesan
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Heat a large pan over medium low heat.2. Slice the onion and shred the chicken breast. There should be about 2 cups of sliced onion.3. Add sliced onions, butter, and 1Tbsp olive oil to the pan and stir every 2 minutes for 10 minutes. 4. Turn the heat in the pan up to medium. Stir onions every 2 minutes for another 20 minutes. If the onions start to char, turn the heat back down to medium low and continue.5. Grease the pizza pan with a little olive oil and add rolled out pizza dough to the pizza pan. Swirl 1 Tbsp. olive oil over pizza dough. Add all ingredients (except balsamic vinegar and sugar) to the dough.6. Bake at 400 degrees F for 15 – 18 minutes.7. While the pizza is baking, whisk balsamic vinegar and white sugar in a small pan over medium heat. Whisk the bubbling glaze every minute or two until it thickens and has reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Turn the heat to low and whisk occasionally until the pizza is done. If the glaze tightens to the point where it’s no longer pourable, whisk in a tsp of balsamic vinegar at a time until it loosens a little.8. When the pizza is done, remove it from the oven and let it sit for 2 minutes. Pour balsamic glaze over the top, slice, and enjoy!
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 3 - 4 servings

Steps 1 - 2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Heat a large pan over medium low heat. Slice the onion and shred the chicken breast. There should be about 2 cups of sliced onion.

Step 3. Add sliced onions, butter, and 1Tbsp olive oil to the pan and stir every 2 minutes for 10 minutes. Butter for the flavor, olive oil for the higher smoke point. *thumbs*up*

Step 4. Turn the heat in the pan up to medium. Stir onions every 2 minutes for another 20 minutes. If the onions start to char, turn the heat back down to medium low and continue. 

Step 4. continued: After 30 minutes you'll have beautifully soft, caramel colored (and flavored!) onions, all brought out by their natural sweetness!

Step 5. Grease the pizza pan with a little olive oil and add rolled out pizza dough to the pizza pan. Swirl 1 Tbsp. olive oil over pizza dough. 

Step 5. continued and step 6: Add all ingredients (except balsamic vinegar and sugar) to the dough. Bake at 400 degrees F for 15 – 18 minutes.

Step 7: While the pizza is baking, whisk balsamic vinegar and white sugar in a small pan over medium heat.

Step 7. continued: Whisk the bubbling glaze every minute or two until it thickens and has reduced by half, about 10 minutes.

Step 7. continued: You can tell it's thickened enough when it doesn't fall back into itself right away as you're whisking, as seen by the streak in the pan here. When there's about half as much liquid as when you started, you're done! Turn the heat to low and whisk occasionally until the pizza is done. If the glaze tightens to the point where it’s no longer pourable, whisk in a tsp of balsamic vinegar at a time until it loosens a little.

Step 8: When the pizza is done, remove it from the oven and let it sit for 2 minutes. Pour balsamic glaze over the top.
Then just slice and enjoy! This pizza is definitely decadent, but there's a balance to it. No ingredient overwhelms the next, you just get a little bit of everything. Sweet, salty, cheesy, tangy, tart, and spicy. All together in perfect harmony!

Thursday, June 26, 2014

SJK Approved - Vegetable Lasagna


I am SO excited to share my first SJK Approved post with you all. I'll be featuring recipes, restaurants, kitchen gadgets, and other foodie goodies which I have personally tested and approved and LOVE! Stay tuned and follow along at #SJKApproved for more!

First up is Vegetable Lasagna by The Pioneer Woman. This is one of those recipes I've made over and over again because it's just so darn good. Pasta? Check. Cheese? Check. Hearty veggies cooked in a spicy tomato sauce + a little wine? Check. Done and done. It's not heavy like some lasagnas I've had, and you don't miss the meat at all! Meatless Monday never tasted so good.

My husband puts in requests for this recipe! And while I'm usually cooking for just the two of us, I don't mind making a big batch because this lasagna freezes VERY well. I use a few zucchini in place of the mushrooms because Paul isn't a mushroom fan :( I'm saddened by this, but the veggie lasagna tastes amazing either way.

Can I also gush about how much I love Ree Drummond for a minute? She's so fun to watch on the Food Network because she's so cheerful! I love the personal touches she puts on her recipes, sometimes planning them with specific family members in mind. She's such a great story teller and you can see all of the love she puts into her food on the show! She's lovely and her recipes have never failed me. Two thumbs up for Ree Drummond.

You all NEED this vegetable lasagna in your lives! See the recipe and Ree Drummond's flawless step-by-step pictures here: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/04/vegetable-lasagna/

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

My Big Fat Greek Recipe Collection



In honor of Greek Easter on Sunday, I thought I'd compile and share my Greek recipe posts! Greek Easter as a youngster for me meant celebrating with loads of family, loads of food, and an Easter egg hunt with hundreds of eggs filled with candy and cash (not just coins my friend, bills. The Greeks don't mess around with Easter).

Even if you don't celebrate Greek Easter (or Easter at all), look at Sunday as an excuse to eat Greek food! It's also Cinco de Mayo - What's a girl to do? Greek for lunch, Mexican for dinner probably. Check out my Cinco de Mayo Pinterest board for recipes and entertaining ideas!

Pictured to the left is little-me and my Papou :) Some of my fondest memories of him are of him coming over to my house and cooking for us, dictating the recipes to my parents. My parents gifted me with those written recipes a few months ago, and I was so happy I was brought to tears.

I feel the most connected to my Greek culture when I'm cooking! Below are some recipes from my family, some from me, and there is a whole recipe book full of more to come! Enjoy!

  Not only is Greek Salad undoubtedly DELICIOUS, but Greek Salad Dressing is extra virgin olive oil and vinegar based, do it's healthy! I love making a chunky salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, feta, and red onions. One of my go-to pot luck/tailgate/picnic dishes is Greek Pasta Salad, which is just the normal salad with rotini pasta and chicken! It's wonderful with or without the chicken.

One of my favorite dishes of all time is a Chicken Souvlaki with Tzatziki Sauce. For me, the more garlic, the better, which is why I could pretty much eat tzatziki sauce plain by the spoonful. There's only one time in my life when I uttered the words "Well that's just too much damn garlic." I was eating skordalia at a restaurant and my dad (the only full-blooded Greek at the table) was the only one who could eat the seemingly half potato, half garlic spread, which is usually very tasty, but had gone a little overkill this time. Anyway, the point is, if you love garlic, you will love tzatziki sauce! Try it if you haven't already!

These 3 recipes are straight from my grandparents' recipe book. Tiropita is a savory cheese pie, which is enticing enough I think! The phyllo dough is buttery and flaky and the cheese filling is hot and creamy... You can't beat it. You just can't. 

Dolmades are stuffed grape leaves, and just about every recipe for the filling is different. Ours is ground beef and rice based, but there are quite a few vegetarian versions out there too! These little bite-sized meaty bundles are the perfect hor d'ouevre!

Last but not least, for dessert - the simple, understated perfection that is Rice Pudding. It's nothing fancy, but it's my FAVORITE. I even like it better than baklava! I know, I know, where's the baklava? It's still in the book! Coming soon though :) don't worry.

Check out My Big Fat Greek Recipe Board on Pinterest! 

I hope you all enjoy my family's recipes :) It makes me happy to be able to share the love and share the food. It's the Greek woman in me - I need to feed people. Now go eat some Greek food!

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Um. Buffalo Chicken Pizza. I'm kind of speechless. This is all of your favorite buffalo wing flavors - on top of pizza dough... It's as good as it sounds, and I think I'm just going to leave it at that!



Buffalo Chicken Pizza
Makes 1 large pizza or 2 medium pizzas (about 4 servings)
Total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients
1 chicken breast, cooked
1 celery stalk
1/4 onion
3 Tbsp ranch dressing
2 Tbsp hot sauce (give or take a Tbsp depending on your spicy tolerance)
4 oz part-skim mozzarella cheese
4 oz low fat crumbled blue cheese
Garlic powder to taste


1. Chop celery stalk and onion.

2. Chop chicken and mix in half the hot sauce.

3. Roll out pizza dough to desired crust thickness. Layer ranch dressing evenly on the dough, then add chicken, celery, onion, mozzarella cheese, and blue cheese. Drizzle remaining hot sauce over the pizza. Sprinkle on garlic powder to taste.

4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes or until cheeses are melted and dough is cooked. Drizzle with more hot sauce if desired, and enjoy!

Chop celery stalk and 1/4 onion. It's nice to have a little bit of crunch along with all of the creamy cheese!

Chop cooked chicken breast and smother in half of the hot sauce. Trust your instincts here with the amount of hot sauce. Everyone has a different spiciness tolerance, so add hot sauce accordingly!

Roll out the pizza dough and add the ranch dressing as you would normally add tomato sauce. You could use blue cheese dressing here instead if you prefer!

 Add chicken, celery, and onion...

And mozzarella and blue cheese. MMMMM!

Drizzle extra hot sauce on top and sprinkle with garlic powder. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes and let the bubbly goodness begin...

 I don't know why it took me so long to make this pizza! I've had it at a few different restaurants, and I have an unhealthy obsession with buffalo chicken wing dip, so this pizza makes PERFECT sense. So easy, and just a party in your mouth. As I said before, it's every bit as scrumptious as it looks!


Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Alfredo Sauce

Want to know when my boyfriend stole my heart? It was when he made me this Alfredo sauce for our first Valentines day together :P Really though, I was all his long before this Alfredo, but it didn't hurt at all. The way to a man or woman's heart is through his or her stomach, and you can't help but fall in love with whoever puts this plate in front of you. The ingredients for Alfredo sauce crack me up! Butter, heavy cream, and Parmesan cheese. I really don't think it gets any better than that!




Alfredo sauce
Makes 3-4 servings (enough for about half a box of fettuccine)
Total time: 12 minutes

Ingredients
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup Parmesan
A sprinkle of pepper


1. Melt half a stick of butter in a saucepan over medium low heat. Pour in heavy cream and turn heat to  medium. Bring cream and butter to a boil.

2. Add parmesan cheese to cream mixture. Reduce heat to low and whisk for 2-3 minutes until the cheese gets incorporated with the liquid. Add a little sprinkle of pepper and serve over fettuccine. Enjoy!  



*Jaw drops* Look at these heavenly ingredients! Oh, and some pasta with it too. 

Melt half a stick of butter (I know) over medium low heat.

Whisk in the heavy cream, turn the heat to medium, and bring to a boil.

Add the Parmesan cheese and whisk for 2 or 3 minutes, until the cheese is incorporated. It will be very thick and cheesy!

Well talk about rich. This sauce is LUSCIOUS and lovely. And how could it not be with such decadent ingredients?! It's also oh so simple to make. It's practically just prepare some pasta, whisk sauce for a few minutes, and voila!


Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Tiropita

This is another recipe from my Papou! It's a Greek savory cheese pie called Tiropita, and its wonderful. It's made with phyllo dough, the pastry used in baklava! The mixture of textures from the flaky, crunchy phyllo dough and the creaming cheese is absolutely divine. It's almost like a savory version of cheesecake, if you can imagine that. It's commonly made in a triangle shaped version with the cheese wrapped in the phyllo, but my Papou's recipe said to make it in more of a pie form, so I listened! Straight from my Papou's recipe book - rich, crispy, cheesy goodness!



Tiropita
Makes 8-10 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour and 15 minutes

Ingredients
1 (8 oz) block cream cheese, softened
16 oz ricotta cheese
1 tsp salt
3 eggs
8 oz phyllo dough, thawed
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)


1. Melt butter in a bowl. In a separate bowl mix cream cheese, ricotta, salt, and eggs.

2. Carefully unroll phyllo dough. Wet and ring out a dish towel and lay over phyllo dough. Spray casserole dish with cooking spray.

3. Uncover phyllo dough and peel one layer away. Lay sheet of phyllo in casserole dish. Cover unused stack of phyllo with damp towel immediately. Brush phyllo dough with melted butter. Repeat for 8 sheets of phyllo dough.

4. Pour cheese mixture on top of phyllo dough layers. Repeat phyllo layering process for 8 more sheets on top of the cheese mixture. Brush the top layer with melted butter. Bake at 325 degrees F for 1 hour. Cut into individual servings and enjoy!



Melt butter in a bowl. You will need a brush for the melted butter. The phyllo dough is SO delicate. I think trying to spoon the butter and spread it with anything else would probably be a bad idea.

Mix ricotta cheese, cream cheese, salt, and 3 eggs. Every other tiropita recipe I looked at online had feta cheese in it but my Papou's recipe didn't. But I dare not question the wisdom that is written in front of me! I followed his recipe exactly and it turned out beautifully. Maybe some other time I will experiment with some feta in the mixture!

Unroll the phyllo dough VERY CAREFULLY. It is extremely delicate.

Place a damp paper towel over the phyllo dough. It dries out very quickly because the sheets are so thin. This will help keep it from cracking! Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray.

Uncover the phyllo dough and gently peel a single layer off and place it into the casserole dish.

Immediately cover the unused phyllo dough with a towel again! It will crack quickly if you don't.

Repeat the layering process until there are 8 layers.

Fill with the cheese mixture!

Add another 8 layers of phyllo dough on top with the same layering process as before.


Does it get much better than cheese and pastry and butter?! I don't think so. Melt in your mouth filling with delicate flaky pastry - I could eat this every day. I would weigh 12949135 lbs, but I really wouldn't mind eating this every day of my life :P




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