Pizza Dough

I received so many questions on my prior post about Zucchini Pizza Boats regarding how to make "regular" pizza that I felt compelled to share with you my recipe.

Practically none of what was stated above is true.  I have practically zero followers on this blog right now (though strangely enough a few redirected from a German band's website - shout out to Cores!).

As I mentioned back in my Beer Pretzel Rolls post, making bread and bread-like products are not nearly as difficult as it may seem.  To prove this point, the next several recipes I post will be ALL ABOUT THAT BREAD.

Pizza dough is ridiculously easy and once you start making your own, you'll only order delivery in desperate times.  The recipe I'm going to share will make 2 thick 14 inch pies, but you can divide it further if you want smaller pies or thinner pizzas.  If you like pizza like I do, go ahead and make the full batch because you can freeze whatever you don't use initially and thaw it in the fridge (takes about two hours or so) for when you do want to use the leftover dough.

I'm not going to go into toppings and whatnot, because everyone has their own tastes when it comes to pizza.  Do what works for you.

Pizza Dough Recipe:

Preparation Time: 15 minutes work; 1 hour, 25 minutes total

Cooking Time: 10-16 minutes

Yield: 2 thick 14 inch pies

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 to 4 cups bread flour
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 package (2 1/4 Tbsp) of rapid-rise active dry yeast
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 2 Tbsp olive oil

Directions:

1. Combine the bread flour, sugar, yeast and kosher salt in large bowl of stand mixer.^T1  Beat at low speed with dough hook attachment 2 minutes.
2. While the mixer is running, add water and 2 tablespoons of the oil and continue until the dough forms into a ball.
• If the dough is sticky, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together in a solid ball. If the dough is too dry, add additional water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
3. Turn out dough onto lightly floured surface; knead several times, eventually shaping into a ball.^T2
4. Grease or spray a large bowl with olive oil.  Place the dough in the bowl and move it around so all sides are covered in oil.  Cover with plastic wrap and put it in a warm area for about an hour or until it doubles in size. 
5. Place the dough a lightly floured surface and split it into two equal halves (or more if you are making thinner or smaller pies).  Wipe excess oil off and let sit for 10 minutes,
6. Freeze the portions you will not be baking within 24 hours.  Refrigerate the portions you will not be baking within 2 hours.
7. Pre-heat the oven to 400°F.
8. On a lightly floured surface, spread the dough into the shape of a pie.  Use a roller if it helps.  You can also toss the dough.^T3
9. Add whatever toppings and seasonings work for you.
10. Bake 14 to 16 minutes for larger pies; 10 to 12 minutes for smaller ones.  Watch what's happening in the oven and use your best judgement as to when to remove.
11. Enjoy!

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Original recipes via Food Network and Live Strong.

Techniques:
^T1 As written, this recipe assumes you have a standing mixer.  I do not recommend you buy one unless you either plan on making a lot of baked goods and/or bread or have the disposable income to pick one up without much care as they are expensive.  This does not mean that you cannot make this recipe without a standing mixer however.  In fact, my first year of making bread was done entirely without one.  It just takes more effort and time:

• Beating:  Usually this can be done either with a whisk or an electronic hand mixer.  Especially if using a whisk, disregard the timing provided as your manual hand beating will take more time to develop the mixture you are seeking.  Instead, beat until the mixture feels "right".  The goal here usually is to mix things to the point that there is consistency in the separation of the ingredients.
• Kneading:  This is best done by hand.  Watch this video if you are unfamiliar with how to do so.  As this recipe requires you to add flour while kneading, it is best that you knead for a bit, add a bit of flour (probably half of what the recipe calls for) and then knead some more before adding more.  Continue until the full amount of additional flour is added and then knead one last time before moving on. 

^T2 Even if you are using a standing mixer, this recipe will require you to knead the dough a bit by hand.  It's honestly not that difficult and you may even find it fun!

^T3 Check out this video for instructions on how to toss a pizza.

Zucchini Pizza Boats

Do you like pizza?  Of course you do.  So do I.  And while I could probably eat a traditional pizza everyday of the week, sometimes it's nice to mix things up a bit.  Not by foregoing pizza mind you, but by playing around with what a pizza can be.

So let's give Zucchini Pizza Boats a try!

I'll fully admit that this isn't for everyone, but I do recommend you give it a try at least once because you may be surprised at how tasty they are.  And if you have kids or a significant other who is less than prone to eat veggies, this is exactly the gateway dish you need to get them onboard.

On top of that, they are insanely easy to make.  Much easier (and quicker) than making pizza from scratch.  In fact, you could prep and bake these bad boys up in less time than it takes for delivery of an overpriced pizza from your local parlor.

Zucchini Pizza Boats Recipe:

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 12-20 minutes

Yield: 4 boats (2 servings)

Ingredients:

• 1 zucchini
• Pizza sauce
• Cheese (optional and any you'd normally put on a pizza)
• Toppings (optional and whatever you prefer)
• Seasonings (optional and whatever you prefer)*

* I have no paid sponsors and if I did, I'd make sure to disclose that.  That being said, I cannot make a pizza of any kind (even frozen) these days without topping it with some of Penzeys' Pizza Seasoning.  I haven't cracked the recipe just yet (and if I do, I will amend this), but it is made with salt, fennel seed, Turkish oregano, sugar, garlic, Tellicherry black pepper, sweet basil, onion, crushed red pepper, and cayenne red pepper.

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven at 400°F.
2. Cut your zucchini length-wise and in half, creating four boats.
3. Use a spoon or ice cream scoop to carve out a "pool" the inside of the boats.
   Note: You should leave a little bit of "wall" between your pool and the edge of the cut edge of the boat so that sauce does not spill out.
4. Fill the pool with pizza sauce.
5. Add whatever toppings, cheese, and seasoning you'd like.
6. Bake for 12 to 20 minutes.  The cooking time will depend on the size of the zucchini.  Generally speaking, you want the zucchini edges to brown only slightly at most and your cheese (should you add some) will melt like it would on a regular pizza.
7. Enjoy!

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Seriously, that's all it takes for a healthy and tasty pizza treat.  I cannot stress enough how good these are.  Again, even if you or those you are cooking for are normally not into vegetables, this is probably the exception to the rule.  For the purposes of this recipe I've stated that two boats equals a serving, but I could easily kill a half dozen of these on my own in one sitting because they are just that damn good.

Of course, they are just as many variations one could make of these as you would a traditional pizza.  And I'm not just talking about toppings.  Instead of pizza sauce, you could use scrambled eggs, top with bacon bits and pieces of ham and make a breakfast zucchini pizza boat.  Or maybe fill the pool with hummus for more of a Mediterranean kick.  Hit me up in the comments with your own take on this!

Pan Fried Cajun Chicken Nuggets

Here's a ridiculously simple recipe for a yummy meal you can make for yourself, you and a partner, or a group of friends who randomly show up at your home.

It is written for two people (or one hungry person), but is easily upscaled to however many you are feeding.  And it is so easy!  Really, the most difficult part is making sure you have enough defrosted chicken.

Speaking of which, I'm going to change up the order of things a bit and dive right into a technique that I'll probably post separately at some point:

Technique:
When you need to defrost frozen chicken (or for that matter, any frozen food), the best technique is to submerge it in cold water in a sink.  Be sure the food is covered by something waterproof, but also try to eliminate as many air pockets as possible.  Sometimes this is easy when your frozen food is air-locked sealed.  But if it isn't, just grab a bowl or something and fill it with water and place it on top of the food so it remains underwater.  Generally speaking, it should not take long to defrost that item.  For fish and slender pieces of meat, it only takes 15-20 minutes.  For thicker cuts of meat, maybe 30-40.  Just be sure to use cold or lukewarm water.  As crazy as it sounds, hot water will not defrost the food the way you want it to and will not speed up the process.

Alright, I'll probably do a whole post about that defrosting thing later on, but now that we got that out of the way, let's talk about makin' some cajun!  And specially, my Pan Fried Cajun Chicken Nuggets!

Don't those look good!

Before we start out, I must warn you that this recipe utilizes Volcano Todd's Cajun Seasoning so I hope that you've checked out how to make that, but I also hope that you realize that I like things hot so the default version of this recipe is perhaps a bit too much for most people, even though I consider it mild-to-medium.  I give some instruction below on how to adjust for taste, so don't fret if you don't like things too spicy.  That being said, there's no way you can make things without it being at least a little bit spicy, so if that isn't your bag, let me know in the comments and I'll be sure to share some alternatives.

With that disclaimer out of the way, why don't we get down to business?

Pan Fried Cajun Chicken Nuggets Recipe:

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 10-15 minutes

Yield: About 24 (2 servings)

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts*
• 1 Tbsp Volcano Todd's Cajun Seasoning**
• 3 Tbsp flour***
• Olive (or similar) oil spray****

* This recipe is written for roughly a pound and a half of chicken breast.  Upscale or downscale as needed.

** I like things hot.  My 1 to 3 ratio of cajun seasoning to flour is on my own personal spectrum "medium".  If you like things more mild, cut back a little on the seasoning and add a bit more flour.  If you like things spicier, add a bit more seasoning but do not cut back on the flour.  You may have some mixture left over, but you need the flour to act as an adhesive to the chicken.

*** Use whatever flour works for you.  In the picture above, I used garbanzo flour, but pretty much any type should work as long as it is finely cut.

**** I recommend using a spray here because it cuts down on the greasiness factor, but if you'd rather, feel free to pour a little oil on your pan or substitute with butter/margarine.  As I've written it, you should end up with fairly crisp nuggets with minimal oil, but if you like things a bit more charred and/or greasy, do what works for you.

Directions:

1. Cut up the chicken breasts into small pieces roughly no more than about an inch in size in any direction.
2. Mix the VT Cajun Seasoning and flour together and transfer to a quart sized plastic bag.
3. Four or five pieces at a time, drop the chicken into the bag and give it a good shake so that the chicken's surface is covered in the mixture.  Remove the pieces, place aside, and repeat until all pieces are adequately covered.
4. Spray a medium to large frying pan with oil and set over medium heat.
5. Place all of the chicken pieces on the frying pan so that they do not overlap.  Heat for about a minute or until the heated side is no longer "spongy" and the flour/seasoning mixture does not easily separate from the chicken.
6. Carefully flip all the pieces of chicken using prongs or a fork.  Wait another minute or so again.
7. Continue to cook and occasionally toss the chicken using a spatula until fully cooked.
8. Enjoy!

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I mentioned earlier that if you follow my suggested instructions the chicken will not be greasy nor oily.  But this does not mean it will be dry!  In fact, these nuggets are very moist and tender, though a slight crisp on the outside - which is how I love them!  So whether you're entertaining for one, two, or two dozen, I think these will work out great for all!

Give me a shout out if you've tried them and let me know what you think!

Volcano Todd's Cajun Seasoning

After a brief hiatus, I'm back with two posts!  Why two?  Well, the first one I need to get out of the way because it plays into many of my future recipes and specifically the second one I'll be posting this evening.  It's my own personal recipe for cajun seasoning.

I've always been a fan of cajun food and spicy stuff in general.  But rather than spend the extra money on someone else's cajun seasoning, I figured I'd try my hand at making my own at a fraction of the cost.  Plus, then you have all the left over ingredients to use individually should the need ever arise.

After some experimentation, a few years ago I found what I consider the best recipe for homemade cajun seasoning.  Be forewarn: it is hot.  That's how I like it.  As such, in any recipe you find here on Pyroclastic Eats that utilizes it, I'll offer my suggested amount for the true Volcano Todd experience.

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But if you find your tastes are a bit more delicate than my own, always know that you should season to taste and use less than what I suggest if you want a milder version.  Without further ado, here's how you make Volcano Todd's Cajun Seasoning.

Volcano Todd's Cajun Seasoning Recipe:

Preparation Time: 5 minutes or less

Yield: About 6 Tablespoons (2 2⁄3 cups)

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp + 2 tsp. white pepper
• 1 Tbsp + 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 2 tsp. dry mustard
• 2 1/2 tsp. red cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp. garlic powder
• 3/4 tsp. dried thyme

Directions:

1. Mix ingredients.
2. Enjoy!

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As I hope to demonstrate in many future posts, this seasoning is extremely versatile and can be added to practically anything you want to add some heat to.  Beef, poultry, pork, vegetables, soup, rice, stew, marinade... I'm even experimenting on incorporating it into alcoholic beverages.  For just one example, please check out my next post!

And as always, please comment with your own thoughts and comments.