BBQ Chicken Pizza

I'm not a Sandra Lee fan as most of her recipes call for 70% canned or store bought ingredients and only 30% fresh ingredients, but at times some of her recipes do save many cooks a lot of time. So what I did here is we took part of her BBQ chicken pizza recipe but we raised up a notch by making our own dough and grilling our chicken. Yes, this definitely is not a Semi-Homemade recipe, but give it a try because homemade pizza dough is so good and this pizza was super cheesy and gooey!

INGREDIENTS

Pizza Dough

• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 cup warm water (110 to 115° F)
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt

BBQ Chicken

• 1/2 pound chicken tenders
• 1 Tablespoon Butt Rub
• 2/3 cup barbecue sauce (we used Sweet Baby Ray's Original BBQ Sauce)

Pizza

• 3/4 cup shredded Smoked Gouda
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella
• 3/4 cup shredded Parmesan
• Grilled chicken, cut into 1" pieces
• 1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

DIRECTIONS

Make the dough: In a small bowl, dissolve the honey in the warm water. Sprinkle the yeast over the water and stir until it dissolves. Let the yeast mixture stand for 5 minutes, until a layer of foam forms on the surface.

In a large bowl, combine the flour and the salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour the olive oil and the yeast mixture. Stir the flour into the wet ingredients, until all the flour is incorporated. If its too dry, add more water in tablespoon increments.

On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for 15 minutes, until it is smooth and elastic. Shape the dough into a ball and put in in a well-oiled bowl. Cover with a moist towel and let rise in a warm place until double in bulk (about 45 minutes).

After about 45 minutes the dough should have about doubled in size. Show it who's boss and punch it down. That's right, give it a good smack so it deflates. Let it rise for another hour to an hour and a half. The dough is now ready to be rolled out

About 15 minutes before baking, pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees F.

For the Chicken: sprinkle the Butt Rub (or your favorite grill rub) over the chicken. Heat your grill on medium-high for direct heat grilling. Grill chicken pieces, about 5 minutes per side.

About one minute before you remove chicken from grill, brush two tablespoons of the bbq sauce over chicken. Set chicken aside to cool and chip into 1" bite-sized pieces.

For the Pizza: Punch the dough down, and roll out into a 16 inch flat circle. Spread remaining barbecue sauce evenly over pizza dough. Sprinkle smoked Gouda, 1/2 cup mozzarella, and Parmesan. Next spread the onions and chicken pieces and top with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until cheese bubbles. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and cut into pieces.

Best BBQ Beans Ever

[REPOST] As you may have noticed, I haven't posted many recipes lately and that's because Matt and I have had a steady stream of visitors lately. So, we've been entertaining out-of-town guests and I haven't been doing much cooking lately--but Matt has been doing quite of bit of grilling since our weather here is warming up nicely.

When it comes to grilling I always think of beans as a side dish, but not just any beans...BBQ beans! This is a recipe I tweaked from Steven Raichlen. He makes his beans over a grill and adds wood chips to a smoker box to give it a smoky flavor. I, on the other hand, added smoked bacon and liquid smoke to my crock-pot beans to give it that "outdoorsy" taste. These beans are simply fabulous and a sure hit at any BBQ.

INGREDIENTS (feeds about 14 people)

• 1 pound smoked bacon cut into 2" pieces
• 1 can (15 ounces) black beans
• 1 can (15 ounces) dark red kidney beans
• 3 cans (each 15 ounces) baked beans or pork and beans
• 1 large sweet onion, finely chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and finely chopped
• 1 poblano pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and diced (for hotter beans, leave the seeds in)
• 1 Anaheim pepper, seeded and diced
• 2 cups sweet red barbecue sauce (your favorite commercial brand)
• 1-1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons liquid smoke (optional)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Place the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat and fry until crisp and golden brown, about 5 minutes. Pour off all the bacon fat, saving two tablespoons for the beans.
2. Empty the cans of black and kidney beans into a colander and drain. Rinse the beans under cold running water and drain again. Place all the beans (including the baked beans or pork and beans) in your Crock Pot and add the onion, bell and poblano peppers, garlic, and jalapeños and Anaheim peppers and stir to mix.
3. Add the barbecue sauce, brown sugar, mustard, liquid smoke, if using, and fried bacon and stir to mix. Taste for seasoning, adding more brown sugar and/or mustard as necessary, and add salt and black pepper; the beans should be very flavorful.
4. Place the lid on your Crock pot and set it to "High." The beans will be ready in about 4 hours. If you're cooking them over the stove top, simmer them for 1-1/2 to 2 hours, stirrings once in a while. Add the reserved bacon grease (if using) to the beans about 10 minutes before serving and stir well. Your beans will be perfect!

Recipe slightly modified from Steven Raichlen's BBQU.NET

Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers

My sister-in-law Lindsey, or SILLi as I like to call her, made some fabulous jalapeño poppers last week. Her dad, Dave Baggs, came up with the idea of stuffing cream cheese into jalapeños, wrapping them with bacon, then grilling them. Now, anyone that comes up with recipes where bacon is a key ingredient is my personal hero. So, I copied the Baggs recipe, although I did embellish it a little with shredded cheese and cilantro. But you can leave that out and just use cream cheese. Either way you do it, these poppers will blow you head away...or just make you hot for a little while.

INGREDIENTS

• 12 jalapeño peppers
• 1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 tsp. fresh cilantro, minced
• Pinch Salt and pepper
• 1 lb. sliced bacon
• 24 toothpicks

DIRECTIONS

Soak toothpicks in cold water. The longer the better but at least 1 hour.

Cut a slice lengthwise in the jalapeño to make enough space to remove seeds. Make sure not to split the pepper all the way through when you do this. Remove seeds and ribs and wash jalapeño with cold water. It's a good idea to wear gloves during this step, especially if you have sensitive skin.

Mix cream cheese, shredded cheddar, cilantro and salt and pepper in a separate bowl. Put cream cheese mixture inside a plastic baggie and cut a small slit on one corner of baggie (you're making a MacGyvered pastry bag). Squeeze mixture from baggie into jalapenos.

Wrap bacon in a spiral fashion around stuffed pepper and secure with a couple of toothpicks. Grill the popper until the bacon is cooked, about 20 to 30 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes before serving. I'm pretty sure MacGyver would love these!

Aragorn's Grilled Steak

Have you ever wondered what Lord Aragorn ate at his coronation party after he was crowned King Elessar? (If you have no idea what character I'm talking about, then you better go to the library). Perhaps they served lots of boiled potatoes and all sort of meats, and an assortment of good weeds to smoke. However, I'm thinking that Aragorn was more of an "cook over an open fire" type of guy, don't you think? And I'm pretty sure he would be impressed with this grilled steak recipe. Perhaps even the Prancing Pony would have it in their menu! Don't forget to serve it with a huge pint of ale, lads!

INGREDIENTS (Serves 4 normal Hobbits or 2 hungry Orcs!)

Grilling Method: Combo/Medium Heat

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 2 shallots minced, soaked in Jack Daniels
• 3 teaspoons minced parsley
• ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 3 teaspoons Jack Daniels
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• White pepper to taste
• 2 Bone-in ribeye steaks, about 1 pound each and at least 1-inch thick
• Olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground pepper, optional
• Parsley, chopped for garnish

DIRECTIONS

Make Butter at least 3 hours in advance. Combine butter, shallot, parsley, Worcestershire, mustard, Jack Daniels, salt and pepper. Mix well. On a piece of Saran Wrap, drop butter in spoonfuls to form a log. Roll butter in plastic wrap and smooth out to form a round log. Refrigerate until hard and easy to cut into pieces.

Preheat grill or build a charcoal fire. While the grill is preheating, allow meat to come to room temperature about 20 minutes before grilling. Wrap meat in paper towels to get rid of excess moisture. Just before grilling, brush both sides of the steaks with oil and season with salt and pepper.

Place steaks directly over Medium High heat for about 5 minutes. Turn steaks and continue cooking for about 8 more minutes for medium rare, or 10 - 12 for medium. Remove the steaks from the grill and allow to rest at least 5 minutes but no longer than 10 before serving.

Cut the cold compound butter into four generous slices. Serve the steaks warm with the butter. Garnish with chopped parsley, if desired.

Restaurant Review: The Bailey Wood Pit Barbecue

The Bailey Wood Pit Barbecue 2307 Main Street Julian, CA 92036 (760) 765-3757

Julian, California is a small, mountain town 90 minutes east of San Diego. The town still has historic buildings dating back to the pioneer days when gold was discovered in the area in 1870. Today, Julian is more famous for its apples and delicious apple pies. There are many restaurants, antique stores, country shops, plenty of apple pie vendors and a couple of wineries in the area. Julian is also known for its nearby hiking. One thing to keep in mind is that the drive to Julian is scenic and a bit woozy at times; the roads are very windy and are only two lane highways.

Our family usually takes a trip to Julian in November or December when it begins to snow. Yes, you heard right, it snows in San Diego County. Unfortunately, we're having an Indian Summer this year and the temperature today was in the 70's. The main reason we visit Julian is for the apple pies. On our trip today we bought our apple pie from the most famous pie vendor in Julian, Mom's Pies, and we stoped at The Bailey Wood Pit Barbecue for dinner.

The Baileys Wood Pit serves Texas style barbecue. On the menu are wood smoked meats such as port ribs, pulled pork, chicken and Louisina sausage, along with cole slaw, beans, and potato salad. They also serve homemade biscuits, pies, beer, wine, cocktails, and apple cider. One can really taste the smokey wood flavor in the meat, but it's not overwhelming. The sauce is vinegar-based and is tangy and semi-sweet. My mom had the chicken, which she really liked. My sister had the ribs and she gave it a thumbs up and my husband and I both had the pulled pork. We all thought the BBQ meats were quite good, but their sides were, at best, good to take home to your dog. The cole slaw was good, but the beans and potato salad were not palpable. The homemade buiscuits were huge, but they were drier than week-old bread that was laid out on the hot sun!

Your best bet is their special, which is a half-sandwich with your choice of BBQ meat and a cup of soup ($6.95). The BBQ plate is also good, but definitely pass on the beans or the potato salad ($12). Their apple cider is not to be missed either. I think that the cold cider is a bit better than the hot cider ($3). For you adventurous people, you can also get a mug of hot cider with a shot of Morgan's Spiced Rum ($5).

All in all, this was an okay place to eat. The joint has that hometown, country feel with bench tables and outdoor dining. The service wasn't the greatest, but I think that's because the median age of the waitstaff was 18. The main reason we chose this place to eat was because it had the shortest wait time and that's because Saturday and Sunday's are Julian's busiest days. So if you take a trip to Julian, make sure you don't miss Mom's Pies and check out the nearby wineries. If you're truly, truly hungry for barbecue, stop at The Baileys Wood Pit. It's inexpensive and some of their menu items are pretty good.