We’ve been big pizza-eaters around here, lately, so the timing for this assignment couldn’t have been better!

To review, Michelle over at Big Black Dog, organized a group to bake from the book by Dr. Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe François, Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day.

Our assignment was to make a batch of the Whole Wheat Olive Oil Bread and make several things, including pizza!

This one’s oven-baked, as we don’t have an outdoor gas grill, just at the moment. Actually, it’s been a couple of years since we’ve had one. Sucks. I’ve always wanted to try grilling pizza, and it will happen, someday. But I digress.

This dough was pretty easy to work with, although I’m now in the habit of wearing disposable gloves when I do so. The instructions say to roll it out using flour to keep it from sticking, but I prefer good old corn meal for that purpose. Corn meal doesn’t get absorbed by the dough, therefore making it easier to move the dough disk around, and gives a nice, crispy bottom crust – a texture I’m fond of.

I baked this directly on the stone, loading it up with mozzarella cheese, raw spinach, and sliced tomatoes. I sprinkled some salt, pepper and garlic powder over the spinach leaves before placing the tomatoes, thereby getting both the spinach and tomatoes seasoned, without burning. The spinach cooks nicely, picking up moisture from both the cheese beneath it, and the tomatoes above it. Lastly, I sprinkled a little extra virgin olive oil on the top.

I’ll definitely make this again, trying to get the crust a bit thinner. If you’re not used to whole wheat pizza crust, the taste will kind of throw you off, initially. But after the first couple of bites – especially with delicious toppings – your palate will become accustomed pretty quickly.

It’s the Monday after Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday for you internet-savvy holiday shoppers. You’ve got two problems: You’ve got all this leftover turkey from last week, and you don’t have a lot of time to make supper tonight.

You know what? I’m with you. I’ve got at least 6 new posts in my head (one of which I actually started to write and never quite finished), and I’ve been baking cookies. And will continue to bake cookies for the foreseeable future.

The 12 Days of Cookies Project begins tomorrow (see that badge over there in the sidebar?), and that means that, beginning tomorrow, I’m going to be baking – and posting – a different cookie recipe from the 2008 Bon Appétit Holiday Cookie-a-Day collection, everyday from December 1st (yes, that’s tomorrow! can you believe it?!?) through December 12th, along with a bunch of other bloggers. At least I’m going to give it my best shot!

I’ve also got macarons (with feet!) due for Mac Tweets on December 10th, and a new bread for the Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day group due on December 15th. And oh, yeah. I’m expected to make regular appearances at my job, and get ready for Chanukah AND Christmas!

But no, you don’t care. You just want to know what to do with your leftover damn turkey. Well, you know what you’re getting? Reruns. Here are a few things from previous recipe posts to give you some ideas of what you can do with that turkey. And get your minds out of the gutter, thankyewverymuch!

The first suggestion that comes to mind is our favorite Chipotle Chicken Pizza. Simply substitute
1 1/2 – 2 cups of cooked, cut-up turkey for the chicken.

Give your leftovers an Indian flavor and try a modified version of American Chicken Curry Masala. Instead of the chicken, season approximately 3 cups of cooked turkey, saute for just a couple of minutes, and proceed with the recipe as indicated.

And here’s one that requires no modifications at all -Turkey Taco Salad!

Don’t forget – you can also slip some of that leftover turkey into your favorite pasta (try it with Roasted Garlic Spinach Pasta), or even in your favorite lasagna!

There! Are you happy now? Don’t forget to stop by tomorrow for the first installment of The 12 Days of Cookies!

Awhile back, MJ was scouring the internet looking for hummus recipes, and found a good one at Cook’s Illustrated‘s website (which we, of course, tinkered with further to our own taste). Enroute to this destination, however, he also ran across a recipe for Hummus Pizza at Recipezaar.com. He badgered me for a week: “I need you to make me some pizza dough.” I procrastinated, thinking, “Really? Hot hummus?” “When are you going to make me some pizza dough?” I made the pizza dough, already.

MJ made the hummus and the caramelized onions and I roasted the red peppers and made the pizza. We’ve made this on store-bought crust and with jarred red peppers, as well, with good results, so if you don’t want to stand there forEVER, blackening a bell pepper over an open flame, peeling, seeding, etc., feel free to buy a jar. And of course, buying one of those shelf-stable pizza crust thingies is a huge time-saver, although I just make a large batch in my mixer, divide it into 4 pieces, and freeze what I’m not going to use right away.

The source recipe called for caramelizing 3 red onions. This yielded more onions than you can possibly put on one pizza, so we cut it down to 1. We also doubled the balsamic vinegar and added a pinch of salt and put the crushed rosemary in the onions, rather than sprinkled on the pizza. We also used nearly double the amount of hummus, because, well, we’re just like that.

We’ve made this several times, and it was consistently delicious each and every time. Try it!

Hummus Pizza

Ingredients:

One pizza crust (store-bought or homemade) – approx. 12″

1-1/2 to 2 cups of your favorite hummus

1 roasted red bell pepper, sliced into strips

1 large red onion, sliced thinly

4 Tbs. balsamic vinegar

pinch salt

1 tsp. dried rosemary leaves, crushed (optional)

Approx. 1 Tbs. olive oil to drizzle over the top (optional)

For the Onions:

Put the onions in a medium, non-stick pan, along with the balsamic vinegar and rosemary. Heat over medium-high, stirring occasionally, until the onions begin to soften. Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook until the onions have softened completely, and have taken on a sticky glaze.

You can do this part several days in advance and refrigerate the onions until needed.

For the Pizza:

Preheat the oven to 475º. If using a pizza stone, heat it up with the oven; if not, make sure your rack is in the lowest position.

Lay out your prepared pizza base or roll out your dough over a generous scattering of corn meal. Transfer to a peel or pan.

Spread the hummus generously and evenly over the pizza dough. Top with the caramelized onions and the red pepper strips. Drizzle a bit of olive oil over the top, if using.

Bake for 12 – 15 minutes.

Slice and enjoy!

Click here to see the recipe from which we adapted this. It’s a good jumping-off point to explore some other flavor combinations you might like.

Continuing my love affair with chipotle chili anything, and looking for a quick, easy, and inexpensive weeknight supper, I bring you the humble pizza.

I love making pizza at home. You can slap pretty much anything you like on a pizza crust, and you’ve got a meal that appeals to everyone! And when you make your own pizza, you’ve got control over the fat, calories and every ingredient.

Who says it has to be Italian, anyway? Coming soon: Hummus Pizza. Really. You will love it.

Chipotle Chicken Pizza

1 12″ pizza crust (either homemade or store-bought)

2 Tbs. olive oil or grapeseed oil

1 medium onion, sliced in half-rings

2-3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped

1 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. chipotle chili powder, or to taste

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

1 large (about 10 oz.) boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into small pieces

1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes

Several pinches of dried cilantro

Optional: 1/4 cup shredded cheese (cheddar, jack, or mozzarella)

Preheat oven to 450º F.

Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large, non-stick skillet. Add the onions, garlic, and salt. Reduce heat to medium and sauteé until onions are soft. Add the chili powder, cumin, and pepper, stir, and cook for an additional minute.

Add the chicken, stir to combine, and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the chicken pieces are white. Pour in the tomatoes and their liquid, stir.

Turn up the heat to medium-high, and cook until the liquid is reduced to a thick sauce, about 10 minutes.

Spread the chicken mixture over the prepared pizza crust, sprinkle with dried cilantro. Top with cheese, if using. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Notes:

Using a pizza/baking stone will enhance the flavor and give you a nice, crispy crust. If you don’t have a pizza stone, you can bake this directly on the oven rack, placed in the lowest position. Alternatively, you can use a baking sheet.

I didn’t use cheese because I have a kosher kitchen and therefore don’t mix meat with dairy in my home. Ultimately, MJ said he missed the melty, stretchy fun of the cheese that makes it pizza. I liked the flavors and textures, as is. Your choice.

Enjoy!