Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2 (11 page)

1. Make the pizza dough by dissolving yeast and granulated sugar in ¾ cup warm water in a small bowl or glass measuring cup. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes or until it gets foamy on top.

2. Combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a depression in the flour and pour the yeast mixture and oil into it. Stir the liquid gradually drawing more flour into it, until you can form the dough into a ball. Use your hands to knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 10 minutes, or until the texture of the dough is smooth. Coat dough with oil, cover it and let it sit in a warm spot for 1 to 2 hours or until it doubles in size. Punch down the dough, cover it again and let it sit overnight in your fridge.

3. You can also make the sauce a day ahead by combining all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Simmer over medium/low heat for 7 minutes. Puree cooled sauce in a blender for 10 seconds, then cover it and let it chill out in the fridge.

4. When it gets close to pizza time, remove the dough from the refrigerator. It needs to warm up for about 2 hours before you use it. Also, place a pizza stone in your oven and crank the temperature up to 500 degrees.

5. Combine all of the ingredients for the jerk seasoning. Cover chicken breasts and pound them to about ½-inch thick with a kitchen mallet. Spray chicken liberally with olive oil cooking spray (or rub with olive oil), then sprinkle on some seasoning. Grill chicken on a preheated grill for 3 to 4 minutes per side or until done. You can also saute chicken in a skillet on your stove for 4 to 5 minutes per side or until done. Cool and chop into ½-inch cubes.

6. Roast red bell peppers by setting them directly over a high flame on a gas stove. Turn the peppers as the skin chars black, then plunge them into ice water and remove the blackened skin. If you don’t have a gas stove, you can also roast the peppers on a baking sheet in a 450-degree preheated oven for 45 minutes or until skin is charred, then peel the skin off in cold water. Dice about 2 tablespoons of each pepper for each pizza. Seal the rest of the roasted pepper and refrigerate. It will keep for about two days.

7. Assemble each pizza by dividing the dough in half and rolling one half into a 10-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Place the dough onto a pizza pan or a pizza peel that will be used to slide the dough onto the hot pizza stone. Be sure to flour the pan or pizza peel liberally with flour so that the assembled pizza will slide off easily.

8. Spray the pizza dough with a generous amount of olive oil spray. Spoon 3 to 4 tablespoons of sauce onto the dough, followed by I cup of shredded mozzarella. Sprinkle I cup of diced chicken on next, followed by ¼ cup of the cooked bacon. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of diced roasted red bell pepper and 2 tablespoons of diced roasted yellow bell pepper on the pizza. Sprinkle ¼ cup of thinly sliced onion on next, followed by just a couple tablespoons of additional mozzarella. Slide the pizza onto the pizza stone and bake for 9 to 10 minutes or until the cheese and crust begins to brown. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon chopped green onion.

9. Slice pizza into 8 pieces and serve. Repeat for remaining pizza.

1 tablespoon minced fresh basil
I tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
I tablespoon minced fresh garlic
I teaspoon dried thyme
I teaspoon dried oregano
I teaspoon ground black pepper
(freshly ground is best)
½ teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
½ teaspoon ground sea salt or
kosher salt
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper

 

½ teaspoon olive oil
⅛ teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1. Combine all the ingredients, except oil and lemon juice in a small food processor or coffee bean grinder Chop briefly until all ingredients are about the same size.

2. Stir in oil and lemon juice.

3. To serve, combine about 1 teaspoon blend to 3 to 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil on a small dish. Dip sliced bread in mixture.

½ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup buttermilk
1½ teaspoons minced garlic
½ teaspoon minced fresh parsley
½ teaspoon lemon juice

MARSALA SAUCE

⅓ cup butter
1 slice prosciutto, diced
2 teaspoons minced shallots
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 4-ounce cans sliced mushrooms
(drained)
¼ cup Marsala wine
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup chicken broth
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon minced fresh parsley
2 tablespoons heavy cream

CHICKEN SEASONING

1¼ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon dried parsley
¼ teaspoon marjoram
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon onion powder
4 skinless chicken breasts fillets
olive oil

1. Melt butter over low heat in a medium saucepan.

2. Turn heat up to medium/high to saute the prosciutto in the melted butter for about 2 to 3 minutes (be careful not to burn the butter). Add shallots and garlic and saute for about 30 seconds. Add Marsala wine, simmer for another 30 seconds or so, then add drained mushrooms and black pepper Simmer over medium/high heat for 5 minutes.

3. Dissolve cornstarch in chicken broth. Add broth to the saucepan and simmer for an additional 5 minutes.

4. Add parsley and cream to the sauce and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes or until thick. Remove pan from the heat, then cover it until needed.

5. Preheat barbecue grill on high heat. Combine ingredients for chicken seasoning in a small bowl. Use your thumb and fingers to crush the herbs and spices in the bowl to make a finer blend.

6. Wrap each chicken breast in plastic wrap and pound with a kitchen mallet until uniform in thickness. Brush each chicken breast generously with olive oil. Sprinkle seasoning blend over both sides of each chicken breast and grill for 6 to 8 minutes per side or until done. Give chicken a one-quarter turn on each side while cooking to make criss-cross grill marks.

7. Serve entree by arranging each chicken breast on a plate. Spoon one quarter of the Marsala sauce over each serving of chicken and dig in.