Kung Pao Chicken Pizza

Kung Pao Chicken Pizza

This pizza is at least a little out of the ordinary from the typical fare you can get at pizza places. This photo I took won a Food Network Cooking Club Challenge for a month based on this pizza that was on an episode of You Gotta Eat Here.

ingredients:

dough
chicken
red pepper
pineapple
mozzarella cheese
red onion
green onion
tomato sauce

directions:

pizza dough:

1. Fill a mixing bowl with 1-1 and 1/4 cups of warm water in a bowl.

2. Add 1 tbsp of active dry yeast. Add 1 tbsp of brown sugar, or white sugar if you feel the yeast is old. It will help activate the yeast and give it something to "eat". Let stand for about 10 minutes until white frothy bubbles are on top. Add in 1 tbsp of oil (though probably optional) and 1/2-1 tsp of salt.

3. Mix in 3 cups of flour. You can add more flour if its too sticky. Kneed dough on a flat surface covered with flour. Add more flour to the surface as needed. Maybe kneed for at least 10-15 minutes. Until the dough no longer sticks together on your hand.

4. Form the dough into a ball and coat with olive oil. Put in a covered container in a warm place. Warm is key. I sometimes run the oven for a little while, and then turn the oven off and put it in a pot. Let it sit for at least one hour. Two hours works too. The Longer the better. The dough should double in size.

5. Punch the dough, and cut in half. This pizza recipe will make two pizzas.

6. Oil a pizza pan with butter or margarine. And dust it with cornmeal. The cornmeal will adhere to the grease. And then spread out the dough on the pan.

7. Layer pizza sauce (or you could take tomato paste, add some water, salt, herbs if you want). Top with mozzarella cheese. Then add diced red pepper, red onion, pineapple, and the kung pao chicken (recipe bellow)

8. Cook pizza in the oven at 400 F for 20-30 minutes. Whenever the pizza starts to get that golden brown colour.

kung pao chicken:

Take any cut of deboned chicken and marinate in something spicy (cayenne, or sriracha sauce), soy sauce, garlic, white wine or rice vinegar. About 1 tbsp each. After marinating cook chicken in a frying pan. You can add cornstarch to the sauce to think it a little and help it adhere to the chicken.

Lobster Flatbread

Lobster Flatbread

ingredients

1 lobster tail
handful of basil
1/2 red pepper
a pile of shredded mozzarella cheese
parmigiano-reggiano cheese
olive oil
salt
pepper
flatbreads (store bought) or you could make your own dough

directions

1. If your lobster tail isn't cooked, cook it, and then chop it into bit size pieces that would be appropriate on a pizza.

2. Dice some red pepper and basil to also put on the pizza.

3. Take your store bought flatbreads (which are quite the convenience) and drizzle them with olive oil, and sprinkle them with salt and pepper.

2. Top flatbread with shredded mozzarella cheese. Then your chopped lobster, red pepper, and basil. Sprinkle with parmigiano-reggiano cheese if you have it.

5. Put in the oven at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Chickpea Sweet Potato Cauliflower Kale Curry on Cauliflower Rice

Chickpea Sweet Potato Cauliflower Kale Curry on Cauliflower Rice

This coconut curry was delicious! It was the first time I added sweet potato to a curry and I think it turned out very well. By getting some of the sweetness from the onion and sweet potato, I found I had to add less sugar to the curry itself (as I like mine a little sweet pared with the coconut). The cauliflower rice was an idea I got from Jamie Oliver.

ingredients

1 can chickpeas
1 can coconut milk
1 onion
1 sweet potato
1/4-1/3 cauliflower
A handful of kale
1 tbsp of curry powder of paste
1 tbsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 turmeric (mostly for colour)
1/2 coriander
1/2 brown sugar
1-2 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp salt

directions

1. Start by prepping all your ingredients by chopping the sweet potato into chunks, dicing the onion, slicing the kale into thing strips, and opening your cans of chickpeas and coconut.

2. Begin cooking by frying your onions in some kind of flavourless oil until they are translucent. You can then add in your spices and garlic. Cook them for a 1-2 minutes to reinvigorate them.

3. Toss in your sweet potato, chickpeas and cauliflower as they will take longer to cook than the kale. Then add in your coconut milk (including most of the liquid if you want it a little soupy, if not try to use most of just the creamy parts) and any spices you haven't already added.

4. At this point things will need to cook for a while. Maybe 10-15 minutes. But this is the most important part because you need to taste the sauce of your curry. You want to find a nice balance. It needs enough salt, sweetness, and heat to really work.

5. After the sauce is tasting good and it has cooked down a bit and your vegetables are cooked through. Add in your kale. This should cook through in a few minutes.

6. Serve with rice or quinoa. Or you can blend some cauliflower in a food process until its the shape of rice. Steam it. And perhaps lightly salt it with a fine salt.

Sweet Potato, Kale and Chorizo Hash With Fried Eggs

Sweet Potato, Kale and Chorizo Hash

This hash has the perfect combination of salty, sweet and smokiness. It works for a breakfast, lunch or dinner. The plus is it's easy to make, and the hash is also good as leftovers. My girlfriend has made me a hash like this without chorizo, so I decided to kick it up a notch. But if you don't have chorizo or want to make it vegetarian, omit it.

ingredients:

1/2 a chorizo cut into cubes
A handful of kale sliced/chopped thinly
1 sweet potato cubed
1/2 onion diced
1/4 tsp of cayenne
pepper
salt
garlic or garlic powder (optional)

directions:

1. Fry onions in a frying pan on low until they get translucent, or slightly yellow in colour.

2. Add in your chopped chorizo, and mix it with the onions, and let it cook and play for a few minutes

3. Stir in your sweet potato to the mix, and add your spices (cayenne, salt, pepper)

4. Occasionally turn and move around the whole works with a wooden spoon or spatula. You want to try to get a little bit of brown and crispyness on your sweet potato.

5. Once the potatoes are cooked through and have a bit of colour to them. Toss in your kale to cook for the last 1-2 minutes. It won't take long.

6. Eat with fried eggs if you have them!

The Nut Job

Today 'The Nut Job' comes out! This blog will usually be about food, but I thought I'd share this release as I've worked on it for 1.5 years. I was responsible for some of the surfacing and texturing. (the colours and surface qualities) I hope people out there, especially the kids, enjoy it! Please go see it if you have the time.

Curried Red Lentil Dhal

Curried Red Lentil Dhal

Made this recipe off a red lentil dhal recipe of Michael Smith's. It is easy, delicious, and healthy. What a great way to make lentils. If you eat it with some basmati rice, it is a full meal with everything that your body needs. Eat it with some cilantro and chopped red onion for some freshness and crunch!

ingredients:

1 cup red lentils
3 cups water
1 tbsp fresh ginger
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 cup butter

1 onion

handful of cilantro
1 tbsp spoon brown sugar (optional)

1/2 tsp of salt
basmati rice

directions:

1. Cook basmati rice in a pot, or rice cooker. Follow the directions on the package of your rice. Mine is usually 1 part rice, 2 parts water, a little salt, and 8-10 minutes simmering.

2. Put butter into a medium sized pot, and melt it down. Toss in one chopped onion and cook the onion down so it starts to caramelize. This will help add sweetness to your dhal. Stir in your spices (cumin, curry powder, cayenne, etc) in with your onions and cook for 2-3 minutes. This will reinvigorate your spices. Add the lentils, water and ginger to the pot. Add brown sugar if you like a touch of sweetness, but don't add it if you want to make it a little healthier.

3. Bring the pot to a full boil, and then reduce heat to medium to maintain a simmer. Continue cooking for about 10 minutes until lentils are soft.

4. Spoon lentils over rice. Garnish with cilantro and red onion if you wish.

Warm Chicken and Pineapple Salad

Warm Chicken and Pineapple Salad

This was inspired by a Michael Smith recipe. It was delicious. I cooked all the elements in a cast iron pan, as I don't have a grill. Chicken breast, pineapple, orange bell pepper, red onion, snap peas, cilantro... with some oil and a bit of salt. Fantastic. All that great caramelized flavour is what it's all about.

ingredients:

chicken breast (or thigh would work)
fresh pineapple (sliced)
orange peppers
red onion

cilantro

directions:

1. Cut a whole pineapple in slices, or buy pineapple sliced into rings. Chop your pepper into fairly sizable chunks, as we will grill or fry it, and de-seed. Cut red onion into thick slices, maybe 1 inch thick.

2. Take the chicken, pineapple, peppers, and red onion and grill all at the same time. Or do them in a cast iron pan if you don't have a grill. Flip them all so they cook on both sides. They will all cook at different rates. The onion and peppers should get done first. While the pineapple and chicken will take longer.

3. Once everything is off, and a little cooled down, chop them into smaller bit size pieces. Almost like a stir-fry. And mix together in a bowl. Add in some chopped cilantro and toss. This recipe doesn't even need any dressing because the juices from everything should be enough. You could add a little salt or pepper maybe if you choose. But I like the freshness of just these grilled veggies and fruit complemented with the chicken.

Coconut Milk French Toast with Homemade Brioche Bread

Coconut Milk French Toast

I had always wanted to try French Toast with coconut milk, and you know what? It was so good! I also made the brioche bread specifically for making the french toast. Of course you could use any bread, and store bought bread might work even better. I was just taking the time to experiment.

ingredients:

4 pieces of bread
1 can coconut milk
3 eggs
1/4 tsp cinnamon or nut meg
1 tsp of sugar
maple syrup

directions:

1. Break 3 eggs and add to a bowl or flat pan that is a little deep. The wider the dish the better because you are eventually gonna sit the bread in it. But you can still do all the mixing in a bowl. Add 1 can of coconut milk. Then add your spices (cinammon and nut meg to your liking), 1 tsp of sugar. And then beat the mixture well so it all combines.

2. Dip in bread and cover the bread and let it soak up the egg mixture. If the bread is thicker and denser it may need to sit for a while to soak it up. If it's softer and not to thick, it may not have to sit for more than a minute.

3. Fry eggy bread in a frying pan with your choice of grease. So that it doesn't stick. Maybe a few minutes each side. Depends how hot your pan is. But peel up the bread to see how it's doing and flip when you get a brown golden crust.

4. Top with maple syrup. And if you really want to kick it up a notch, top with some chopped pecans as well.

Orange Spicy Ribs with Brussels Sprouts and Potato Salad

Orange Spicy Ribs with Brussels Sprouts and Potato Salad

This rib recipe is great because it doesn't require a BBQ or Grill. So for those who live in an apartment, or don't have access to either of those things you can make these in the oven! The high heat of 500 degrees helps break them down and make them extra tender. And all of the water in the dish will help to keep them moist. Just broil them with sauce after to get the char and colour you will want.

ingredients:

1 rack of pork ribs
3 inch piece of ginger

4 tablespoons canola oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup soy sauce

4 cups water

ketchup
soy sauce
orange and zest
1-2 cloves of garlic
brown sugar
white wine vinegar
ginger

directions:

1. Brush ribs with oil, or smear around with your hands. And then sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides. Fill a large casserole dish or pan with 4 cups water, 1 cup soy sauce, pieces of sliced ginger, and maybe some oranges if you have it.

2. Cover dish with ribs with tin foil and put in an oven at 500 F degrees for 1.5 hour. The high heat will help break down the ribs and make them tender.

3. Remove the ribs from the oven, and brush with your favourite BBQ. If you make a homemade sauce yourself it will be even better. (see below).

4. Put ribs in oven until broil for 5 minutes or so to give some colour and char to the ribs. Serve the racks in chunks, or cut into individual pieces. (let it stand before slicing)

sauce:

In a small pot, combine ketchup, garlic, soy sauce, orange zest and juice, ginger, brown sugar, and white wine vinegar and cook down until it looks thicker and saucier. When combining the ingredients you want to have a good balance between sweet, sour, salty, tangy... the orange will make it extra special, and the ginger will add some spice to it.

Poached Pears with Caramel Sauce and Chopped Pistachios

I made the caramel sauce myself... super easy! The pears totally turned into a vehicle for the rest of the stuff... but oh well