Breakfast Pizza

Breakfast Pizza

 

Breakfast pizza recipes can be found all over the internet.  They have a sort of siren song.  There is something about taking one of our favorite foods, pizza, and making it a breakfast food that feels fun and just a little rebellious.  Of course, it doesn’t hurt that they are completely delicious.  Cheese, bacon or sausage, and a chewy crust, all topped with an egg that is baked until it is just set… sounds like breakfast nirvana to me. 

Mmm, butter

 

You can imagine how intrigued we were when we came across a breakfast pizza recipe with a bit of a twist.  Instead of using a traditional pizza dough as the base, this recipe called for a biscuit dough to serve as the crust.  I have to admit, I was a little skeptical.  I was afraid that the biscuit would be too heavy or that the top of the pizza would be cooked before the biscuit crust was properly browned and crisp. 

Waiting crusts

 

Thankfully, Marc was not afraid and convinced me to try it.  Not only were my fears about the biscuit crust unfounded, it was actually one of the most delicious breakfast pizzas I have ever had.  The crust was superb.  Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside.  The flavor of the biscuit complemented the cheese, sausage, and of course, the egg.  I encourage you to put aside your skepticism and make these pizzas for breakfast this weekend.  You will be very glad you did. 

Who's hungry?

 

Breakfast Pizza 

Adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook 

Ingredients: 

For the crust 

2 cups all-purpose flour 

2 tsp baking powder 

1 tsp salt 

1 stick (8 tbls) cold butter, cut into small pieces 

1/2 cup plus 2 tbls milk 

For the toppings 

1 tbls butter 

1 medium onion, sliced into half moons 

1/2 pound bulk sausage, bacon, or ham 

1 to 1 1/2 cups finely grated cheese (a blend of cheddar and monterey or colby jack works nicely but feel free to use whatever you have on hand) 

4 large eggs 

To Make: 

Put your oven racks in the upper and lower third of the oven.  Preheat to 450 degrees.  Butter two baking sheets. 

Cook your sausage or bacon until cooked through.  If using bacon, coarsely chop into small pieces.  Set aside. 

In a medium skillet, melt the butter over medium-low heat.  Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and caramelized, about 15 minutes. 

Meanwhile, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.  Blend in the butter with your fingers or with a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse meal.  Add the milk and stir just until the mixture forms a dough.  Gather the dough into a ball and gently knead it six times on a lightly floured baking sheet.  Divide the dough into 4 equal portions.  Pat each portion into a round that is between 1/4-1/2 inch thick.  Using your fingers, create a rim around the edge of each crust.  

Top each crust with onion, meat, and cheese.  Make a little well in the cheese and carefully crack an egg into the middle of each pizza. 

Bake pizzas, switching positions of the sheets half way through, until the yolks are almost set, about 12-15 minutes.  If you want firmer yolks, feel free to add another minute or two to the cooking time. 

To Serve: 

Sprinkle the egg with salt and pepper and serve immediately.  Your family will thank you.  Serves 4.

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Chicken Stewed in Coconut Milk (Kuku Wa Nazi)

Chicken Stewed in Coconut Milk

Things have been pretty busy over here at chez Wicked (awesome) Whisk.  Consequently we have been falling back on our standard repertoire of grilled or roasted meats served alongside rice / quinoa and a vegetable.  This does not exactly make for exciting blog fare.  Lately, the monotony has been getting us down and we are working on reinvigorating our meals, starting with this dish.

Chicken, spices, and coconut milk

According to Saveur, this recipe comes from a home cook in Mombasa and includes an ingredient that I feel is widely underutilized in American cooking, coconut milk.  Coconut milk is one of those inexpensive ingredients that when used, makes you feel like you are suddenly cooking in any number of exotic locales.  It is wonderfully fragrant and has a light taste that pairs beautifully with chiles and any number of fun spices like turmeric, curry, etc.  It adds the richness of cream to a dish but without the cooking challenges associated with cream.  We always keep a can in our pantry and often use it when we make curries.  When I came across this recipe, I knew it was one that I had to try.

The flavor base

You can adjust the heat of this dish by cooking the chiles whole (very little heat), or throwing in the seeds and membranes with the rest of the chile (lots of heat).  The turmeric is a must, it gives the dish an earthy flavor and a crazy-awesome bright yellow color.  The total time to make this dish is about 45 minutes but the active time is pretty short.  Once you pop the chicken in, go ahead and play with the kids.  It only needs occasional attention until it is done.

Crazy-awesome yellow color

Chicken Stewed in Coconut Milk (Kuku Wa Nazi)

Adapted from Saveur

Ingredients:

2 tbls cooking oil

3/4 tsp group turmeric

2 cloves garlic minced

2 green or red Thai chiles, stemmed, seeded, and minced (or left whole if you want very mild spice)

1 medium ripe tomato, cored and minced

1 small red onion, minced

2 chicken leg quarters (2 leg and thigh sections), skinned

2 tbls fresh lime juice

1 14 oz can coconut milk

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Cilantro and chopped peanuts for garnish

To Make:

Heat oil in a large, deep pan (a cast iron skillet works nicely) or pot over medium-high heat.  Add turmeric, garlic, chiles, tomato, and onion and cook, stirring often, until the onion is caramelized, about 15 minutes.  Add chicken, lime juice, and coconut milk to the pan.  Bring the mixture to a boil then reduce heat to medium low.  Simmer, turning chicken occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through and tender, about 30 minutes.

To Serve:

Serve chicken and sauce over rice.  Garnish with lots of chopped cilantro and peanuts.  Serves 2-4, depending on how hungry you are.  Recipe can easily be doubled.