BBQ Chicken Pizza

In 1985, two lawyers, Rick Rosenfield and Larry Flax, opened the first California Pizza Kitchen in Beverly Hills. Their goal was to serve the hearth-baked pizzas with what was then unusual flavors and tastes that were becoming popular in Southern California but were still unknown throughout the rest of the country. Tastes like Mango Tandoori Chicken, Thai, Jamaican Jerk, California Club, Pesto Chicken and the BBQ Chicken Pizza that is listed below were first made popular with the general public by the California Pizza Kitchen.

Today, California Pizza Kitchen has over 250 restaurants all across the United States and pizzas with "unusual" toppings are not so unusual anymore.

California Pizza Kitchen's BBQ Chicken Pizza

Ingredients: (See note below)

Chicken:

• 1/2 to 1 lb of boneless/skinless Chicken Breasts cut into 1/4 inch pieces
  
• 1 tablespoons Olive Oil
  
• 2 tablespoons BBQ Sauce (see the recipe below for a REALLY good one)

Pizza:

• 1 basic Pizza Dough (recipe below)
  
• Some Cornmeal, Semolina or Flour for easy handling of the Dough
  
• 1/2 cup BBQ Sauce (Just keep the bottle handy)
  
• 2 tablespoons shredded Smoked Gouda Cheese
  
• 2 cups shredded Mozzarella Cheese
  
• 1/2 cup Red Onion Pieces - sliced into 1/8 inch pieces
  
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Cilantro

Directions

1. Preheat the Oven to 500 Degrees (see below)

Cook the Chicken:

1. Fry the Chicken in the Olive Oil over medium heat until just cooked - about 5 to 6 minutes. Do not overcook.
   
2. Set in refrigerator until chilled.
   
3. Add the two tablespoons of BBQ sauce and toss to coat.
   
4. Set aside.

Assemble the Pizza:

1. Using a large spoon, spread BBQ Sauce evenly over the prepared dough.
   
2. Sprinkle Smoked Gouda over the Sauce.
   
3. Cover with 1 1/2 cups Mozzarella.
   
4. Distribute Chicken pieces over chesse.
   
5. Spinkle onion pieces over top.

Bake the Pizza:

1. Place the Pizza in the Preheated oven and bake until the center is bubbly - about 8 to 10 minutes.
   
2. Remove pizze and sprinkle with Cilantro.
   
3. Slice and Enjoy.

Note The amounts listed above will make a LARGE pizza (up to 18 inches.) If your crusts, oven or appetites are smaller, either halve the ingredients or make two pizzas using half the incredients on each.

You can use any BBQ Sauce that you enjoy for your pizza. There are several really good ones on the market.

But if you want something really special, I recommend trying this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 head of Garlic
  
• 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
  
• 3/4 cup Water
  
• 1 cup Pineapple Juice
  
• 1/4 cup Teriyaki Sauce
  
• 1 tablespoon Soy Sauce
  
• 1 1/4 cups Dark Brown Sugar
  
• 3 tablespoons Lemon Juice
  
• 3 tablespoons minced White Onion
  
• 1 tablespoon Jack Daniels Whiskey
  
• 1 tablespoon crushed Pineapple
  
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions:

Roast Garlic:

1. Cut about 1/2 inch off of the top of the Garlic and then cut the roots off so it will set flat.
2. Remove most of the papery skin from the Garlic but leave enough so it will stay together.
3. Put garlic into a small baking pan and drizzle with the Olive Oil.
4. Cover with lid or foil
5. Bake at 325 for 1 hour.
6. Remove and cool.

Mix and Simmer:

1. Combine Water, Pineapple Juice, Teriyaki Sauce, Soy Sauce and Brown Sugar in a medium saucepan.
2. Simmer over medium/high heat, stirring occasionally until mixture boils.
3. Reduce heat until mixture is just simmering.

Add Roasted Garlic

1. Squeeze the sides of the head of garlic until the garlic is squeezed out (it should be the consistancy of butter)
2. Measure 2 teaspoons.
3. Whisk into saucepan.

Bring it all together

1. Add all the remaining ingredients and stir.
2. Let the mixture simmer for 40-50 minutes or until sauce is reduced by about 1/2. It should be thick and syrupy.

As with any sugar-based sauce, if you are grilling with it, only apply the sauce in the last 5 to 10 minutes of cooking so as not to burn the sugars.

Serve extra on the side for dipping. You may want to double the recipe.

Note - Save any remaining Roasted Garlic to make wonderful Garlic Bread for this meal or up to a week in the refridgerator for an Italian Meal.

Like the BBQ sauce, you can use any dough that you like.

Many good stores now sell frozen balls of dough you can keep in the freezer and thaw out whenever you crave a pizza.

There are also those "big cookie" looking things you see in the pasta aisle (like "Boboli") that you can use -- but I find them too thick and doughy. But they are perfectly okay to use if you like them.

Ingredients

• 1 cup warm water
  
• 1 package active dry yeast
  
• 2 1/2 to 3 cups all-purpose flour
  
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Combine the water, yeast, and 1 1/2 cups of the flour in a large bowl.
   
2. Mix well.
   
3. Add the oil, salt, and remaining flour.
   
4. With large wooden spoon or your hands mix the ingredients together until the dough holds its shape. You may need a bit less flour, so add the last half gradually.
   
5. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. If the dough becomes sticky, sprinkle a bit more flour over it.
   
6. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled 2-quart bowl.
   
7. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel, and let the dough rest until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour.
   
8. When the dough has risen, place it on a lightly floured surface, divide it into two or more parts and roll them into balls.
   
9. Cover them with a towel and let rest for 15 minutes.
   
10. The dough is ready to be shaped, topped and cooked.

Note - You do not have to toss the dough. Rolling is fine. ;)

The hearth baking gives the California-style pizzas much of their unique taste. Hearth-baked pizzas are cooked rather quickly, 3-7 minutes, in approximately 500 degree heat. This bakes the crust quickly and gives meats and vegetables a slightly smoky flavor. While you will never be able to duplicate this exactly in a normal home oven, there are a couple of things you can do to help.

The hotter you can make your oven, the better it is for cooking pizza. This is the major difference between Pizzaria Pizza and homemade pizza. The professional ovens in a Pizzaria will crank up many times hotter than the average home oven. There are a couple of things you can do to help make your oven cook pizza better:

1. Buy a good Pizza Stone. A Pizza Stone is a big piece of tile you stick on the bottom shelf of your oven and just leave there. It does several things to help with baking -- but mainly it holds and concentrates the heat, thus making the oven hotter and more efficient. This is especially good when cooking pizza.
   
   
2. Preheat your oven (with you Pizza Stone inside to absorb the heat) as hot as it will go for up to an hour before you cook the pizza.

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