Happy March 2010

Posted At : March 1, 2010 11:13 AM
Related Categories: Kid's cooking, knitting, cooking, cooking class, recipe, menu planning
This year is flying by!  I can't believe it's March already but since it's the best month in the year, I'm ready!  It looks like it might be coming in like a lion, there is a potential for snow here again tomorrow.

Today it is sunny with blue skies.  It was cold this morning on the way to 7:15 Jazzercise, but it was pretty early too. 

We had a bunch of changes with menu planning last week and ended up with chicken almost all week from what I roasted last Monday.  I had on the menu plan to go out for dinner on Friday and we stuck with that and moved the other days out. 

We headed to The Art Institute for dinner which has always been good, but there are some changes now.  Good changes.  They've added to the menu many small plates and they all sound good.  I had the seared scallop and it was perfect!  We had a good, relaxing dinner, different from chicken all week.

Saturday I taught at The Cook's Warehouse and had a fun time as I always do.  This time I had the 3 to 5 year olds, a full class, and the theme was Warm Up Winter.  We had Chicken Tomato Chowder, Corn Oatmeal Muffins and Warm Cider.  The kids did a good job as always and were ready to sit down and rest and eat at the end of class.  The class is 2 hours long and the kids are great. 

After class I needed to pick up some yarn at Knitch and did that on the way home.  Once home I admit I took a pretty long nap.  I woke up refreshed, did some knitting and made us a good dinner of pasta with sausage.  No chicken. 

Sunday was a normal day of church, grocery shopping and dinner that took a little more time.  I did a timeline so we could eat around 6.  Generally we eat a  late breakfast and then dinner on the weekends. 

I wanted to try Thai Chicken Pizza.  It had been on the menu for the previous Wednesday, but my husband and I decided to take a class at church Wednesday night and pizza was not a good plan for that night.  I actually started the dough on Saturday by making a starter.  On Sunday I used the starter and made the dough beginning about 2:30.  I had to turn the dough every 30 minutes but I spent the afternoon knitting.

The pizza turned out perfectly.  Well worth the time.  It wasn't hard, just needed some time.  The recipe is from King Arthur flour and I followed it exactly.  The recipe made 2 pizzas so I baked them both and I'll wrap and freeze one today for a quick meal later on. 


Thai Chicken Pizza from King Arthur Flour

Overnight Starter

  • 1 cup King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour
  • small pinch of instant yeast
  • 1/2 cup cool tap water

Dough

  • all of the overnight starter
  • 1 1/4 cups cool water
  • 2 1/2 cups King Arthur White Whole Wheat flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon instant yeast

Thai Chicken Topping

  • 1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast
  • 1/3 cup Thai Fish Sauce (available in the international food section of your grocery store)
  • juice of 1 lime
  • 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon Thai chili garlic paste
  • 1/2 cup Thai spicy peanut sauce
  • 1 small bunch scallions, chopped
  • 1 cup shredded mozzerella cheese, or pizza cheese blend
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Directions

The evening before you want to make the pizza, you are going to make an overnight starter. In a medium bowl mix the flour and yeast. Stir in the cold water until all is well blended. The mixture will be slightly sticky. If it seems too thick or dry add another tablespoon of water to adjust the consistency. If it seems soupy, add another tablespoon of flour.
Lightly cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for 12-15 hours. It will puff slightly and develop flavor and structure.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, place all of the overnight starter. Add the cool water and stir to break up the starter. Add the remaining flour, salt and yeast. Mix the dough on Speed 2 for 5 minutes. This dough is a wet dough, don't be tempted to add more flour.

Remove the dough hook, loosely cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature to rise.
This dough will need folds to help develop structure. Every 30 minutes for 2 hours (a total of 3 folds), you will be folding the dough over on itself in the bowl.
1) Dip your hands in a bowl of cool water. This will help prevent the dough from sticking to you. 2) Grasp the dough on one side and lift it slightly, pulling to fold it over the rest of the dough. Give the bowl a quarter turn and repeat the fold. Turn the bowl and repeat again. Re-cover the bowl and set aside for another 30 minutes.
Remember, you will fold the dough a total of 3 times over the course of the 2 hour rise, plus the final turn out for shaping.

Cut the chicken breast into large chunks. Place in a medium non-reactive bowl and add the fish sauce, lime juice, brown sugar and chili garlic paste. Mix well and refrigerate, covered, for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight. This can be done at the same time as the overnight starter, if desired.

To cook the chicken for topping, heat a saute pan over medium high heat. Add the chicken and about half of the marinade. Cook until the chicken is no longer pink inside and the liquid has reduced and coats the chicken. The chicken should still be quite moist at this point. Set aside to cool slightly, then chop into small bite sized pieces.
Why chop after cooking? Larger pieces keep the chicken moist during cooking, so it doesn't dry out on the pizza.

Preheat the oven to 450°F for 30-45 minutes. Remove half of the dough to a sheet of parchment or to a well floured surface. Wet you hands with cool water and gently press the dough into a circle, about 10 inches in diameter. If the dough resists stretching, let it rest for a few minutes, then shape again. Keep your fingertips wet to prevent sticking and tearing of the dough.

For each pizza top with half of the Thai peanut sauce, half of the chopped scallions, half of the chicken and half of the pizza cheese. Bake the pizza for 10-15 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly. Remove from the oven, top with fresh chopped cilantro and serve. Ice cold Singha Thai beer is a plus!

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