Chicken Parmesan Pizza

Posted on by
2

Chicken parm pizza

If you’re a chicken parmesan lover, then you are going to go wild for this pizza. You’re going to go even crazier once you realize how much easier it is to make than normal chicken parmesan. In my house, David is the chicken parmesan lover, and I’m the grinch who rarely feels like cooking it. But I can throw this pizza together in less than 10 minutes using leftover chicken, and David gets giddy with excitement. I really enjoy eating it too because the breadcrumbs get so crispy and crunchy. If you try making this pizza once, it just might become a staple in your kitchen!

Chicken parm pizza

To make this pizza, preheat your oven to 500º F. Begin by dicing up about 1 cup of already-cooked chicken. I usually make this pizza with leftovers from roasted chicken on a bed of vegetables. Add the chicken to a bowl, and drizzle in some olive oil. Stir the chicken to coat it evenly. Then, sprinkle in about 1/3 cup of breadcrumbs, and stir the chicken again until the breadcrumbs are distributed. Also dice up 1/2 onion.

Chicken parm pizza

Stretch out a pizza dough onto a baking sheet/pizza stone. Spread on some tomato sauce, and season the sauce with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Top the sauce with shredded mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle the diced onion evenly over the pizza, followed with the cubed chicken coated in breadcrumbs. If any breadcrumbs remain in the bottom of your bowl, sprinkle them over the pizza as well. They get really toasty and wonderfully crunchy in the oven. Top the pizza with a light sprinkling of grated parmesan cheese.

IMG_4781

Bake the pizza for 10 minutes, rotating it around half way through for even cooking, until the cheese is bubbly and the crust is golden. Remove the pizza from the oven, and sprinkle over some fresh basil. Slice the pizza into squares, and gobble them right up! Just describing this pizza again is making me smack my lips together and figure out when I’ll have more leftover chicken to transform into mighty goodness.

Shopping list:

  • Cooked chicken- 1 cup, diced
  • Onion- 1/2
  • Olive oil- approximately 1 tablespoon
  • Breadcrumbs- 1/3 cup
  • Pizza dough
  • Tomato sauce
  • Salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes
  • Mozzarella cheese
  • Parmesan cheese
  • Fresh basil
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Global Supper Club: Indian Edition (and Spiced Basmati Rice)

Posted on by
3

Global Supper Club

Many, many, many months ago, I read a story in Real Simple about a group of friends that has been having monthly dinner parties for many, many, many years where each meal features food from a designated country. I loved the article and the idea because it gave the friends an excuse to see each other regularly throughout the different phases of their lives and to cook and eat together. Those things are important to me too, and I thought about the article for a long time. I hesitated to put the idea into motion because it’s a real commitment, something I would want to follow through on for years to build happy memories, stronger friendships, and a full repertoire of delicious, adventurous recipes. I woke up one day suddenly ready to take the plunge. I proposed the idea to my friends, and they said yes!

Indian Feast

I hosted the first dinner and chose India as our theme. My friends are all wonderful cooks, and they did not disappoint! Here’s our completely homemade menu (with recipe links, which will be updated as my friends send them to me (hint, hint)):

  1. Mango chutney
  2. Naan
  3. Stir-fried cabbage
  4. Mint-cilantro chutney
  5. Saag
  6. Cucumber raita
  7. Rajma
  8. Chana masala (Witty recipe!)
  9. Butter chicken (Witty recipe!)
  10. Basmati rice (recipe below)
  • Not pictured are curried cauliflower, galub jamun for dessert, and lots of wine.

And here’s the recipe for Indian-spiced basmati rice, inspired by the incredibly flavorful rice from my favorite Indian restaurant. Buy a bag of basmati rice. Use 1/4 cup of rice per serving, but I made more (3 cups in total). Measure out your rice, and soak it in water before you cook it. If you can soak the rice for a few hours, that’s wonderful, but even a few minutes is better than nothing. Drain the water from the rice, and add the rice to a large pot. Add 1.5 times the amount of water to the pot (for 3 cups of rice, I added 4.5 cups of water). To the pot, add 1-2 cinnamon sticks, 1 bay leaf, 5-8 green cardamom pods, 5-6 cloves, 1-2 star anise, 6-7 allspices, salt to taste, and a sprinkling of cumin seeds if you have them. Bring the pot to a boil, reduce it to a simmer, put a lid on the pot, and let it cook for about 15 minutes until the water is fully absorbed. Serve the rice immediately, making sure you don’t eat any of the large spice pieces, especially the cardamom pods. They flavor the rice nicely but taste TERRIBLE if you eat them straight.

I can’t wait to fill you in on future editions of the global supper club. I hope it’s a long-lasting tradition that we can all enjoy together!

Rice shopping list:

  • Basmati rice
  • Cinnamon sticks
  • Bay leaf
  • Green cardamom pods
  • Cloves
  • Star anise
  • Allspice
  • Cumin seeds
  • Salt
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Asian-Style Salmon en Papillote

Posted on by
1

Salmon en Papillote

Welcome to Witty in the City’s first ever fish recipe!! As you may know, I have wanted to like salmon for a long time, and my wishes finally came true! My friend and I ordered a salmon dish from my current favorite restaurant of all time, Estadio, and the fish was incredible! The skin was thick and crispy, and the salmon was cooked medium-rare. The bright pink flesh of that salmon was a gateway drug! With no experience cooking fish, I was hesitant to try it at home. But then, my cooking class saved the day with two nights on fish, and I dove right in. This salmon is nestled on a bed of bok choy, wrapped in parchment paper, and baked. It is easy to master, very healthy, and so delicious.

Salmon en Papillote

To make this salmon, begin by preparing your vegetables. Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a skillet. Mince 1 garlic clove per serving, and add it to the pan. Slice about 1 cup of bok choy per serving, and add it to the pan as well. Sauté the bok choy until it wilts. Then, drizzle in enough soy sauce to lightly moisten the bok choy, put a lid on the skillet, and let it cook over a low heat until the bok choy is tender.

Salmon en Papillote

While the bok choy cooks, heat your oven to 400º F. Tear off a sheet of parchment paper that is about 1.5 feet long, fold it in half, and use scissors to cut out half of a heart shape. Unfold the parchment paper into a full heart. Slice a lemon, and cut a skinless salmon filet into portions. Season the fish lightly with salt. On one half of the parchment heart, pile some of the cooked bok choy.

Salmon en Papillote

Top the bok choy with a piece of salmon, and top the salmon with a slice of lemon. Fold the heart over to cover the salmon, and crimp the edges to seal it. When about 1 inch of parchment remains open, pour in 1 tablespoon of white wine. Finish sealing the parchment, and place the packet on a baking sheet. Repeat with your remaining packets.

Salmon en Papillote

Put the baking sheet into the oven, and cook the salmon for no more than 10 minutes. At that time, the salmon should be cooked through but still moist. Transfer the sealed parchment packet to a serving plate.

Salmon en Papillote

Open up the parchment, and look at your beautiful fish! The white wine and residual soy sauce should have steamed the salmon perfectly, and the flavorful bok choy is a savory accompaniment. I still can’t believe how much I love this meal, but I really, really do. I hope this is the first of many more fish recipes I have to share with you!

Shopping List:

  • Salmon
  • Bok choy
  • Garlic
  • Soy sauce
  • Vegetable oil
  • Lemon
  • Salt
  • Parchment paper
  • White wine
Print Friendly, PDF & Email