Long before there were shows like Iron Chef, there was the true challenge of putting together whatever was on hand around the house to come up with new and interesting dinners.
Last week, I picked up a bottle of 1905 brand Horseradish sauce from the Dollar Store and wanted to do something really creative. I had chicken, potatoes, Colby Jack cheese and a few other ingredients on hand, so I thought I’d make them into a pizza.
I hadn’t made Potato Focaccia in a long time, but I knew it would make a good, hearty pizza crust. I started there, and began experimenting with sauce ingredients.
For the sauce, I used a combination of 4 parts sour cream, 2 parts Ranch Dressing, and 1 part Horseradish sauce. It came out tasting kind of sweet, and actually lost some of the horseradish bite in the cooking, so I would add a little more next time.
The focaccia baked up nicely, I baked it by itself for 45 minutes, and then added the sauce, shredded chicken, and Colby Jack. I really wish I had some fresh mushrooms to add or diced tomatoes, but that will be for next time around.
I baked the pizza for another 20 minutes, which thoroughly melted the Colby Jack. The final result was very tasty, I’m definitely going to try this recipe again with more ingredients.
Below is the recipe for Potato Focaccia, which comes from the New York Cook Book by Molly O Niell. I highly reccomend this book, it’s loaded with tasty unique recipes.
Potato Focaccia
2 potatoes
1 pkg dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water (105-110 degrees F)
4 Cups All purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
Boil the potatoes, peel and mash.
Disolve the yeast into the warm water
Combine potatoes, flour, 2 teaspoons salt, dissolved yeast and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Mix ingredients and cover with a cloth until the dough has doubled in size. (1 hour)
Coat a baking pan or cookie sheet with the other tablespoon of olive oil. Flour your hands and place the dough on the pan, and turn to coat the dough with the oil.
(In the original focaccia recipe, you would then insert tomator wedges into the dough and sprinkle the top with oregano and salt. Then bake at 350 until golden brown.)
Back to the pizza:
Mold the dough into a pizza shape, you don’t have to stretch it or work it too much, just shape it the way you like. It does rise a bit though, so make the bottom fairly thin. If you have extra dough, break it off and roll it into breadsticks.
Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown, and then add the pizza toppings: sauce, meat, veggies (if any) and then cheese. Return to oven and bake for about 20 more minutes, until cheese is thoroughly melted.
[Tags: focaccia, pizza, cooking, recipe, horseradish]