Black Garlic Honey Barbecue Chicken Pizza ala ~DKBB~

Black Garlic Honey Barbecue Chicken Pizza ala ~DKBB~
(original recipe from www.foreignfork.com)

Black Garlic Honey Barbecue Sauce
1 tsp. cornstarch
⅔ c. water
1 c. barbecue sauce (I use either homemade or Sweet Baby Ray’s)
6 Tbsp. honey (I use 2-3 Tbsp. black garlic honey, 1 Tbsp. Carolina Reaper honey, and 1 Tbsp. regular honey)
2 Tbsp. soy sauce (I prefer low-sodium)
1 Tbsp. minced (regular) garlic
 
Pizza/Toppings
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1 head black garlic
1 pizza crust (I prefer Boboli crusts, but you can sure make your own)
1 skinless, boneless chicken breast
Mozzarella cheese (block/ball and shredded)

• Combine the softened butter with 3-4 cloves of black garlic, mixing well.
• In a small bowl, combine water and cornstarch and mix together until cornstarch is dissolved.
• In a medium pan, over medium-low heat, combine the barbecue sauce, honey, soy sauce, minced garlic, and water/cornstarch mixture.
• Cook on medium-high heat until sauce starts to bubble and thicken, stirring occasionally; remove from burner when thickened; allow sauce to cool for about 30 minutes.
• Divide completed sauce in half, reserving half for pizza sauce. Pour the remaining half into a Ziploc bag with the chicken breast and allow to marinate for an hour or so.
• When the chicken is done marinating, grill it (or bake it); when it is done cooking, let is set for about 10 minutes, then dice it up.
• Cover the pizza crust with the black garlic butter; add on the barbecue sauce that had been set aside using a spatula; cover this with mozzarella cheese (preferably not shredded); add the rest of the black garlic and the diced chicken.
• Cover all with a light layer of shredded mozzarella cheese, then drizzle the remaining unused sauce lightly over all.
• Grill or bake the pizza per usual practice.

Zucchini Crust Pizza ala ~DKBB~

Zucchini Crust Pizza ala ~DKBB~

(original recipe from www.tasteofhome.com)

3 cups shredded zucchini

¾ cup egg substitute

⅓ cup flour

½ tsp. salt

1½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese

2 small roma tomatoes, halved and thinly sliced

½ diced onion

½ julienned green pepper (can use Anaheim, red, or yellow – or a combination)

1 tsp. oregano

½ tsp. basil

3 tbsp. shredded Parmesan cheese

• In a large bowl, combine zucchini and egg substitute; stir in flour and salt. Spread onto the bottom of a 12-inch pizza pan coated with cooking spray.
• Bake at 450° F for 8 to 10 minutes (until well set).
• Reduce heat to 350° F.
• Remove pizza from oven and sprinkle with mozzarella, tomatoes, onions, pepper(s), oregano, basil, and Parmesan cheese.
• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Pesto!

So what can you do with all those basil leaves your herb garden is overrun with at the end of the season? My friend Paula (who's one heck of a good cook) shared this recipe and idea with me:

Pesto

2 Tbsp. pine nuts (or walnuts)

3 garlic cloves, crushed

Coarse kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1¼  cups fresh basil leaves

2 oz. Parmesan cheese, grated

2 oz. Pecorino or Romano cheese, grated

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil (minus 2 Tbsp.)

• Place pine nuts, garlic, salt, pepper, basil, and the cheeses in the bowl of a food processor.
• Pulse to chop the basil.
• With the machine running, add the oil gradually and process until creamy and smooth.

I usually double (or triple) this recipe. Then, using ice cube trays, I fill each opening with pesto, freeze it solid, food-saver each individual frozen cube, and use the pesto as I wish from the thawed pesto cubes. This way you can have fresh homemade pesto well into the winter. I use pesto not only in pasta dishes, but also as a base sauce for pizza when I want something different than a tomato sauce base.