It's been multiple years since the first time I've made this dish and I seem to recall it being an enormous hit. Back then Food Network was a part of basic cable and I could watch all the shows for no extra charge. I saw this recipe, it looked easy to make, I went for it, and it was delicious. Granted, I removed the 'easy' part from it when I chose to make my own pizza dough. I will address that at a later day, though.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups cooked chicken breast, diced (leftovers are fantastic for this)
- 1 lbs. pizza dough (hand-made or purchased at the store)
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 2/3 cup tomato sauce
- 1 tsp liquid smoke
- 1 tsp buffalo/hot sauce
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 2 tsp Parmesan, grated (packaged one will do)
Note: This dish comes with a dipping sauce. You will need 1 cup sour cream, chopped green onions, and 2 minced garlic cloves. Optionally, you can add some blue cheese for extra zing.
You will need a rolling pin, mixing bowls and a cookie sheet, preferably covered in aluminum foil (for easy clean up) and coated in cooking spray.
In a large mixing bowl combine the chicken, mozzarella, tomato sauce, liquid smoke and hot sauce. Stir thoroughly and set aside.
Quarter the dough. Roll out the dough into a circle, add a quarter of the stuffing onto half of it and fold over the un-topped side so it forms a half-circle. Make sure to pinch the side with slightly wet fingers so they hold together. With a knife, make a couple slits in the top and set out on the cookie sheet. Repeat with the rest. Once all is ready, brush some olive oil over the top and sprinkle the Parmesan.
Bake approx. 15 minutes until golden-brown and puffed. Make sure to let it cool down a little before serving or the sauce will burn your mouth. I speak from experience.
Note: I strongly suggest experimenting with sizes, so you could always make these more bite-size if you want it as dippers.
Dipping sauce: Combine all ingredients in a bowl and serve with calzone.
I no longer remember how I came across this recipe, but I know I fell in love when I saw it. Pecan pie is my favorite pie and as a woman I am genetically predisposed to love cheesecake. Combining those two together seemed like a marriage of awesomeness. It was.
Ingredients:
- Deep dish pie crust of choice
- 8oz cream cheese (1 package)
- 1 1/2 cup sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2/3 cup dark corn syrup
- 1 1/2 tbs unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup pecan, chopped
Note: When I first made it, I used a gluten-free cannoli recipe as crust. It was heavenly. I will have to post the recipe in a separate post.
Preheat oven to 350F. You'll need your hand mixer and mixing bowls.
Cheesecake layer: Blend the cream cheese with a hand mixer for about 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of sugar and 1 egg, and continue blending until uniform. Once done, pour into the pie crust.
Pecan layer: Combine corn syrup, 2 eggs, 2/3 cup sugar, butter and vanilla in a bowl and use hand mixer until it's all blended. Stir in the pecans and pour over the cheesecake layer.
Bake for approx. 50 minutes. Cheesecake layer will "magically" move to the top and turn golden brown. I promise this cake will not last long once set on the table.
Enjoy!
