Buffalo Chicken Pizza

ONE WEEK! ONE WEEK! 

One week until my Hawks play in the SUPER BOWL! Here in Seattle, we're in full-on BEAST MODE. 

I'll be watching the big game at the bar where I watched our last two winning games, in our lucky booth. It's only weird if it doesn't work, right? So I'm getting my football food on leading up to the game. I have a few Super Bowl recipes for you this week, because as you know, one of the best things about football is the food! 

The first recipe I have for you is one of my favorite things ever: buffalo. chicken. pizza. 

You can't have a football game without saucy, spicy chicken wings, right? Well, this pizza has all the gooey, spicy, sweet, chickeny goodness of wings, but without the pesky bones… and with a whole lot of cheese! I like to keep it simple: dough, saucy chicken, cheese. Bake it until bubbly, then drizzle on blue cheese dressing and celery leaves. Get it in your mouth. 

Beast Mode Seahawk-Wing Pizza (AKA: Buffalo Chicken Pizza)

Makes two 12-inch thin crust pizzas

Shredded Buffalo Chicken

3 lbs chicken breasts (about 4 breasts), diced large

2 teaspoons cayenne 

salt & pepper

11 tablespoons butter

1 cup Franks Red Hot sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place chicken in a large baking dish (i.e.: 13x9 pirex), and sprinkle with cayenne, and a large pinch of salt and pepper. Bake for 30 minutes.

While chicken is cooking, melt butter, and whisk together with hot sauce and brown sugar. After chicken has baked for 30 minutes, pull out dish, and pour on sauce. Put back in oven, and bake an additional 15 minutes. Remove and let cool for 10-15 minutes.

To shred, either use two forks, a food processor, or my favorite new trick (from this blog): put chicken and sauce in stand mixer with paddle attachment, and mix on low until chicken is shredded. GENIUS.

Pizzas

1 recipe pizza dough (this is the recipe I use--split the one recipe into two balls/two pizzas)

Cornmeal for pan or peel

1 recipe shredded buffalo chicken, above

3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup blue cheese dressing

Leaves from 2 bunches of celery, chopped

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. If using pizza stone, preheat in oven.

Turn dough ball (half of recipe) out onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll into a round the size of your pizza stone or baking sheet (potentially rectangle, if using cookie sheet). Transfer crust to a lightly greased pizza pan or pizza peel (or flexible cutting board, which is what I use) dusted with cornmeal. 

Spread with half of chicken mixture, then top with half of cheese. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy around the edges. Cool for 5 minutes, then top with blue cheese dressing (I add to a sandwich bag, and cut the corner so I can drizzle) and celery leaves. 

Repeat with remaining ingredients for second pizza. 

Super Bowl Line-up

I’ve played softball my entire life. I played volleyball for years. I played basketball in middle school (I never scored once in the two years I played, but I did win a half-time 3-pointer contest once). I was a cheerleader and dated the quarterback (I went to the smallest high school on Earth, so that probably doesn’t mean what it does at big schools, but feel free to picture a Friday Night Lights/ Tim Riggins scenario…Texas forever).

You would think I’d be a sports-minded individual. But, regardless of how much time I spent on the field or the court, I’m the girl that yells touch-down at a soccer game, doesn’t know what 1st down means (is that even a thing?), and pulls muscles warming up for recreational kick-ball. What I lack in ability or knowledge, I make up for in competitiveness and spirit.

In high school, I always won the spirit award. That pretty much means that I’m the most committed and determined player out there, even though I can’t score a point to save my life. I’m the same way with watching sports. I want my teams to win… I want them to win so badly that I scream until I’m hoarse and I literally feel sick if we lose. But if my teams aren’t playing, then I could care less.

The Seahawks lost a few weeks ago, and then I stopped following football. I don’t even know who’s playing in the Super Bowl. I don’t even know if I’ll watch it. I do know that I’ll make some delicious snacks, wear sweatpants, and drink beer. I think the grown-up version of the spirit award goes to whoever makes the best chicken wings.

If you want to get in on some of that spirit, here’s an award winning line-up. Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose.

• Sticky Blackberry Honey Hot Wings (If you like ‘em sweet, hot, and helluva lot!)
• Mini Cheeseburger Chimichangas (Like a cheeseburger in a perfect little package!)
• Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches (Try ‘em slider-style!)
• Coca-Cola Chicken Wings from For the Love of the South (Ain’t no thing like a Coca-Cola wing!)
• Aperitivo de Frijol (Cheesy, gooey bean dip goodness!)
• Queso y Papa Empanadas (Hand held yummies!)
• Kimchi Fried Rice Balls from Spoon Fork Bacon (Ricey and spicy, these look insane!)
• Spicy Sweet Meatballs (Tasty little bites with an Asian kick!)
• Bitchin’ Bowl from The Faux Martha (A vegetarian super burrito bowl!)
• Rootbeer Pulled Pork (Slow cooked to perfection!)

Fall Shmall

I’m having a hard time getting into fall this year. I’m usually a sucker for the crisp air, red and orange leaves, new boot collections, and comforting fall food, but this year I just can’t seem to get over summer. Summer was far too short and the weather, well… it sucked. I didn’t get my fill of long days and vitamin D, and suddenly—before I even had a chance think about buying brightly colored open-toe wedges—it was 6pm and already dark outside, and pumpkins starting popping up in the grocery store.

I’m trying to get into it though. I mean, I really do love wearing scarves and baking crisps and crumbles, and who doesn’t like a big pot of chili or soup on a cool fall day? Luckily two of my favorite fall things are helping me (slowly but surely) come around to the turning season: football and new TV shows! Ok, that’s maybe the dorkiest thing I’ve ever said on this blog…but I’m not kidding… I’m kind of obsessed with some TV shows right now. And the football thing… well, that’s just for the food.

Amanda and I recently went to a Husky tailgate with some of her friends (who happen to be UW athlete alums), and it was amazing. The game sucked, we got stomped, but the tailgate party was ah-may-zing! The group brings a big flat screen and satellite dish so we could watch the game right there in the parking lot. And the food… so good! Every tailgate they do is themed on the opposing team, so in a game against the cornhuskers, the food theme was corn. Amanda and I made sure all of our corny contributions were purple and gold, so no one would be confused about our loyalties.

Ever since then, I’ve been inspired by fun purple and gold football food ideas, and came up with the most perfect thing. It would be absolutely perfect for a Husky game…but I didn’t test it out at a football game. I tested it out for the premier of Law and Order: SVU! I love SVU like no one’s business. I even made Evan create an SVU theme song remix for me… it’s pretty rad. It feels kind of lame but also awesome to be madly in love with a network TV cop drama. But I mean… c’mon, Stabler’s a babe. And if you don’t believe me, ask Amanda—she’s obsessed too.

Anyway, for the big SVU premier, Amanda came over for… chicken wings! Purple and gold ones! I made Sticky Blackberry Honey Hot Wings. They were sweet and smoky, sticky and finger-lickin good. Flecked with (gold) shards of orange zest, the purple glazed wings were a UW football fan’s dream come true. They were also pretty damn good for Law and Order night.

As long as I have fall TV shows and football food, I suppose I’ll survive the short days and crisp air. With these wings, maybe I’ll even start getting into the season a little.

Sticky Blackberry Honey Hot Wings
 
24 chicken wings

2.5 cups blackberries
1/2 cup honey
1 tablespoon ketchup
1/4 cup orange juice
1.5 tablespoons chipotle tabasco (or more to your liking..and you can use hot sauce of your choice plus a sprinkle of chipotle powder)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 pinch ground black pepper
1/4 cup melted butter
zest from 1 orange

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and put wings in for 40-50 minutes (until cooked through). While wings are baking, make sauce: puree berries, honey, ketchup, orange juice, hot sauce, brown sugar, and balsamic until smooth. If you dislike the seeds, strain (I like to leave them in). Mix puree with melted butter. Set aside.

After wings have cooked for 40-50 minutes, drain juices. Pour sauce over wings and coat evenly (you might have sauce leftover). Stick back in the 400 degree oven for 10 more minutes, turning often. About half way through, sprinkle a little more brown sugar on top, and mix in, sprinkle orange zest on top. For last few minutes of cooking, turn on broiler.

Reserve remaining sauce for dipping, or for another use (like eating with a spoon or dipping tortilla chips into or basting on salmon).