Why go out? – BBQ Chicken Pizza

Ingredients:

1 ball of pizza dough (found in local grocery/specialty stores)
1 bottle of BBQ Sauce (use your favorite brand. After all, it’s your pizza.)
1 medium white onion
1 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 bag fine cornmeal
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
½ cup fresh cilantro
2-3 cups fresh grated Gouda cheese (depending on your cheese intake levels)
Garlic powder/Salt/Pepper to taste
2 tablespoons honey
Pinch of cayenne pepper (add more for a kick, less if you’re not a heat fan)


**NOTE: It is advisable to have a baking stone for this recipe. If you do not…uh, go get one. However, it may work on a baking sheet, but I can’t confirm that. Sorry.**

Ok, so here’s the skinny: Peel and slice the onion very thinly (use a mandolin if you have one). Heat a sauté pan to medium and add in your olive oil and butter. Add in your onions and sweat for about 5 minutes.

Once they become slightly translucent, add in the sugar and some salt; stir. Reduce heat to medium-low and allow to slow cook for another 25-30 minutes until onions are nice and brown, or ‘caramelized’, stirring occasionally. Place to the side for now.

Take the chicken breasts and season lightly with salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Grill both breasts until almost cooked completely (you should see some pink in the center). Allow them to cool and then cut into bite sized chunks. Set aside.

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees and place the baking stone inside as it warms.

Pour ½ the bottle of BBQ sauce into a sauce pan and heat on low. Add in the honey and cayenne pepper; stir and let cool. While this is simmering, take out a large cutting board and sprinkle the cornmeal on top of it generously. (The cutting board will act as a transport to your oven and the cornmeal ensures that it slides off with ease.)

Place your dough ball on the cutting board and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Start from the center and press the dough outwards, rotating your hands and making the ball flat and wide as you push out the shape. You know what a pizza looks like, right? Ok, do that here.

I do NOT recommend flipping it in the air like you see on TV. Quite a few pizza places will do it by hand without flipping it, and store bought dough is not really the kind you can ‘toss’ and hope for a successful pie afterwards.

Now, the fun part: Place a ladle of the BBQ sauce in the center of the pizza-to-be and cover the dough with it in an outward circular motion. Next, take your onions and place them all over the pie, making sure that every bite will ensure that sweet oniony goodness.

Take your chicken chunks and spread the love all over the top of the onions. Next, grab a small handful of fresh cilantro and finely chop it; sprinkle it all over the chicken. Finally, cover the whole thing with that cheesy blanket of Gouda. Mmmm…Gouda.

Get that sucker on the baking stone and let it achieve taste perfection for 15-17 minutes. Slide it back on to the cutting board from the stone and allow to cool about 1-2 minutes. Cut into slices and enjoy.

After all, why go out? You’ve got Da(m)n Good Food right here.