Must be in the mood for Italian food this week. The other night we had chicken cacciatore and am planning for tonite's dinner: pizza chicken and focaccia. OK, so I was thinking "Focaccia" and knowing the guys won't go for it very well because they will be expecting "pizza" instead ... So I dug up a friend of mine's recipe for "pizza chicken". Haven't tried it, but it sounds good.
Peg's Pizza Chicken
Chicken
1 onion sliced
1 green bell pepper sliced
2 stalks celery diced
1 can condensed tomato soup
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon basil
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper
Put chicken, onion, bell pepper and celery in slow cooker. Combine rest of ingredients except bay leaf and pour on chicken. Stir to coat. Put bay leaf on top. Cook on low 8 hours.
Well, we don't exactly have ALL the ingredients ... So no bell pepper (my husband wouldn't eat it anyway, its like the President and broccoli - I think it's the current President anyway, they are all so alike, I get them confused sometimes LOL), and I will be substituting for the tomato soup a can of tomtato sauce instead (works like a charm in place of tomato soup, just pop open the can, pour it in a pan, add water or milk and voila', tomato 'soup'!). I have the family size cans of cream of chicken so will be using that instead of the mushroom soup, but will add a small can of sliced mushrooms. Probably will add about a tablespoon of sugar as well to cut any bitterness; well, maybe a 1/2 teaspoon anyway. Other than that, I think it will work fine. I'll let everyone know after it's done :-)
Now, for my focaccia:
1-1/2 cups warm water
1 package active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
5 tablespoons extravirgin olive oil
1-1/2 teaspoons table salt
3-3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
In large bowl, combine 1/2 cup warm water, yeast, and sugar; stir to dissolve. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add remaining 1 cup warm water, 2 tablespoons oil, table salt, and flour; stir to combine.
Turn dough onto floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic; about 7 minutes. Dough will be soft; do not add more flour.
Shape dough into ball; place in greased large bowl, turning dough to grease top. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let stand in warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. (I've found the only way I can get bread to rise here - must be either too cold or hot here, it just won't rise otherwise - preheat the oven 170 - 200 degrees to warm, then turn oven off. Put dough in oven, covered with clean dish towel, and let rise).
Lightly oil 15-1/2" by 10-1/2" jelly roll pan (I don't have one so will use a cookie sheet instead. Or maybe the bottom to the broiling pan. Not sure yet). Punch dough down and pat into prepared pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes. (Same drill - preheat oven 170 - 200 degrees to warm, turn oven off, and let dough rise in warmed oven).
With fingertips, make deep indentations, 1 inch apart, over entire surface of dough, almost to bottom of pan. Drizzle with remaining 3 tablespoons oil; sprinkle with kosher salt. Cover loosely with plastic wrap; let rise in warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes.
Take dough out of oven if you've doubled it in there, and preheat oven to 450 degrees. Bake focaccia on lowest oven rack until bottom is crusty and top is lightly browned, about 18 minutes. Transfer focaccia to wire rack to cool. Makes 12 servings.
Now, that's for plain focaccia, but you can make it other ways as well; here is how I will be making it:
Tomtato and Onion Focaccia
Prepare as directed but drizzle with only 1 tablespoon olive oil and don't sprinkle with kosher salt. Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add 2 medium onions, sliced, 1 teaspoon sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, and cook, stirring frequently, until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Cool to room temp. Spread over focaccia. Open can of diced tomatoes and drain. Sprinkle diced tomatoes on top of the onions on the focaccia. Then sprinkle with 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and bake as directed.
Sounds good to me. The older I get, the less and less I can tolerate milk products (and I used to really love drinking milk and eating cheese - and don't even get me started on ice cream lol), so it will give me a basic thick pan pizza type crust and pizza taste, without getting sick from the cheese. And if the guys don't like it, that just leaves more for me! LOL
Anyway, try the recipes and see what you think. And as always, happy eating!
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