Chicken Shawarma Pizza

I'm not the type to go out to lunch too often.  I usually brown bag leftovers from the night before.  If I went out to lunch all the time, I would be broke and weigh 350 pounds.  But from time to time, the guys in the office go out for lunch when we need some time away from the rat race.  Occasionally, we head to this great Lebanese place close to work by the name of Aladdin's Eatery.  They serve a healthy, diverse menu that doesn't break the bank.  One of my favorites is the Chicken Shawarma Pita Wrap.  Marinaded grilled chicken, wrapped up in a pillowy fresh pita with tomatoes and greens.  I also add black olives, crumbled feta, onions, and a dab of their outstanding hummus.  It really is good stuff.

One night earlier this summer, I was in the mood for hummus, but we were having pizza for dinner.  I decided to get creative and see if I could turn this pita wrap into pizza form.

First, I took a boneless, skinless chicken breast and marinaded in a mixture of olive oil, the juice of a lemon, some kosher salt, and a teaspoon of Balti seasoning.

My mom turned me on to this seasoning with some spectacular pork tenderloins.  It is a mild curry type blend.  Not too hot and definitely not lacking in flavor.  After marinading the chicken for about an hour, I grilled the breasts until done.  After cooling, I cubed into bite sized chunks.

While the chicken was marinading, I whipped up a batch of hummus.  My hummus recipe is also from my mom.  I do not know where she came up with this recipe, but I would definitely put it up against any hummus served at a restaurant.  Here is the recipe:

Three Dogs BBQ Homemade Hummus

2, 16 oz cans of chickpeas
Juice of 2 lemons
1/4 cup of tahini (ground sesame paste)
3 garlic cloves, minced fine
1 Tbsp of Olive Oil, plus more for when serving
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
Dried Parsley for garnish
Fine diced red onion for garnish

Drain the water from the chickpeas and reserve.

Process the above ingredients along with enough of the reserved chickpea water to obtain a soft, creamy consistency.  Add salt as needed to taste.  Serve with a drizzle of olive oil along with pita or tortilla chips.  I also add some dried parsley and diced red onion as well.

I couldn't pass up a little snack while I was waiting on the pizza dough to rise...

So, after Hope stretched out the pizza dough, I assembled the pizza.  I took the hummus that I had made and thinned it out a bit with some olive oil so that it could be spread across the dough.  Then I added in no particular order:

The grilled chicken breast
Thinly sliced Roma tomatoes
Thinly sliced red onion
Black olives
Crumbled feta cheese

Then, the pizza went into the hot pizza oven.  Since there was not a lot of cheese to look for the "brown and bubbly" mark of being ready, I kept an eye on the crust.  When it looked brown and crispy, I pulled the pie from the pizza oven.

I declare this experiment wildly successful.  I was worried about how the hummus would turn out after being exposed to high heat.  But, it did not separate and had a nice roasted flavor.  The next time I am craving some Middle Eastern flavor, I am making this pizza again.

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill

End of the Summer Season

It has been too long since our last post.  You know how it can be.  Life gets in the way, interests and hobbies suffer.  Rest assured though, we have been hitting the competition trail this summer.  Let's look back and see what has gone on since Roc City.

First after Roc City was a trip to Covington, Va for the Covington Cork and Pork Festival.

The competition was held the same weekend that the flooding was taking place just 20 miles away in southern West Virginia.  As a result, all of the teams donated their leftover food to Operation BBQ Relief to feed first responders and those in shelters in the White Sulphur Springs area of West Virginia, one of the hardest hit areas. I've always known that BBQ people have the biggest hearts. This just confirms what I already knew.  As for our results, we came in 17th overall, including a fourth place rib entry.  We have always wanted to win one of the cutting board trophies.  Mission accomplished.

Next up was the first annual Salamanca Rock'in Ribfest in Salamanca, NY.  The hot, humid, and rainy theme for summer 2016 continued.  Even George was looking for some high ground.

Results for this competition were mixed with an 8th in pork and a 7th in brisket.

We had some issues with the other categories, leading to a 21st place overall finish.

Next up was one of our favorite competitions, the Hudson Valley Ribfest in New Paltz, NY.  Again, it was hot and humid, with a 100% chance of flies.  Lots of them.

Chicken has historically been one of our best categories.  So, our low scores this year were a bit of a head scratcher.  But, after Salamanca, I sat down and thought through what we were doing.  I realized that I had left out a few small, but important details.  As a result, we scored an 8th place chicken call with a 28th place finish overall.

So, since reexamining the process worked with the chicken, I reexamined our process with our other meats before competing at the Finger Lakes Fire and Smoke Festival in Geneva, NY over Labor Day weekend.

Our first competition of the year with cool and dry conditions.  Very refreshing after the hot and sticky summer.  The attention to detail paid off with chicken placing just out of the top 10 with an 11th place finish, 5th place ribs, and 5th place brisket adding up to an 8th place finish overall.

So, that sums up the summer season.  I've taken some more notes to capture the little things and we are ready for our last competition of the year in three weeks at the Keystone Classic BBQ Competition in Harrisburg, PA.  Hopefully the upward trend will continue.

Finally, I have been cooking and have some new recipes to share.  I promise in the next few weeks to post more regularly.  Life has just gotten in the way.

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill