Chicken Alfredo Pizza

So a month or two ago, Liz and the kids went out of town, leaving me all alone to fend for myself.

Yes there was the customary honey-do list of all the jobs that are easier to do when there aren't little feet stomping around.  But having the kitchen to myself gave me the unique opportunity to experiment without four extra little hands trying to help.

I also invited my older brother Jeff over to help me tinker with a few ideas.  He has a few years in the restaurant business under his belt and loves cooking as much as I do.  The guy has mad cooking skills and a great imagination.  So when the two of us get in the kitchen together, it can be a blast, in both the enjoyable and dangerous way.  With college football playing in the background, we began a series of experiments.

The decision was made to attempt a few different types of unusual pizzas.  First, there was the Buffalo Chicken Pizza, which was a rousing success, probably the best we've ever had.  Second, there was a beef and cheese enchilada pizza.  There were some good ideas there, but a basic pizza crust just didn't blend well.  So maybe next time, we'll try a cornbread or polenta crust and a few extra veggies to make the flavors blend better.

Finally, we created this wonderful bit of garlicky goodness, the Chicken Alfredo pizza.  We used a half of a batch of our alfredo sauce to coat the crust, then buried it in lots of cheese, chicken and a couple of veggies. It's absolutely delicious.

There is a little prep on this recipe (about 30-40 minutes to build), but your hard work will defeintely be rewarded.

Chicken Alfredo Pizza

Meat
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin slices

Sauce
3 tablespoons butter
4 ounces whipping cream
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Other ingredients
1 12-14 inch pizza crust
2-3 cups mozzarella cheese
1/2-1 cup parmesan cheese
3 green onions
1/3 cup corn meal

Hardware
One cookie sheet
One pizza stone

Optional
1 diced tomato
Sliced or whole spinach
1 small zucchini, sliced into very small medallions
3 gloves garlic, roasted and then spread on the crust before adding the sauce

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and place your pizza stone on the center rack.  A long preheat will warm up the stone and toast the bottom of your pizza crust just right.

Grill, broil, pan-fry or bake your chicken breasts.  While doing this, add the butter and whipping cream in a small saucepan over medium heat and allow it to reach a simmer.  Let it simmer for about 8 minutes.  Then add the garlic and black pepper and simmer for another 2 minutes.  Finally, add the Parmesan cheese, stir until combined and simmer for another 2 minutes.  Remove from the heat and set it aside.

Once the chicken breasts are cooked, cut them into slices and set aside.

Roll, stretch or spin your pizza crust out to the proper size.  Grab your cookie sheet.  If it doesn't have an edge on it, liberally sprinkle some of the cornmeal on the top of the sheet and place your crust upon it.  Why does it matter if it has an edge?  We're going to slide the prepared pizza off this cookie sheet directly onto the pizza stone and an edge will prevent that.  Don't have a cookie sheet without an edge?  No problem, just flip it over and place the crust on the back of the cookie sheet.

Spread the sauce liberally over the crust, then lay out the chicken and any veggies you wish to add. Cover with the cheeses and garnish with the sliced green onions and tomatoes (if you want).

Open the oven and sprinkle the rest of the cornmeal on the pizza stone.  Carefully slide the pizza from the pan onto the stone.  Cook for 17-20 minutes until the crust and cheese begin to brown.

Remove by using a pizza peel or paddle (yeah, like you have one of those)... or you can use a pair if spatulas to drag it off the stone onto a cookie sheet.  You can also remove the pizza stone from the oven and slide the pizza off onto a cookie sheet on the stove.  Just make sure you have lots of hand protection, because the stone will be hot.

Allow to rest for 5 minutes, then slice and serve.

So invite some people over to experiment in the kitchen, build a pizza like this and bask in your creative aura.