Cooking in Quarantine: Restaurant Favorites at Home
Missing your favorite restaurant yet?! I know I am! As the days of isolation and repetition drag on, I’ve trying to adapt in the kitchen, too. Cooking in Quarantine: Restaurant Favorites at Home is definitely a title I never thought would make it to Four Seasons of Autumn. It’s still hard to believe we’re living through a Global Pandemic and Sheltering in Place. In Michigan, Bars and Restaurants have been closed for more than two weeks. They’re likely not opening anytime soon. So, let’s get cooking with some of our restaurant favorites!
I’ve long been an avid home chef. However, I always enjoy date night at our favorite restaurant, too. It’s my chance to get out of the kitchen, enjoy adult conversation with my husband, and indulge a little in my favorite dishes. Call me a typical American, but I LOVE Pizza and Nachos. They’re the perfect treat when you’re out on a date or with friends! They’re shareable, delicious, and just plain amazing. Right?!
I recently made pizza and nachos with a lack of many of things I think make those dishes great! I’m running low on fresh ingredients, so I dug deep into my pantry to find some toppings I otherwise wouldn’t have used. And guess what?! Not to toot my own horn, but i think I made the best pizza and Nachos I’ve ever made! And – again totally not bragging (maybe a little) – James agrees! NOTE: I used my Pampered Chef RockCrock Grill Stone Set for both of these dishes.
Spicy Sicilian Pantry Pizza
Lets start with the pizza. Normally, I use frozen dough or fresh dough from a local pizzeria. I’ve made my own, too, but it had been awhile. So, I made my own. I also didn’t have any pizza sauce on hand but had everything to make my own. Oh – and I recently had amazing homemade pizza sauce from my boss at work. So, I got his recipe and while it didn’t taste as good as his, it was still better than store bought sauce!
Normally, I use fresh ingredients such as basil, peppers, and mushrooms on my pizza. Didn’t have any of that! So into the pantry I went and found lots of canned olives, banana peppers, hot relish, and a can of giardiniera mix! All of these ingredients got a nice chop in the Pampered Chef Manual Food Processor – making a delicious hot Sicilian-style mix. Friends – it was sooooo good!! I also added some pepperoni and sausage. YUM!
Spicy Sicilian Pantry Pizza
Ingredients
For the Toppings
- 1/4 cup canned black olives
- 1/4 cup canned green olives
- 1/4 cup hot relish mix
- 1/2 cup giardiniera mix
- 1/2 cup banana peppers
- 1/2 cup cooked ground sausage
- pepperoni slices
For the Dough *From The Spruce Eats
- 4 cups Itallian tipo “00” flour (or bread floud) and more for dusting
- 2 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1 tsp Active Dry Yeast
- 1.5 cups water
- olive oil for coating
For the Sauce *Recipe by Nino Sapone
- 1 14 ounce can Whole peeled Italian tomatoes (preferably San Marzano)
- 1 large Vidalia sweet onion, diced
- 1 6oz Can tomato paste
- 1 tbsp Dried oregao
- 1/2 cup Canola oil
- 4-6 cloves Garlic
- Large bunch of basil if it’s available when we’re not in a global pandemic
Instructions
For the Toppings
- Add everything but the pepperoni and sausage into a food processor and pulse a few times until everything is roughly chopped. Don’t over process.
For the Dough *The Spruce Eats
- Combine flour, salt, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Mix to combine.
- Add water and mix to combine.
- Then, knead dough on low speed for 10 minutes. The mixture should come together into a unified mass that barely sticks to the bottom of the bowl as it kneads. If dough sticks, add flour 1 tablespoon at a time to the mixer while it is running, until the mass barely sticks to the bowl. If the mixture is too dry, add water 1 tablespoon at a time to the running mixer.
- Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours. It can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.
- When ready to make pizza, transfer dough to a floured work surface. Divide dough into four even sections.
- Coat four small containers or bowls with nonstick cooking spray or olive oil.
- With floured hands, form each section into a ball.
- Place one dough ball into each coated container or bowl. Lightly spray the top of each dough ball with nonstick cooking spray or coat with olive oil.
- Cover each container or bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and let rise at room temperature for 2 hours. Each dough ball should double in volume.
For the Sauce *Recipe by Nino Sapone
- In a sauce man over medium heat saute the onion in canola oil until the onion is soft and translucent.
- Add the garlic and cook for another minute or 2.
- Add the tomatoes, paste, and oregano. Mix well breaking up the tomatoes. Add the basil.
- Cover and simmer on low for at least 30 minutes. Longer the better.
To Assemble the Pizza
- Take the PC RockCrock Stone and heat in an oven at 450 degrees until the stone is hot – about 5-10 minutes.
- Place the dough on the stone immediately after you bring it out of the oven. Add a thin layer of sauce to the dough. Then a mixture of ricotta cheese and fresh mozzarella.
- Evenly distribute the Sicilian mix on top of the cheese.
- Spread the pepperoni slices and crumbled sausage on top.
- Bake in a 450 degree oven for about 5 minutes (or until the crust starts to brown and bubble up).
- Let the pizza sit for about 5 minutes before slicing.
Pantry Nachos with Chipotle Ranch Sauce
Now lets talk about the nachos! Again – unusual toppings but man oh man – lots of goodness! I actually had some of that Sicilian mix left so I added just a little of that to the nachos. In a perfect world, I make nachos with turkey, beef, or refried beans. Ground chicken is all I had on hand, so I cooked that up with some seasonings.
My favorite part about these nachos? The Chipotle sauce that I whipped up while the nachos baked! Again, using my manual food processor, I mixed together a can of peppers in Chipotle Peppers in Adobo sauce, Greek yogurt, a little bit of buttermilk ranch seasoning, lime juice and a dash of olive oil. It turned out so good!
Pantry Nachos with Chipotle Ranch Sauce
Ingredients
For the Nachos
- 4-5 cups tortilla chips
- 1/2 can black beans
- 1 cup Hot Sicilian mix or mix of olives and banana peppers (recipe above )
- 1 cup shredded red cabbage
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 lb Ground Chicken, cooked with taco seasoning
For the Chipotle Ranch Dressing
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp Buttermilk Ranch Seasoning Mix
- 2 tbsp Lime Juice
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 clove Garlic
- 1 2oz Can of Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce
Optional Toppings
- Avocado Slices
- Salsa
- Shredded Red Cabbage or Romaine Lettuce
Instructions
- Layer the chips on a cookie tray or the PC RockCrock Stone.
- Add the cooked ground chicken evenly across the chips.
- Top the chicken with Sicilian mix and black peppers.
- Generously coat the nachos with cheese.
- Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes.
Chipotle Ranch Dressing
- Add all of the ingredients to a food processor and mix well until combined well and has the consistency a little thicker than salad dressing.
Nachos
- When the cheese is melted remove the nachos from the oven and top with the Chipotle Ranch. Add any additional toppings you like or have on hand such as avocado, salsa, and cabbage.
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