Chicken "Caprese" Pizza with Ma I? Have This Evening Shiraz Blend

So, I found this recipe for a chicken caprese pizza here...  http://willcookforsmiles.com/2013/08/caprese-chicken-pizza.html

and put my own twist on it.  My husband and one of my kids does not like tomatoes AT ALL but this looked so delicious, I couldn't not "pin" it and try it sometime, catering it to all my men, of course.

Ingredients:
1 Chicken breast
Fresh Pizza Dough
S&P
2 Tbsp EVOO
3 tsp Balsamic
1 tsp (total) - orgenago, basil & garlic powder
6-8 oz Fresh Mozzarella (I like mine cheesy), shredded or sliced thin and ripped a bit. 
1 Roasted Red Pepper (this is what I use in place of the tomatoes)
10ish Fresh Basil Leaves

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

My first change-up was using a fresh pizza dough, rather than the Pilsbury.  It's how we've been doing pizza lately, and the difference in taste (and price) is amazing.  No, I don't make my own dough, but I do buy the fresh stuff at the supermarket.  I leave the dough out for a bit to bring it to room temperature before rolling it out on my pizza stone - you may want to put something like cornmeal or oil on the stone before rolling out the dough.  While that's sitting, grill or fry up 1 chicken breast.  If you've got a Foreman grill, that's probably your easiest/best bet.  I have one, but ended up frying anyway.  Next time, it will be on the grill, no doubt.  I just seasoned up the chicken with some S&P, the rest of the pizza will be filled with flavor, so don't worry about seasoning up the chicken any more than that. 

For the "Sauce", you will need 2 Tbsp EVOO, 3 tsp Balsamic and 1 tsp total of oregano, basil and garlic powder (or if you can find pizza seasoning, but this worked well for me rather than spending money on "pizza" seasoning).  Mix that altogether and brush it on the rolled out dough.  You probably won't (don't want to) use nearly all of it, too much will make it runny. 

Then, start "decorating" your pizza with the mozzarella, chicken, red pepper and basil.  I also drizzled a little bit more of the sauce on top before putting it in the oven.  If you'd like, a little more salt could go on at this point ~ not too much, though.  Cook for approximately 15-17 minutes.

Pre Oven Picture - isn't it pretty????

 

And, out, still not bad to look at - but this is why I suggest not using too,

too much on the "sauce", it did pool up in the middle a bit.

 



Not only did it look good, but it tasted AMAZING!!  What would I do differently next time??  Garlic, I'd cut up some fresh garlic and throw that on there too. 

So, the wine.  Ma I? Have This Evening 2009 Barossa Valley.  It's a blend of 80% Shiraz and 20% Mataro.  This went really well with the balsamic on the pizza, I'm glad I chose this wine.  Initially opening it, it was a little sharp on the nose, but that opens up very quickly to a jammy chocolately goodness.  Let's taste....wait, give me a minute, I'm tasting....

This is a nice, mostly dry red that goes down very smoothly.  Not so much of the chocolate that I got on the nose, but the jammy, black berry flavors present nicely.  The finish has a light smoky, spicy, but not "burn".  This is a nice, full-bodied wine that I'm glad I have a couple more bottles of.  It paired amazingly well with this dinner. 

In Vino Veritas!

2011 Mas de Daumas Gassac Rose Frisant

Whew, it's been a while.  I got myself a little wine journal and hope that this helps me keep on top of my "Wine"-ing. 

So, a while back, my husband put this wine in the fridge, and I had put a different one in for the same night of drinking.  Of course, we ended up that night drinking the wine I put in and this one has just been chillin'.  This week, HB (Honey Bunny) & I are on date week.  Kids are away at Boy Scout camp and, while I didn't have much of a plan for dinner, I came up with a last minute plan to make grilled chicken sandwiches with arugula, fresh mozz, balsamic & roasted red peppers on Ciabatta.  Pretty easy, but what wine??  I didn't much feel like a red wine in this extreme heat, so when I saw this bottle in the fridge, it was a no brainer. 

So, dinner - I used a chipotle seasoning from Pampered Chef on the chicken and HB grilled that up for us.  Cut up some fresh mozzarella, had some roasted red peppers.  I have this delicious Pomegranate Balsamic Vinegar from Leonardo e Roberto.  I swear it's the most amazing vinegar.  We bought it at a local wine festival, but I've "like'd" them on Facebook since, and I found more at Chef Central up in Paramus, so I'm a happy camper (and speaking of camping, I'm starting up a new camping blog - hopefully, I'll be more active with all).  Back to the dinner, put all this stuff on your ciabatta and eat away - did you get all the stuff I put on there?  Chicken, roasted red peppers (I prefer to roast my own), balsamic, arugula and fresh mozzarella. 

Let's talk wine...  I'm not big on Brut wines. To me, the fizz takes away from the flavor, but on this hot night, it was quite refreshing.  Visually, it's a beautiful, Pretty in Pink, bubbly.  Immediately, I smell strawberries, and it's funny because I don't know if I actually smell them, or I just want to because of how it looks, but definitely a nice berry scent.  In the mouth, you get that fresh effervescence that, at first, overpowers the fruitiness, but as you get through the bottle (and, HB & I got through the whole bottle), it settles more into a nicer fruity/bubbly balance and was much more enjoyable for me.  Alcohol content was 11.5%, so it was not overpowering, especially on this heat to drink a wine that wasn't too high on the alcohol. 

All in all, I'd say it was a really nice wine/dinner pairing.  Love it when you throw something together last minute and it all works out.

In Vino Veritas!