Home-made Part Two (C)

Location
My very own kitchen!  Last night I looked in the fridge and saw cheese, chicken, feta and an onion.  There isn't really much else you can do with that, other than buy pizza dough and sauce and whip up a delicious chicken pizza.

The Pizza
I bought premade dough and premade sauce and started in, cooking like a fiend.  The cheese was a chedder and mozzarella mix, which I just don't think comes out as well as pure mozzarella.  The chedder makes it gooey and I really just don't want gooey pizza.  The dough was pretty tasty, but did not cook all the way, in the center.  I rolled it out on the pizza stone and then slid the stone into the oven, cold.  Everyone knows that pizza stones are supposed to be preheated!  I need to remember that when I am cooking with Big Y unrisen dough, I need to use a metal pizza pan, which conducts heat more easily.

The Chicken
I have perfected the chicken technique, if I must say so myself.  I pounded a breast flat, dipped it flour, egg and bread crumbs, then fried it in a skillet.  I sliced it, dunked it in sauce and laid the strips across the top of the pizza.  The only thing that really needs work is my pounding.  I never thought I would say that, but it's true.  Recipes all call for chicken flattened to an even 1/2 inch or thinner.  I can't seem to manage that.  I pound and pound, but it keeps some if its shape.  Oh well, it cooks evenly, which is the most important part.

The Sauce and the Taste
I was out of barbecue sauce, so I decided to use some Frank's Red Hot sauce, instead.  I shook the chicken slices in the sauce to give an even coating, then splashed some across the surface of the pizza.  I also included feta cheese and carmelized red onions.  I have to say that, despite the cheese and the dough being kind of soft and gooey, the taste of this pizza was amazing.  It was a perfect combination of heat, sweet and salty.

Overall
This pizza still has a ways to go.  I have certainly found better pizzas at restaurants...but I think I am catching up.  This pizza was better than the ones I made a few months ago and I think I know how to make it even better.  The chicken and the other toppings are secure in their superiority.  Now what I really need is to find a good recipe for pizza dough and a good cheese blend.

Sgt. Pepperoni (D-)

Location
Sgt.  Pepperoni is located between my office in the Gentry Building and my car in F Lot.  I stopped in after a late night in the office, sometime in January.  I'm going to be honest, the best part of the experience was looking at the hot girl behind the counter.

I spent the rest of the evening, eating the entire medium (quite large) pizza by myself.  I went to sleep early, figuring I was slipping into a food coma...not realizing that I was ill.  I woke up at midnight and spent the rest of the night throwing up periodically.  I swore I would never return to Sgt. Pepperoni and came very close to swearing that I would never eat BBQ chicken pizza again.  It's been a month and a half and I am finally ready to resume my quest for the perfect chicken pizza.  But first I need to purge the awfulness that was Sgt. Pepperoni.  (I should note that it was a stomach bug and not food poisoning, but I'm still pissed that I spent money on this pizza so I'm going to put this note in parentheses rather than giving it the full weight of its own sentence).

The Pizza
Well, not much to say.  There was a cheese pizza with some chicken on top.  It looked like very generic small town pizza.

The Chicken
Chunks.  Flavorless, chewy chunks.

The Sauce and the Taste
Not much sauce, virtually no taste.

Overall
Am I biased by the fact that this pizza was purged from my system in the most unpleasant way possible?  Yes.  I don't give a flying fuck.  This pizza sucked.  I am never going back.

Apollo (B-)

Last night I had the pleasure of dining with my Connecticut foodie partner, Katie.  She's been busy with a full time job and a boyfriend, so it's been a while since we got our Culinary on.  I told her about my blog so she did a little research and found Apollo's Pizza in South Windham. 

The Location
This place is on route 32, between Willimantic and Norwich, tucked away in a quaint little strip.  The decor was greek themed and cute but the place smacked of 'townie bar.'  I like it a lot.  It was quiet on a Monday night.  More importantly, Apollo is a hotbed of chicken pizza activity.  They have no less than FOUR chicken pizzas.  They have the usual barbecue and buffalo but also have a chicken and broccoli pizza.  Not only that, but their namesake pizza, The Apollo, is itself a chicken pizza.  Needless to say, I will be returning to review these other pizzas, soon.

The Pizza
When my pizza arrived at the table, I found it to be very straightforward.  Circular pie, medium thickness crust, bbq sauce as the base, chicken chunks and cheese.  The crust and cheese were neither good, nor bad.

The Chicken

BBQ Chicken and The Texan...brothers in arms.

They used leftover chunks of white meat.  Again, neither good nor bad.  The chicken was probably generic leftovers, but was not chewy and was doused in an appropriate amount of sauce.

The Sauce and the Taste

The barbecue sauce that they used was generic, but very tasty.  If I had to guess, I would say that they used Sweet Baby Ray's (or the industry equivalent).  The taste was really what was lacking, in this pizza.  There was nothing salty to offset the sweetness of the sauce and the blandness of the cheese/crust.  It could have used some bleu cheese or onions or bacon or something to give it a little pizzazz.

Overall

There was nothing wrong with this pizza.  If anything, I would say that it is the quintessential BBQ chicken pizza.  But, really, there was nothing about it that stood out, either.  I give it a B-.

NOTE
We also got a pizza called The Texan, a new one at Apollo.  It had a ranch dressing base, french fries and bacon on top.  It was salty and delicious.  I would give that pizza a B+.  I recommend going and checking out this place.

Homemade Part One (C+)

Location
My Kitchen!  I was invited to a pot luck game party last weekend and I found myself at a loss for what to make.  I decided, with no small amount of trepidation, to make my own barbecue chicken pizza and bring it to the party.  I knew that, by taking this small step, I was embarking on a journey, not only to FIND the perfect BBQ chicken pizza, but also to MAKE the perfect BBQ chicken pizza.

The Pizza
 decided to take it easy on myself, this go around.  I purchased Big Y brand pizza dough, the kind that comes in a bag, pre-raised.   I pounded that bad boy flat, which didn't go quite as I had hoped, spooned some Big Y brand pizza sauce on top and smothered that mother with Sargento Two Cheese Pizza Blend.  Then I added thinly sliced red onions, covering the entire surface.  The dough and the cheese were really what held this pizza bag from being great.  Next time, I will have to explore other options.

The Chicken
I took a lesson from Angellino's and used the parm-style chicken.  I took chicken cutlets, pounded them flat, breaded and fried them.  Then I sliced the meat, doused it in BBQ sauce and dropped it on the pizza.  This method worked as well for me as it did for Angellino's.  It was delicious.

The Sauce and the Taste

It did look pretty good, though.  Mmm...maybe I was a little harsh.

I used Sweet Baby Ray's original barbecue sauce.  It was sweet, without tasting of chemicals, and delicious.  I might experiment with other sauces in the future, but it's hard to beat Sweet Baby Ray's.  Unfortunately, the overall taste of the pizza was lacking.  Even with the cheese and the onions, there wasn't anything to counteract the sweetness of the barbecue sauce.  It needs something salty or at least savory.  Perhaps some seasoning, some saltier cheese...bacon?

Overall
e fair, I did receive some very positive feedback from my friends.  They devoured the pizza and declared that it was delicious.  I mentioned that it was doughy and bland, but they said they loved it.  I was told that it deserved an A.  I really appreciate that feedback, but I am a harsher critic--both on myself and on pizza.  I gave it a C+.  If I found some dough with a little more flavor, some cheese with a little oomph and something salty...I think I could make it an A.  The chicken and sauce, at least, were a huge success.

Uno's Frozen Thin Crust (F)

I bought the Uno's brand thin crust BBQ chicken pizza.  I figured it might be better than the California Pizza Kitchen version.  I was mistaken.  They were the same pizza.  No, literally the same pizza--like they were made in the same factory.  I did not overcook it this time and it was still abysmal.

Angellino's (A+)

This pizza was purchased for me by my friend Rohini.  We used to share an office, but then she moved off to New York City and I don't see her very much anymore.  When she comes back to visit, she buys me food out of guilt...and because I invite her to stay at my place.  I don't know that is usually worth offering food for, but it really is a nice futon.

The Location
Angellino's is an italian restaurant that is right near my apartment.  It's a classy joint for small-town Italian.  They have a few locations, scattered across Connecticut.  Angellino's seems to believe that The Olive Garden is its main competition and sets out to do what Olive Garden does, only better.  I will say that, while this goal doesn't seem particularly ambitious, Angellino's really succeeds.  It's not fine dining, but it beats the pants off of most box restaurants or family restaurants.

The Pizza
Oh boy am I excited to tell you all about this one.  This was a thick crust buffalo chicken pizza.  Buffalo sauce was used as the base and bleu cheese was mixed into the mozzarella.  Speaking of the mozzarella, it was magical.  It was stretchy and stringy and gooey, like you see on tv commercials.  Except, it wasn't a commercial, it was real life.  That never happens in real life but somehow Angellino's made it come true.

The pizza included red onions and chicken that...well...

The Chicken
Here's what really impressed me about this pizza.  They used the chicken parmesan chicken.  It was white meat, pounded flat, breaded and fried.  They took the flattened cutlet, sliced it into chunks--dipped them in buffalo sauce--and then scattered them on the top of the pizza.  As a result, the chicken was flavorful, crunchy and meaty all at the same time.  Hands down, the best chicken.

The Sauce and the Taste
Again, delicious.  The buffalo sauce they used was mild, so it had a hint of heat but a whole boat load of flavor.  The combination of the buffalo, the red onion and the bleu cheese was fantastic.

Overall
I am trying to think of something bad to say about this pizza and I cannot come up with anything.  It was satisfying, tasty and smacked of quality.  I have no idea if it actually was quality.  The chicken parm meat may have come out of a freezer bag.  I don't care.  It FELT like quality and it tasted amazing.  A+.

North End Treats (B+)

This was another treat provided by my brother and his wife when I visited them last weekend.  We had a lovely family evening of watching the baby and the tv while eating some tasty pizza.

The Location

North End Treats is a pizzaria and bakery in...the north end of Boston...clever, no?  We got this particular pizza from their location in Framingham, MA.

The Pizza

The pizza itself was lackluster.  The crust was too chewy/crusty and the cheese was not the most pleasant.  I ate a couple slices of the pepperoni pizza, just for comparison, and found it to be lacking as well.

The BBQ Chicken pizza used barbecue sauce as the pizza base and had chunks of chicken and jalepenos on top.

The Chicken

The chicken was big, healthy chunks of fresh white meat.  It was hearty and delicious.

The Sauce and the Taste

The barbecue sauce at North End Treats was pretty tasty.  What really made this pizza stand out from the competition was the fiery jalepeno heat.  No other BBQ pizza has included that kind of spiciness.  It was a bold move.  If the heat had been greater, I might not have appreciated what I was eating.  In the end, I decided that the heat was just right, and the flavor that it brought was unique and interesting.

Overall

I really appreciate the quality toppings and the boldness of the jalepenos.  However, I was disappointed by the pizza itself.  I give North End Treats a B+.