Low-Sin, High-Pleasure Pizza: gluten-free, low sodium, and still tasty

Pizza. Philly cheese steak. Food of the gods.

My folks went away for a month, leaving me to clean out the deep freeze unit to the best of my abilities. Due to my having been hit with a little upper respiratory bug, though, the only thing I really made a dent in was the stock of stock -- chicken stock, that is. I have, for now, had my fill of chicken soup and its many variations on a theme. I arrived at that point long before I had recovered my energy and ability to cook again.

The trouble with reaching curative foods saturation point before you can get back to playing in the kitchen, and craving variety you don't have the strength to cook for yourself, is that you start thinking about establishments which deliver prepared foods to your home. In this town, the only foods available for delivery are pizza, pizza, and...no, that's it. Two pizza places. Everything else you have to fetch for yourself.

What with my suddenly having to cut out wheat and aged cheeses, that's really not a great set of options. But it's a great way to develop a little obsession -- an undying craving. I needed pizza.

At last, my energy mostly returned, as did my accountant/personal shopper (the Bat). Also arriving, my mail-order shipment of Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Biscuit AND Baking Mix.

Note: I like Bob's Red Mill products. They're versatile, as well as relatively affordable (as gf products go, they're almost dirt cheap!), and they taste quite nice, with a balance of flours so you don't suffer from too sweet or too beany an aftertaste, as many other brands I've tried in the past year. [If you prefer another brand of biscuit mix, though, go for it, and follow the package instructions for a single batch of basic rolled biscuit dough.] 

So anyway, I had my biscuit mix, and now I had other ingredients and a mommy to help me out in case of crisis, so it was PIZZA TIME!

I chose to combine a couple of cravings, too, to kill two birds with one stone, as the saying goes. I went for the Philly Cheese-Steak toppings, to the best of my abilities.

Fair warning: this is not a throw-together-at-the-last-minute pizza. You need time for the meat to arrive at a workable state, even if you have a deli slicer. It helps if you get a nice lean roast of beef, cut it with the grain into 1 or 1 1/2 inch wide strips, then freeze the strips for an hour or two, until they are frozen firm, but not rock-hard. If they get too hard, you'll only have to allow them to start to thaw before applying a blade to them.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. This is how to make a gluten-free cheese-steak pizza.

Half of this one was without onions, for the sake of the digestion of somebody I love.

Gluten-Free Biscuit-Crust Philly Cheese Steak Pizza

Ingredients:

Toppings:

2 lbs lean beef roast, cut with the grain into 1- to 2-inch thick strips, semi-frozen, and then sliced very thinly
5 Tablespoons butter, divided

12 ounces fresh mushrooms, stems removed, sliced thinly.
1 cup sweet onion, sliced as you prefer - rings or simple splinter-style
1/2 cup sweet bell pepper (optional), sliced

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 (4-6 ounce) ball fresh mozzarella*, sliced thinly into circles

Crust:

2 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill GF Biscuit & Baking Mix, chilled
1/2 cup butter, chilled
3/4 cup cold water
Gluten-free flour of your choice for rolling out (about 1/3 cup)
Corn meal for pizza pan (about 1 Tablespoon)

Directions:

Starting well-ahead of when you need your pizza, firm up your beef in the freezer. When it is quite stiff but not yet frozen solid (it will take a couple of hours, depending upon your freezer), take out a section at a time and shave it as thinly as you can, across the grain of the muscle (cutting with the grain will leave you with too chewy a strip when cooked. You want it to fall apart so you don't have to struggle to get it into your mouth). If you are not going to cook the pizza right away, toss the meat back in the freezer before it thaws, so the slices don't stick together. If you are going to make the pizza now, set the meat aside in the fridge until you have made the biscuit crust.

Preheat oven to 375° F.

In a medium bowl, with a pastry blender, combine biscuit mix and 1/2 cup chilled butter until the mixture has the consistency of coarse cornmeal. Add water, mix in by hand -- start with a wooden spoon, but finish literally with clean, bare hands, until it begins to hold together. While it is still in the bowl, lightly knead it into a ball.

Place out on flat, lightly-floured work surface and roll to 1/4 inch thickness.

Sprinkle 14-inch round pizza pan or flat cookie sheet with cornmeal. Gently place biscuit dough on top (I use the rolling pin to transfer it from the counter top to the pan, the same way I transfer pie crust to the dish). If you wish, crimp edges a little, to give crust a rim. With a fork, pierce the dough at intervals of about one inch, across the entire sheet of dough.

Bake at 375° F for about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

Reset oven to 425° F.

In a large frying pan or wok at high heat, place a Tablespoon of butter. As soon as it is melted, toss in sliced mushrooms and stir regularly to flash fry. When the mushrooms begin to turn golden-brown and slightly crisped, remove from pan and set aside. Add butter to the pan, flash-fry sliced onions until the edges begin to brown. Remove from pan and set aside. Add another small amount of butter to the hot pan, lay in beef -- only enough at a time for a single layer to cover the bottom of the pan (a handful should do just fine). Cooking quickly, lightly brown each handful and then set aside, continuing to cook the next handful of meat.

When all the meat is cooked, generously spread butter over the top of the biscuit crust, including the edges. Sprinkle all 2 cups of shredded mozzarella over the top of that. Pile on the meat on top of that, then the onions, mushrooms, and raw sweet peppers (optional). Arrange sliced cheese over top.

Bake about 13-15 minutes, until top cheese is melted. Turn off oven and allow pizza to stand in cooling oven about 5 minutes.

Slice and serve hot. Makes 8 servings.

*you may choose to substitute cheddar, provolone, or Cheez Wiz for authenticity, both in the base layer of cheese and the topping, all or part, in your own choice of proportions. I use fresh mozzarella because I have an allergy/intolerance problem with aged cheeses, and because I think fresh mozzarella is just awesome on this. 

Gluten-Free, Low-Carb Pizza Crust

I have a little trouble with some allergies and sensitivities. They're not always the usual ones people get, either (yes, I'm violently allergic to anything containing grape origins – including cream of tartar and many of those unidentified "natural sweeteners" and "natural flavors" you find in so many sweet/diet snack foods. I dare you to match that).

Nevertheless, one of the foods I've recently learned is a problem for me is wheat. I haven't been tested for celiac, or other such, because my insurance doesn't cover…well, anything, since I have none. But I have discovered that, when I skipped eating wheat for more than a few days, I failed to have my regular morning migraine the next day, my digestive problems lessened, and my breathing issues around the cats were not so severe. So, at least I can say that I've marked something in my life which I can change in order to make my life just a little less sucky. (Here is where I do a little happy dance.)

Needless to say, this has left me searching for recipes I can fix for everybody in the household, which will satisfy their old fogey taste buds without causing me undue discomfort. This is why I got excited when one of my social media connections brought to my attention a simple, no-flour pizza crust recipe.

It was touted as low-carb, as well, piling on the pepperoni and sausage, but I have a bad habit of tossing peppers, onions, olives, and the like onto my own, instead of lots of meat. Tonight, it was broccoli, olives, and onions, with grilled peppers and mushrooms added into the sauce. But, hey, it's a pizza crust, and you can top it any way you want. 

The one thing I can say about this crust is, it's a very tender thing, and will likely stick to (a) the pan, if it's not greased very well, and (b) to the spatula if it's not a good non-stick silicone one. That's because the crust is, essentially, a crustless savory cheesecake. And, in my humble opinion, it kicks hindquarters.

this is a double-recipe, cooked in a standard 13x18" jelly-roll pan

Gluten-Free, Low-Carb Pizza Crust

Ingredients:

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese (you can use the low-fat, but not the nonfat)

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground pepper

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350º F. 

Grease 12-inch circular pizza pan or 9x13-inch cookie sheet.

Have cream cheese brought to room temperature, either by letting stand for a half hour in advance, or by warming slightly to soften in microwave oven.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine cream cheese and egg until thoroughly smooth. Beat in garlic powder, parmesan, and pepper.  Use spatula to pour batter into pan. 

Bake on middle rack about 10-12 minutes, until beginning to turn golden-brown in spots (like a flour tortilla or lefse, depending upon your own cultural references). Remove from oven, allow to cool at least 12-15 minutes. 

Meanwhile, raise temperature of oven to 375º F.

Apply your favorite sauce, cheeses, and toppings, and bake again until cheese begins to bubble up and lightly brown. 

Allow to cool about 5 minutes before serving.

Also great served cold for breakfast.

Sweet Bird of Pizza!

I've been playing around with my pizzas, lately, since I developed a little problem processing tomatoes & now rather dislike red pizza sauces.  The past few 'zas have been pesto-based, topped with crumbled ricotta & mozzarella, with mixtures of chicken and a few vegetables (onions, mushrooms, sweet peppers, whatever is in the crisper drawer).  Tonight, I went wild and left the pesto in the fridge.  Instead, I made a sweet-and-zesty version, using mascarpone cheese blended with honey and fresh ground ginger spread on a plain whole wheat thin crust, topped with sautéed chicken in honey-whisky-and smoky tabasco, with onions, peppers, and pineapple.  This time, I used quite a few preserved or previously-prepared ingredients, but I think next time I try this, I will use all fresh.  Except, I really like using Mama Mary's thin & crispy crusts (available at, of all places, the local Mart of Wals, for half the price of the other brands' crusts).

Anyway, if you want to try my pizza topping, here's the stuff:


Sweet Bird of Pizza!  
(or, if it weren't for the chicken, this could pass for dessert....)




Ingredients:


1 pre-cooked 12-inch pizza crust of your preferred variety
olive oil
4 oz.  mascarpone cheese
1 1/2 Tbs. fresh ground ginger
2 tsp. honey
8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
1 Tbs. butter
8 oz. sliced mushrooms
1 lb. white chicken meat, cut into 1/2-inch or smaller cubes*
1/4 cup (or slightly more) honey-infused whisky
a few shakes (to your taste) smoked tabasco sauce (I used about a dozen)
salt & pepper to taste
sliced or chopped: onions, fresh sweet peppers,  hot peppers (remove & discard the seeds)
finely-cut or shredded pineapple (fresh is better, but, if you use canned, be sure to drain it well)

Directions:

Preheat oven according to instructions for crust (usually, for a crispy crust, you'll need a fairly hot oven, around 425º F.).    Place crust on a cookie sheet or pizza pan, brush lightly with olive oil.

In a small bowl, mix mascarpone, ginger, and honey until completely blended.  Set aside.

Using a medium frying pan or wok at high temperature, stir-fry mushrooms in butter until some of the mushrooms develop a golden-brown, crisp edge.  Remove from heat, put in separate bowl.  Return the pan to heat,  add in chicken, salt & pepper, stir until most of the pink is gone from the meat.  Add in honey-whisky and tabasco, simmer, stirring, until liquid is cooked away and meat is lightly golden-brown.

Spread mascarpone mix on pizza crust, sprinkle lightly with mozzarella, then top with all other ingredients, distributed evenly and arranged to please your eye.

Bake on cookie sheet or pizza pan for 7-10 minutes (I do not recommend the extra-crispy method of baking right on the oven rack, because the mascarpone cheese will melt quickly and may run off the pizza onto the bottom of the oven).  When the mozzarella and onions have begun to lightly brown, remove from oven, allow to cool about 3-5 minutes before serving.




*I find the easiest way to prepare chicken for the purpose is to take a completely frozen chicken breast and allow it to thaw an hour or so at room temp -- or in the nuke for about a minute at full power -- just enough to make it less of a brick, but still frozen fairly solid.  Take out a good, heavy-duty knife and cut while still frozen.  Allow those wee chunks to thaw the rest of the way in the refrigerator, or stir-fry while still a little frozen.  If you're using a brined chicken breast, you'll want to drain the ensuing liquid from the pan before you add the whisky/tabasco.

Pizza and tossed salad

I heart radishes!

So, the Bat and I made pizza, last evening. Most of the time, she makes the dough for the crust, and I come swooping in and throw stuff on top of it at the last minute, before it gets made into a meal... we cheated, yesterday, and used store-bought crusts -- one of the recognizable brand name, and two of a relatively unknown name. Both were very good, of course, but not as good as had we followed the "secret family recipe" she adapted from her Chicago-Style Pizza cookbook (she likes the Uno's recipe). Fresh crust always wins that contest. But shortcuts are encouraged, if you have a crowd or if you have time constraints

Since we had company, we had three pizzas. Bat likes putting a ton of mushrooms, olives and cheese, and not much else, on hers. Pop likes a lot of meat, so we pile on the Italian sausage, pepperoni and onions. Me, like a non-red-sauced pizza with loads of vegetables, and, if we have any, a little roasted chicken (I prefer dark meat, but this week, the local market had bone-in, skin-on breasts on sale for $o.98 per lb, and the thigh meat was fully thirty cents more. And these were great honkin' breasts, at that. So, chicken hooters it was.

I also had to chop an onion, a couple of sweet bell peppers, and a few other items, so, as I was already doing the work, I opted to make a tossed salad to accompany the 'za. Why waste a perfectly good half-pepper, if it won't fit on the bread? Also, we'd been to Aldi the other day, & found a box of "artisan lettuces"... a couple of butter varieties and some other spiky variants of the mizuna family. It clearly meant must use. There's nothing like a big bowl of cool greens to go with a platter of garlic-laden goodies! Naturally, I dragged out a few other vegetables to go into the bowl: celery, radish, coarse-grated carrot, cauliflower (broken apart into slightly-smaller than bite-sized chunks), bell pepper, finely chopped scallions, and chunks of fresh, vine-ripened tomatoes. I was only sorry I had no avocado in the house!

But then, maybe that would have been too much... it doesn't even need dressing, this way.

As it was, the pizza was filling and kept everybody happy -- my own pizza was a hit with Pop and the guests (not enough left over for breakfast, darn it!).

So, here's what I did for mine:

Pesto Pizza

Ingredients:

one of your choice of 12-inch (or so) crust (I prefer extra thin & crispy, but since we were cheating & using store bought, & the Bat took that one for hers, mine this time was on a "regular" crust)

Extra virgin olive oil to brush crust

8 oz. sliced fresh mushrooms, quick-stir-fried in butter

1/3 cup pesto sauce (your favorite. I usually decide which one to use the moment I'm beginning assembly)

2/3 cup ricotta cheese, crumbled

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup frozen spinach, thawed

1/3 sliced sweet bell pepper

1/3 cup or so sliced sweet onion

1 medium tomato, sliced thinly

1/2 cup chopped chicken, cooked

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425º F.

In a hot frying pan or wok, drop a tablespoon or so of butter, and, when melted (before the butter starts to smoke), stir in mushroom slices. Cook until golden but not crisped. Set aside.

Precook (or open package of) your favorite pizza crust. Brush generously with olive oil, even (especially!) the edges. Spread pesto over the surface. Crumble ricotta cheese (yes, it's soft, so you can spread it with a spatula, but it will mix in with the pesto sauce, then, so be prepared for that, if you do).

In a strainer (or with your bare hands, if you're feeling macho), press as much of the liquid as you can from the thawed spinach. Spread thinly over surface of pizza. Cover with mozzarella cheese. Arrange the rest of the toppings to satisfy your sense of esthetics.

Bake in hot oven 10 minutes, or until cheese bubbles and begins to brown.

Allow to cool only a minute or two before serving.