eclaire (what’s in a) name?

a year ago, i posted a long and detailed explanation of march madness around here (waaay back before this was a food blog), and here we are a year later, actively caught up in the middle of it again.  before you get the wrong impression and think that we’re huge basketball fans, let me stop and clarify – march is the month of birth for practically everyone we know.  ok, that’s an exaggeration, but you get the idea.  every weekend this month has been full of celebrations (and desserts!), and to add some extra fun, we’re flying out to indiana to spend time with my great-uncle, who is turning 99 this week!

through the magic of delayed-posting, i am actually, technically, in indiana right now, and boy is it cold (i’m assuming it will be cold, but you never know, i’ll update you when i get back next week)!  before i left for my trip, however, i wanted to leave you with one more recipe to tide you over to my return.  when i perused the recipes in my queue (i have about 10 recipes waiting at any given time), i decided to pick this one to share with you because it is sort of weird, but absolutely delicious.  it takes the normal pizza dough base that almost every american loves, and covers it with a strange and delicious combination of sauce and toppings that transform the normal pizza experience into something quite unusual.  so i thought this might inspire you to think about all sorts of creative possibilities that start with normal recipes but end up with something entirely different.

so what is thai “chicken” pizza, i bet you’re wondering.  i wondered the same thing when i stumbled across the recipe in eat, drink & be vegan, by dreena burton.  i am not a huge fan of fake meats – it’s been so long since i’ve eaten chicken that most fake chicken tastes like the real thing to me – so i was hesitant to read further than the title on this one.  but mike insisted, as he’s a huge fan of bbq chicken pizza, and this is as close as he thought he might ever get to that in our vegetarian kitchen.

this recipe doesn’t use fake chicken, however – just mooshed garbanzo beans.  over those beans, we placed red bell pepper and pineapple, then sprinkled the whole thing with cilantro, mung bean sprouts, and peanuts once it was out of the oven.  oh but wait – i saved the best for last – under those beans we spread the most amazing peanut sauce that i have ever tasted.  it’s creamy, not too heavy, sweet and spicy, and really well rounded, offering new flavors as you eat it.  it’s an amazingly delicious base for the pizza, and i think it would come in handy in many other areas, such as drizzled simply over rice, or over a stir fry, or perhaps even for dipping pita chips.  even if the pizza doesn’t sound all that amazing to you, i really think you should try this peanut sauce.

regardless of what you choose to make, i hope you enjoy what you’re eating, while i’m freezing my toes off in indiana, probably losing at card games (our family is full of major card sharks), and hearing all kinds of stories from the good ol’ days.  see you next week!

thai chicken pizza

adapted from eat, drink & be vegan, by dreena burton
yields 4 servings

• sauce
• 2/3c peanut butter
• 1/3c ketchup
• 2T rice vinegar
• 2T soy sauce
• 2 large cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 1½T ginger, roughly chopped
• 1/4t crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4c light coconut or soy milk
• 2t agave nectar or honey (optional)

• pizza
• pizza dough, either homemade or store bought
• 1c chick peas, cooked or canned
• 1 medium red bell pepper, sliced
• 3/4c pineapple, diced
• mung bean sprouts, for garnish
• peanuts, for garnish
• fresh cilanto, for garnish
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1. for the sauce: place all ingredients in the food processor and blend until smooth
2. if the sauce is too thick, add up to 2T water until desired consistency
3. for the pizza: preheat oven to 425º
4. cook dough for about 5 minutes either on a pizza stone or pan, until it starts to rise but not brown
5. pull the dough out (pull out the entire pizza stone if using) and spread the sauce evenly to desired thickness – you’re going to have some extra that will be great on something else later in the week!
6. moosh chick peas in your hand as you spread them over the dough, just enough so they’re not round and won’t roll away
7. place bell pepper and pineapple over the top of the chick peas
8. return pizza to oven and cook for about 15 more minutes, or until crust is turning a nice brown color and is firm to the touch
9. cut the pizza, and garnish on the plates with bean sprouts, peanuts, and cilantro, and enjoy!