I was driving around on Monday, trying to think of some tips I'd like to share with my readers. I've covered chicken, I've covered sauces, and that's when I decided to cover one of my more creative tips when it comes to cooking. Today's tip is "screwing with good ideas." Taking foods you already like, and combining them with similar foods is a great way to flex the creative muscles and to try out new, fun food ideas.
The first step in screwing with good ideas is to take something you already know and think about what's similar to it. The only difference between Chicken Cordon Bleu and Chicken Parmesan is the ham in the former and the red sauce in the latter. Why not add ham to one, or red sauce to the other?
Another quick example is the relationship between sandwiches and salads. All a salad is is a lazy sandwich. Both have meat, cheese, veggies and sauce. The only difference is that instead of assembling these ingredients on bread, the salad connoisseur chooses to chop up these foods, place them in a bowl, and toss the whole thing. You could even argue that croutons (the best part of the salad) take the place of the bread, and then you really have the same thing!
So how could you play with that idea? What's your favorite sandwich? Would it work well as a salad? Or maybe your favorite salad would be great as a sandwich.
Maybe, instead, you have a favorite steak with a favorite sauce. Take a step back. Is there any way to turn that sauce into a broth? Then, what if you added the steak into your broth, and maybe those potatoes you were going to put on the side as well? The next thing you know, your favorite steak dinner is now a fantastic soup!
While driving around thinking of all this, my mind decided to think about the difference between pizza and sandwiches. Think about this one; what's really the difference between a pizza and a sandwich? Sure, one's open faced, but put a second slice on top and you have one delicious, funky shaped sandwich. Heck, if you did that with a chicken pizza, I'd argue that you wouldn't even be sure if you were eating two slices of chicken pizza or one delicious chicken parmesan sandwich. They're the same thing, so your favorite sandwich can EASILY be made into a pizza!
Of course, when I think of sandwiches, my mind goes to one of my all time favorite sandwiches, and that's the Thanksgiving Leftover Sandwich. I became obsessed with these while working at Capriotti's Sandwich Shop when I was a teenager. They sell an amazing sandwich called The Bobbie, which is mayo, homemade turkey (shredded), cranberry sauce and stuffing. Ever since I ate one of these things at least once a week for three years, I've been hooked on the whole concept of Thanksgiving sandwiches. To this day, any time I see cranberry sauce, turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes or gravy I take some combination and turn it into a killer sandwich.
This is where my brain took a major turn into the creative world, so bare with me as I get into this next idea. I came up with the Thanksgiving Pizza! (you didn't think I was going to blog without giving you a recipe, did you?) I made this on Monday for the guys, and ten minutes later it was gone! I loved it, and so did they. Hopefully you will too.
Thanksgiving Pizza
Turkey (or chicken)
Mashed potatoes
Stuffing
Pizza dough or crust
Dried cranberries
Brown gravy
This is really meant to be a "leftovers" type of dish. I actually had some chicken breasts that I'd cooked and shredded, which is why I opted to use the chicken. As for mashed potatoes, anything from homemade to a microwavable one will do. Stuffing I used a microwavable mix that took literally 5 minutes to prepare.
But, if you feel so inclined, make everything from scratch. You won't regret it when you eat this thing!
If you're using pizza dough, prepare it in an oven before hand. If you are using a ready made crust, you're good to go.
Starting in the middle, spread the mashed potatoes throughout the entire crust, leaving just a little dry crust at the edges.
Cover the mashed potatoes with a decent sized layer of your shredded bird of choice. Top the meat with salt and pepper to taste (and garlic powder if you have it).
Cover the meat layer with a layer of stuffing. The stuffing is much easier to spread if it's warm, so either make it in the microwave or reheat it. At this point, take a sheet of tin foil and lightly press the entire thing downward, compressing the layers together.
Cover the whole concoction with a drizzle of brown gravy, or you're like me (not health conscious at all when it comes to food) a whole layer of brown gravy!
Place the whole thing in a preheated oven (325 degrees) or broiler (low), and heat for 5-10 minutes. Remember, you're not cooking the pizza; just reheating all of the ingredients.
As soon as it's out of the oven, top the whole thing with a few dried cranberries. You just want enough that each pizza slice comes with a few cranberries. Slice the whole thing into pizza slices, serve warm and enjoy!
The tips I mentioned today are some great ways to keep meals fun. Changing things up will definitely keep your interest going, and any of your friends who eat your food will almost always say "Wow dude, what a great idea!" Keep being creative, and I'll do the same. Enjoy guys, and let me know how it goes!
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