Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Sunday night is Amazing Race night. In the ten years that it has been on the air, I have watched just about every season. In the early years I was obsessed. I watched religiously and planned my Wednesday nights around primetime. Boyfriend and I were still in college and he didn’t even have the title ‘boyfriend’ yet. We would watch the show while chatting on AIM and argue about who was the better team. After watching 17 seasons we’ve gotten pretty good about picking the winners. (I’ve actually picked the winning team for the past five seasons.)

Boyfriend and I have this grand idea that we would kick butt at the Amazing Race, as long as boyfriend doesn’t give directions. As I’ve discussed before, when presented with two options, boyfriend will inevitably choose the wrong direct 100% of the time. He does however have real world experience, or as he says “he knows the harsh realities of the world.” I apparently “have lived in a safety bubble.” (This is true) There are some things that would prevent us from doing well on the race. To give you a complete picture, let me walk you through our adventure of trying out for the Amazing Race.

Way back in 2006, boyfriend came to Madison for a visit. It just so happened that he came to town the same weekend there was an Amazing Race tryout. Tryouts were happening in Indiana at some beachside casino, three hours away from Madison, from 10-4. We figured if we left by nine am that we could be there by noon, perfect. Driving on the I-90, somewhere around Chicago, we hit massive traffic. Who knew that Chicago would be so busy on a beautiful Saturday afternoon?

Phew, made it through traffic, just thirty minutes behind schedule. But wait, is Indiana in the central time zone or the eastern time zone? Ummm, does it make a difference if it’s during daylight savings time? Oh boy, we might have one less hour! Speed boyfriend, speed!

When we finally made it to the casino we were confronted with a massive line of people. There were easily five hundred people waiting to have their turn in front of the camera. We got our number and stood in line, filling out our application as we waited. Hmmm, they need a photocopy of our passports? Uh oh, mine is in Wisconsin and boyfriends is in New York. Talk about being unprepared.

After thirty minutes of waiting in line and slowly inching forward, the head of the tryouts called numbers 450-500. Oh, we were number 498! The four hundred people in front of us had numbers in the thousands. Boyfriend and I considered our options. A. Wait in line for several more hours, abiding by proper line protocol. Or B. Do it Amazing Race style and cut everyone. We went with option B, what? We had the right number, they called us!

Needless to say we didn’t end up getting on the Amazing Race, I don’t know why, we’re pretty awesome. Boyfriend yells at people and I cry. We’d be good television.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

A Wilde Recipe

While boyfriend and I dream of racing around the world, we still remember our Buffalo roots. And what does everyone associate with Buffalo? Chicken! One of my favorite ways to enjoy Buffalo chicken is on pizza! This crust is thin, crispy and a great time to throw in the air. Too bad no one was around to take pictures of my throwing pizza crusts in the air!

Pizza crust

Adapted from The Bread Bakers Apprentice

You can prepare the pizza dough up to three days in advance. Just pull the dough balls out of the fridge thirty minutes before you want to start making the pizzas. (The same day you make the pizza dough, begin marinating the chicken tenders!)

2 ¼ cups bread flour
1 tsp salt
½ tsp yeast
2 tbsp olive oil
14 tbsp ice cold water

Mix together the flour, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Add oil and water and stir until it all comes together. If mixing by hand, wet your hands to keep the dough from sticking too badly. If using your stand mixer, switch to the dough hook and knead for 6 minutes. The dough will be very sticky.

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or a silpat mat. Spray the sheet with oil. Divide the dough into three equal pieces and form them into balls. Transfer the dough to the baking sheet and spray with oil. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight.

When you are ready to make the pizzas, remove the dough from the fridge. Sprinkle the countertop with flour and spray with cooking oil. Place dough balls on the counter and press them into 6-inch discs. Allow them to warm to room temperature for at least 30 minutes to an hour.

Work one at a time with the dough balls. Spray a pizza sheet with cooking oil and dust with cornmeal. Dust your hands with flour and transfer pizza disc to your knuckles. Bounce around the dough on your fists to enlarge the circle. If you get confidant, feel free to toss it in the air (it’s fun!) Place your pizza on the prepared baking sheet and top with deliciousness.

Toppings

½ lb chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
¼ cup Buffalo sauce (I used Franks, or you can make your own!)
1 carrot, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
1 cup Blue cheese dressing
2 cups mozzarella cheese

The day you make the pizza dough, combine chicken and Buffalo sauce in a small bowl. Toss chicken to coat with sauce and cover with plastic wrap. Let the chicken marinate in the fridge until you’re ready to make pizza!

When you’re ready to eat… In a medium saucepan, cook chicken over medium heat, stirring and turning the chicken, until completely cooked through. This should take about 7-10 minutes.

Spread a layer of blue cheese dressing on the pizza dough, staying about 1 inch away from the edges. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the dressing. Add chicken, carrots and celery.

Heat oven to 500 and bake pizzas for 12-15 minutes. The bottoms should be golden and the cheese should get all melty. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before slicing up and devouring! I like to add a little extra wing sauce to the top of my pizza!