Vicarious Travels to the Windy City

I have never been to Chicago, and I would really like to visit there sometime. Then again, I would love to visit every major city (and little town in between) in the United States, so I guess Chicago isn't anything special. Except for tonight for dinner.

 Thanks to Richard-Seaman.com

Tim is working later so I needed something quick and easy, but I didn't want to just grab a sandwich or salad from the grocery store. I therefore planned to make pizza. That's right. Make. So I have this cookbook called Grilled Pizzas and Piadinas by Craig Priebe and he has some of the weirdest combinations for a pizza that are so absolutely delicious.

 

The first pizza in the book is The Chicagoan. The pizza has three types of cheese (Parmesan, Mozzarella and Cheddar), strips of grilled steak, baked slices of potato, red onion, and sour cream. At first, I was a little hesitant but once I took a bite, it was all "Mmm... Yumm... Mmm..."

Tim's comment cracked me up: " The only thing that detracts from its ridiculous goodness is when I take a bite and go, 'Ew, onion.'" He gave it a 4.9/5 rating, something he never does, so if your family love meat and cheese and potatoes, this is a great variation to the typical dish.

Here's how to make it:

You will need a Boboli crust (or if you have time, you can make your own pizza crust, but it needs to be pre-baked), 1 baking potato, 8 oz. top sirloin or strip or skirt steak, olive oil, 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan, 1 cup shredded mozzarella, 1/2 cup shredded cheddar, 1 cup marinara sauce, some sliced red onion, sour cream and chives.

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Peel and slice the potato at 1/4 inch thickness (I used a mandoline, but a knife will work). Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and lay in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 min or until golden and tender. Loosen with spatula while hot.

Grill or pan-sear the steak to your liking. (I left it a little rare so it would be medium rare when done). When finished cooking, cut into thin slices. Brush the pizza crust with olive oil, then dust with Parmesan. Sprinkle the other cheeses on top. Drop with spoonfuls of marinara sauce, then top with potato, red onion and steak. Bake at 450 F for about 8 minutes, then dollop some sour cream on top and add some chives.

The whole time it took to make was roughly 30 minutes. How easy and quick is that! Mmm.. I'm so tempted to go eat the last slice. But no, it's for lunch tomorrow. I'm so looking forward to that.

While on the topic of pizza, what are your favorite toppings?

Enjoy!