CPK BBQ Chicken Pizza

This recipe post is a bit belated, as our Supper Club is meeting tonight and this was one of last month's dishes that we made!  But I'm very behind in my recipe posting!  Last month's Supper Club theme was Restaurant Copy-Cats.  My husband and I were hosting so we were in charge of the main dishes.  As we were trying to come up with dishes to make, we realized that we don't visit chain restaurants enough to have favorite dishes to re-create.  Which of course is a good thing!  We did agree that we love CPK (California Pizza Kitchen) and the rare times we go there we split a pizza and a salad.  Our favorite pizza is the Thai Chicken Pizza, but different versions of Thai Chicken Pizza have already been made in the Supper Club (including one by myself!).  Although we've never actually had the BBQ Chicken Pizza at CPK this is the pizza recipe that we went with.  Everyone enjoyed this pizza.  My husband made the dough and doubled the recipe so we were fortunate to have leftovers for a couple of days!  Unfortunately, I never got a picture of the Outback Chopped Salad that we made as our other dish and there was none left over after our dinner (which again, is a good thing!).

CPK BBQ Chicken Pizza
Recipe slightly adapted from cdkitchen.com

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon honey
1 cup warm water
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
10 ounces chicken breast, boned and skinned
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons barbecue sauce plus 1/2 cup barbecue sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's)
1 cup Gouda cheese, shredded
1 cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 small red onion, sliced into rings
2 tablespoons cilantro

Directions:
To make the dough: In a small bowl, dissolve the honey in the warm water. Sprinkle the yeast over the water and stir until it dissolves. Let the yeast mixture stand for 5 minutes, until a layer of foam forms on the surface. In a large bowl, combine the flour and the salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour the olive oil and the yeast mixture. Stir the flour into the wet ingredients, until all the flour is incorporated. If its too dry, add more water. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for 15 minutes, until it is smooth and elastic. Shape the dough into a ball and put in in a well-oiled bowl. Cover with a moist towel and let rise in a warm place until double in bulk (about 1 1/2 hours).

One hour before baking the pizzas, start preheating the oven with pizza stones inside at 500 degrees F.

For the Chicken: In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil on medium high heat. Add chicken pieces. Saute until cooked (6 minutes). Chill. Coat chicken with 2 tablespoons barbecue sauce. Set aside in the refrigerator.

For the Pizza: Punch the dough down, and divide into equal serving portions. Roll out each portion into an 6-8 inch flat circle. Spread 1/4 cup barbecue sauce over the surface of the dough. Distribute 1/2 of the cheese over the sauce. Distribute 1/2 of the chicken over the cheese. Place half of the onion rings over the chicken pieces. Place the pizza in the oven (on top of pizza stones). Bake until crust is crispy and cheese is bubbling (8-10 minutes). Remove pizzas from the oven and sprinkle each with 1/2 of the cilantro.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up.