My Saturday Morning at Saluggi's

There are a couple of reasons why I love my neighborhood. The first being my amazing neighbor, Jose.  He lives only one block away and I love unexpectedly running into him, his hubby and dog while strolling down one of our cobblestone streets.  Unplanned sightings of familiar faces make me feel like I live in a sitcom.  

The second reason why I love my neighborhood is because Saluggi's is right around the corner.  Saluggi's is a downtown pizzeria that makes all of their pizza components from scratch and on site. When you take a bite of their slice, you can feel the TLC invested into each ingredient. The only downside of Saluggi's is that once you have their pie, you won't be able to eat anywhere else.  I've tried to go to other pizza joints, but I always end up kicking myself for the mere attempt of trying to find an adequate substitution.  Why do I bother with other pizzerias when I have Saluggi's right around the corner?? Best.DANG.pizza in New York.

So, when I was invited to spend a beautiful summer Saturday morning in their kitchen, I thought to myself... why not invite Jose along?  He has the same Saluggi's obsession as I do, and the man appreciates the process involved in making exceptional creme de la creme food. Plus, favorite neighbor and favorite pizzeria just go together like mozzerella and pizza dough!

Resident Pizza Maestro, Pedro

The Curd Before Mozzy Perfection

This actually was harder than it looks! 

Oozy, Gooey, Rich and Cheesy. Mozzarella Heaven

Hot Neighbor Jose Mastered the Art of Sexy Eating

Whereas, I have not. I think I need to watch more Nigella.

I DID, however, Master the Art  of Kitchen Karat-TAY! Hiiii YAH!

Beautiful Piece of Pie. Simple. Majestic. Perfection.

Chicken Pesto Pizza with Arugula and Cherry Tomatoes

I don't bake.  

Flour is my foe, and most definitely not my friend. 

My style of cooking doesn't really lend itself 

to successful baking.  

I don't really measure. 

I come from the school of 

"a little of this and a little of that". 

That being said, I don't normally like 

to take culinary shortcuts, 

but when you live in a city where Arthur Avenue  

is at your fingertips, I'm okay with using 

prepackaged pizza dough.  

My Arthur Avenue pizza dough made this recipe 

SUPER easy and SUPER cheap. 

This recipe is also perfect for your leftovers 

that you are not sure how to jazz up. 

All of your half eaten food knick knacks will taste 

divine on a pizza.  

I had leftover rotisserie chicken, 1/4 cup of pesto, 

a few leaves of arugula, and marbles of cherry tomatoes 

rolling around aimlessly in my fridge.  

I bought pizza dough, assembled, 

10 minutes in the oven, and I was done! 

The taste was award winning, indeed! 

I may have stretched the truth, just a tad.
The dough requires you to plop it in a lightly oiled bowl,
place a towel on top,
and allow it to rest for an hour or two.

But, seriously, how hard is that?

Drenched in cheese. 

Even better the next day served cold. 

Chicken Pesto Pizza with Arugula and Cherry Tomatoes

Serves 4

1/2 cup pesto basil sauce

1 bag of pizza dough

2 cups cooked chicken breast strips

1/2 cup of cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2  cup arugula

1. Remove dough from plastic bag. Place in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a clean dish towel.  Allow to rest for 1-2 hours, until dough is pliable.

2. Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

3. Spread dough on an oiled baking sheet, until the dough is in desired shape.

4. Spread pesto on pizza dough.

5. Top with cooked chicken breast.

6. Sprinkle tomatoes and arugula.

7. Sprinkle with cheese.

8. Once the oven is heated, slide uncooked pizza into oven and allow to cook for approximately 15 minutes.  Slice and serve!