New Year’s Eve is an odd night, perched as it is between one year and the next — and I’m perched between modes of celebrating it.
Once in a while, I throw a New Year’s Eve party. I often substitute local cider (hard and sweet) for the champagne, and I make a big pot of something — pot roast or lasagna or fondue.
More often, my family and I prefer to spend the last night of the year quietly at home by ourselves. We make something easy, gaze at the Christmas tree, and watch a vintage holiday movie.
We don’t always agree on what to watch. My sister-in-law always lobbies for the film “A Christmas Story,” a favorite from her childhood. I prefer “White Christmas” because I can’t imagine a better singing duo than Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney or a more perfect holiday composer than Irving Berlin.
Usually, we agree on a compromise, which may or may not be a Christmas movie. (Last year it was a James Bond film!)
Sometimes we stay up late enough to sing “Auld Lang Syne” and wish each other health and happiness in the new year. At other times, we go to sleep before midnight. After all, as my mother used to point out, it’s after midnight somewhere in the world.
I was casting about mentally to figure out what to serve for the quiet New Year’s Eve I expect this year, and I remembered a recipe I was given by my friend Erin Cosby Idehenre.
Erin is the great-granddaughter of Mary Parker (a.k.a. Gam), the late matriarch of my Hawley neighborhood. Consequently, we’re sort of related. Erin is a multitalented social worker with three spirited daughters and a darling husband, Azi.
I may be predisposed toward Azi because we met at a family event at which everyone was singing, and he asked me whether I was a professional opera singer. Some people might say this means he doesn’t know a lot about music. I say this means he’s insightful!
Erin posted a photo of a pizza she had made one day on Facebook, and I was smitten. She generously gave me the basic outlines, and I adapted the ingredients, as is my wont.
My family was skeptical of the pizza’s original name, Taco Chicken Pizza, so I changed the name to Mexican Chicken Pizza. I offer my apologies to Erin, who is a great cook nevertheless.
The pizza isn’t really Mexican since Erin lives in North Carolina and I live in Massachusetts, but it is influenced by Mexican cuisine. One could also call it Southwestern Chicken Pizza.
You’ll note that the recipe makes two pizzas. If you don’t have enough people to consume two, you may make two and freeze one, cut the ingredients in half, or use all the ingredients listed and just pile them on a bit thicker.
You may also add to the pizza as you like. I originally designed it to feed a small child and didn’t want to get too spicy, but adults might like jalapeños on the thing. However you make it, the recipe is a winner. It’s simple, tasty and satisfying, an ideal dish for New Year’s Eve or any other family occasion.
Ingredients:
for the crust:
2 1-pound packages of commercial pizza dough (make your own if you want to; I get lazy)
for the black beans:
extra-virgin olive oil as need for sautéing
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 bay leaf (optional)
1 teaspoon ground cumin or cumin seed
1/2 teaspoon salt
several turns of the pepper grinder
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 15-ounce can black beans
for the chicken:
1/4 cup chicken stock
2 to 3 cups cooked chicken, shredded
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin or cumin seed
for assembly:
the black bean mixture above
12 ounces shredded cheese (a mixture of Monterey Jack and cheddar works well)
the chicken mixture above
1 7-ounce can chopped green chiles
1 6-ounce can pitted ripe olives, drained and chopped into little rings
garnishes:
salsa fresca (or jarred salsa if fresh is unavailable)
sour cream
guacamole (optional but good)
minced fresh cilantro
Instructions:
Bring the pizza dough to room temperature and preheat the oven as indicated in your dough instructions.
While the oven is preheating do the quick cooking of the beans and the chicken.
In a 2-quart saucepan with a fairly wide bottom (so you can start by sautéing) heat a splash of oil over medium-high heat until it begins to shimmer.
Throw in the onion and garlic pieces, and sauté them for a couple of minutes to release their aroma and juices. Add the seasonings and stir for a minute; then stir in the stock and beans.
Bring the bean mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer, stirring frequently, for 5 to 10 minutes — until the seasonings have mellowed a little and some of the liquid has evaporated. Set aside, and move onto the chicken mixture.
In a small frying pan over medium heat bring 1/4 cup chicken stock to a boil.
Throw in the chicken, chili powder and cumin, and cook for a minute or two, stirring. The seasonings should be well distributed throughout the chicken, and most of the stock should have evaporated. Set this mixture aside as well.
Next, roll and/or stretch each piece of pizza dough out gently (this may take a few tries) so that it forms a 14-inch circle (or a rectangle to go onto a cookie sheet if you don’t have a pizza pan). Use a little flour to help with this if necessary.
Spray your pans lightly with cooking spray and oil them even more lightly.
Place the dough on the pans.
Divide the bean mixture between the two pizzas, and use a spatula to spread it almost to the edges of the pizzas. Sprinkle the cheese on next, followed by the chicken, green chiles, and olives.
Bake the pizza until the cheese is nicely melted and the bottom of the crust turns golden brown. With my crust (from Trader Joe’s) and my oven (old) this took 10 to 12 minutes.
Place the garnishes on bowls at the table so people can help themselves.
(Erin put them on herself before serving the pizza; you may also do this.)
Makes 2 pizzas.
Tinky Weisblat is an award-winning author and singer. Her latest book is “Pot Luck: Random Acts of Cooking.” Visit her website, TinkyCooks.com.