Books for Cooks: Make a pizza for Super Bowl

Winter comfort fare like Macaroni and Cheese, Shepherd’s Pie and French Onion Soup all make an appearance in the new “One Dish Meals” cookbook from the Culinary Institute of America.

But the book can also help you shake off the winter blahs with more innovative and international fare. Lamb Khorma, Chicken with Almonds and Chickpeas, Stir-Fried Glass Noodles and Minty Thai-Style Chicken Salad all sounded inviting.

Here is a recipe from the book that an ambitious Super Bowl party chef might consider tackling:

Barbecued Chicken Pizza with Fresh Tomato Salsa

From the Culinary Institute of America

For the barbecue sauce:

2 teaspoons butter

3/4 cup chopped onion

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1/2 cup tomato paste

1/4 cup brewed coffee

1 canned chipotle pepper, packed in adobo sauce

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

3 tablespoons apple cider

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

8 ounces chicken breasts, boneless, trimmed

One 16-inch pizza crust (recipe follows)

1 cup thinly sliced Monterey Jack cheese

1 cup fresh tomato salsa (recipe follows)

2 tablespoons minced scallions

Preheat a gas grill to medium-high; leave one burner off. If you are using a charcoal grill, build a fire and let it burn down until the coals are glowing red with a moderate coating of white ash. Spread the coals in an even bed on one side of the grill. Clean the cooking grate.

To prepare the barbecue sauce: Heat the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté, stirring frequently, until they are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste, coffee, chipotle, apple cider vinegar, apple cider, sugar and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer the sauce over low heat until it has thickened slightly, about 15 minutes.

Grill the chicken over direct heat until marked on all sides, about 1 minute per side. Finish cooking over indirect heat, covered, turning as necessary and brushing with the barbecue sauce, until cooked through, about 10 to 12 minutes. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, slice it thinly. (You may barbecue the chicken up to 2 days in advance. Keep it wrapped and refrigerated until you are ready to make the pizzas.)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet by scattering it with cornmeal. Shape the pizza dough into a 16-inch round. Transfer the dough to the cornmeal-scattered baking sheet and bake until it is firmed and set, about 10 minutes.

Arrange the cheese around the outer edge of the disk. Arrange the sliced chicken on top of the cheese. Place salsa in the middle of the pizza. Bake the pizza in the oven until the crust is golden brown and crisp, 12 to 14 minutes. Garnish with scallions.

Let pizza rest for 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

Yield: 8 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving: 405 calories, 13 grams fat (4.6 grams saturated, 29 percent fat calories), 18.5 grams protein, 53 grams carbohydrate, 32 milligrams cholesterol, 3 grams dietary fiber, 734 milligrams sodium.

Pizza Crust

3 1/2 cups bread flour, plus as needed

1/2 cup semolina or durum flour

1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 1/2 cups room temperature water (68 to 76 degrees)

3 tablespoons olive oil, plus as needed

2 teaspoons salt

Cornmeal for dusting

Combine flours and yeast in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the water, olive oil and salt and mix on low speed for 2 minutes.

Increase the speed to medium and knead until the dough is quite elastic but still a little sticky, 4 minutes.

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turn the dough to coat it with oil, cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and allow to rise in a warm place until nearly doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

Fold the dough gently, cover and let rest until relaxed, 15 to 20 minutes, before cutting it into two equal pieces, if necessary, and rounding the dough into a smooth ball.

Cover the dough and let rest another 15 to 20 minutes before shaping into a pizza crust.

Yield: One 16-inch or two 12-inch pizza crusts

Fresh Tomato Salsa

1/2 cup diced red pepper

2 plum tomatoes, cored and chopped

2 scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal

1 garlic clove, minced

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

2 teaspoons minced jalapeno

3 tablespoons lime juice, or as needed

Salt, as needed

Freshly ground black pepper as needed

Toss together first six ingredients. Season to taste with lime juice, salt and pepper. Set aside to rest.

Yield: 8 servings.