5 Buffalo Chicken Wood Fired Pizza: KC Masterpiece Buffalo Marinade

Did you know that KC Masterpiece makes not only BBQ sauce, it makes marinades?  They have come out with a NEW marinade:  Buffalo.

As part of the FoodBuzz Tastemaker program with KC MasterpieceⓇ, I received a bottle of Buffalo marinade on the very day we were making pizza for a group.

Why not make a Buffalo Chicken pizza?  To begin, I poured some of this Buffalo marinade into a small bowl and added some chunky blue cheese dressing.

Mixed it up well, and spread it on the pizza dough.

Next, I tossed some cooked chicken with some additional Buffalo marinade...

How about some thinly sliced red onion?

Top with mozzarella cheese ....  and blue cheese crumbles ...

Here it is, ready to be fired up!

Some have asked me what the difference is between cooking a pizza on a stone in your oven versus baking it in a wood fired oven.

I have narrowed it down to two things ~

One is the amount of time it takes to cook.  My oven, at 500°F, will cook up one of these pizzas in about 8-9 minutes.  The brick oven?  Two minutes, flat.

The other thing is flavor ...  with a wood fired oven built with cherry, hickory, apple or alder, you get a sweet smokiness that you just can't get from a kitchen oven.

Ahhhhhhhh...there it is, in all its cheesey, bubbly filled glory.

One bite, and my husband declared it his absolute MOST favorite pizza!  He said the marinade is HOT (as indicated on the label!) but was tempered and balanced by the mozzarella and blue cheese.

Hubby liked it so much, that he had me make an extra pie to take to work the next day ~

stay tuned for another creation with this marinade ...

19 Fire it Up!

The brick oven, after two years of labor between unseasonably wet springs, was finished this year.

We invited some neighborhood kids over for a pizza party.  They loved choosing their own toppings!

It takes about 2 1/2 hours to get a good fire going.  The ceiling of the oven turns black at first, then to ash and burns off.  That is when you know the fire is ready.  The temperature is well over 800ºF.

We use a metal brush to move the ashes to the back of the oven and clean the oven floor in between pizzas.

The pizza peel is prepped with cornmeal and the dough is tossed.  This pizza is a simple cheese pizza with olive oil, Salad Supreme seasoning and mozzarella cheese.

With a flick of the wrist, the pizza peel is pulled out from under the pizza. 

The hottest part of the brick oven is toward the back.  The coals in the back provide the heat while the flames travel up to the top to brown the top of the pizza.

You can see how quickly the back side is bubbling up and beginning to brown.

We use a metal pizza peel to gently lift one edge of the pizza, pull it slightly towards us,  rotating the pizza as we pull the peel back...

A close up shot ... bubbly ... cheesy ...

All done and ready to eat!

I think the kids had a GREAT time!

12 Fire!!

Last February, my husband started a huge project ~ building his own brick oven.

You can see the humble beginnings here.

We are proud to announce that we have built our first fire!

What started out as a hole became a foundation, walls and a top.

This year, he was able to start the floor of the oven...

which morphed into an igloo of sorts.

A door was added and framing was begun.


All we needed was a chimney and we were good to go!

As part of the curing process, we need to start a small fire and gradually work our way up to a rip roaring 900 degree bonfire ~

Here's hoping we will have some yummy pizzas and artisan breads in our future...

4 Lemon Drinks & A Brick Oven

My husband has a dream.

And it is becoming a reality.

It is starting out as a hole in the ground...

and will become a real brick oven.




Yep, you heard right!

Must be in his Italian blood.

Gotta have a brick oven.
Throw in pizza dough.
Bake artisan breads.
Play with fire...

It's great weather outside, probably only 55 degrees. But it's a lot of work, digging that hole and he's working up a sweat. When he works outside, he likes to have a nice, cold, drink handy.

His choice of drink?

Light Lemon Drink.

He can drink it by the gallon.


You have to use PURE lemon extract.

Not the artificial kind.

It smells really good!






Then you have to have citric acid.

This adds the 'tang' into the drink.

This is naturally found in citrus fruits and it comes in a powder form. You can find it in a specialty store.



Since this is a 'Light' lemon drink, I like to use Splenda Granular.
You use it like granulated sugar, cup for cup.

If you don't want to use Splenda, you can use white granulated sugar. Just remember, it's going to have a lot of calories!

Add cold water, stir and serve over ice. Add some thinly sliced lemons for a nice twist...It truly is a light refreshing drink that tastes great on a hot day!

Light Lemon Drink
(4x6 printable recipe) (full page recipe)