Proscuitto White Pizza

One of our favorite things to make in our house has to be PIZZA! I think we make it at least once a week.  It's delicious, it's easy. it's quick, and easy to alter to what you have on hand.  What could be better?  This week we went with a white pizza since my parents who were staying with us for Thanksgiving left two huge containers of ricotta cheese in our fridge.  The other toppings were leftovers from an anitpasti tray served for the holiday, so some smoked mozzerella and proscuitto found there way onto our pizza. 

1 pizza dough- either store bought or bought from a pizzeria
about 1/2 cup of riccotta cheese
smoked mozzerella sliced- we used little less then half a ball of fresh
proscuitto- we used about 3-4 slices torn
little garlic- powder or minced whatever  you have on hand.

First heat oven to preheat to 500 degrees.  Place pizza stone in oven to heat. Stretch out your dough and place on a pizza peal.  Top with Ricotta, then smoked mozzerella, garlic, and proscuitto.  Move to heated stone in oven and cook. About 10 minutes or until desired crispness of dough.  Pull out and allow to cool a few minutes. Enjoy!

White Pizza: Asparagus, mushroom, and carmelized onion

I think there are two things that my husband and I can never tire of, tacos and pizza!  Although we have a love for pizza for all the years I have known my husband we have never ordered take out pizza together.  That's not to say I am above meeting friends at the local pizzeria for a slice.  My husband does tend to turn his nose up visiting them.  He does enjoy making them at home though with fresh, delicious ingredients.  Recently we were out for a nice romantic dinner and ordered a flatbread with mushrooms and truffles as an appetizer.  My husband had never encounter truffles before.  He fell in love.  His dinner that night was Steak Frites which came with a truffle infused aioli to dip his fries in.  A few days later while wandering around doing some shopping I came across the bottle of truffle oil.  I had to buy it.  It was an outstanding addition to this pizza.

Pizza:

1 store bought pizza dough
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon herbs de provence
1 tablespoon black truffle oil
3/4 cup thinly sliced asparagus
3/4 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 caramelized onions
1 cup thinly sliced fresh mozzarella cheese
cornmeal for dusting pizza stone/peal

Preheat oven to 500 degrees and place pizza stone on rack in middle of oven.  Combine ricotta, milk, herb de provence, and truffle oil in a small bowl.  Stretch pizza dough out to desired thickness and shape on a prepared pizza peal.  Top with ricotta cheese mixture around dough leaving edge free.  Top with onions, mushrooms, and asparagus.  Top with sliced mozzarella cheese.  Slide on pizza stone and cook about 15 minutes.

Paired perfect with a nice Chianti!

Easy as Pie Pizza

As with most people I do love a good slice of pizza.  However since I married my husband I have had less of it since he does not like take out pizza but will pretty much only eat homemade.  This caused me to buy a pizza stone and peal with a gift card I had received to Williams Sonoma (we bought the Emile Henry Pizza Stone). Today our lunch was a nice hot homemade pizza fresh out of the oven.  Perfect lunch after digging out of over a foot of snow that a blizzard dumped on us last night.  I don't think I can look at the movie Nemo the same ever again.  This yummy pizza with sliced mushrooms and chorizo was just what we needed after our first round of shoveling.  Unfortunately the apartment we live in requires us to park on the street so now waiting for the plow to come around so we can go out for round two of digging out.  I think later some nice hot chocolate will be needed!

Pizza Sauce:

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 small yellow onion diced

2-3 garlic gloves minced

1 red pepper chopped

1 tablespoon of oregano

2 teaspoons of Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon red pepper flake

1 can of diced tomatoes (fire roasted works well)

1 (small) can of tomato sauce

salt and pepper to taste

In a saucepan heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add onion and saute till golden and soft.  Add the garlic and red pepper and cook another minute or two.  Add spices and stir.  Add diced tomatoes and sauce.  Allow sauce to simmer 15-20 minutes.  Stir occasionally.  Season with additional spices and salt and pepper to taste.

Pizza:

1 store bought pizza dough

1 ball of sliced fresh mozzarella cheese (size that's fits into palm)

2 tablespoons of cornmeal

additional toppings of your choice, we went with mushrooms and chorizo since that is what we had in the fridge.  Others good be salami, pepperoni, other vegetables.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.  Using a pizza stone place it in the oven to heat.  On the wooden peal sprinkle cornmeal, this helps keep the dough from sticking.  Now shape dough to desired size and shape.  My husband likes to go around the edges to make a little ridge.  Next take sauce and spread around the dough leaving the edges free.  Next layer on the cheese and toppings.  Using the peal to slide pizza onto hot stone in the oven.  Cook about 15 minutes. Keep an eye on it as ovens vary.  Use peal again to pull pizza out. Allow to cool and set for a few minutes before cutting. Enjoy!

Pepperoni Pizza Bites

These are a great bite sized snack perfect for a get together with friends. I am making these to bring with me to a New Years Eve gathering. It's also a great easy recipe to have on hand for football season.

Ingredients: ( makes 24 bites)

3/4 cup of flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
Pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flake ( optional to taste)
1 1/2 teaspoons of garlic powder
3/4 cup milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup chopped pepperoni
1/2 cup pizza sauce

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 24 cup mini muffin pan. In large bowl mix together dry ingredients. Next mix milk and egg. Stir in cheeses. Mix in pepperoni.

Spoon into prepared muffin pan. Bake until puffed and golden about 20-25 minutes.

Serve bites with warmed pizza sauce.

Adapted from Everyday with Rachel Ray