Balsamic Fig and Arugula Pizza

 

When I enjoy something, I can't just 'like' it, I have to 'LOVE' it.  And when I love it, I think about it constantly, talk about it annoyingly and just let it consume me completely. The 'it' I keep referring to in this case is my current obsession: fresh figs! I heart them with all my heart. So much so that I refuse to look up the calorie count for figs because I want to eat them without mentally calculating anything.

Since I'm obsessed (rightfully so) I try to figure out how to incorporate them into every food category possible. Fig jam has been a long time favorite of mine, and if you haven't tried Trader Joe's fig butter, I suggest you run over there now and grab a jar.  Fig balsamic vinegar came next, found in specialty shops and farmer's markets. Dried figs are a must in my home, and soon I'll share my fig truffles recipe with you guys.

But today...today, I bring you my latest and greatest.  I thought about this recipe and researched "the internets" long and hard for the best combination. There's nothing like this out there, I'm very pleased to admit ;)  The sweetness of the honey blends perfectly with the softness of the figs, and the balsamic glaze is a tart and sweet combination to the figs. The smoked mozzarella adds another dynamic of flavor that is mellowed out with the creamy ricotta. The crunch of the nuts, the tang of the red onion...this pizza is a culinary delight to your taste buds!

Makes 1 pizza

Ingredients
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-1/2 cup cornmeal (optional)
-1 pound fresh pizza dough
-1/4 cup honey
-8 ounces smoked mozzarella log, sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
-8 ounces ricotta cheese
-2 cups fresh figs, cut in half or quartered
-1/4 cup fig balsamic vinegar (or best quality, thick vinegar glaze you can obtain)
-2 cups arugula
-1/4 cup finely diced red onion
-1 tablespoon walnut oil (or olive oil)
-1/3 cup chopped walnuts
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1/2 teaspoon black pepper

To make
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-Preheat oven to whatever temperature you bake your dough. I usually bake mine at 400 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet or pizza pan with non stick spray and sprinkle cornmeal over the pan. Shake the cornmeal around and tap out the excess into a sink. Stretch out your pizza dough and bake halfway on LOWER rack in the oven, about 6-8 minutes for my dough.
-Remove half baked pizza dough from the oven and arrange sliced mozzarella diagonally on the crust, about 1 inch apart across the dough. Then spread ricotta in the gaps between the mozzarella pieces. Arrange figs, flesh side down, on top of the cheese. Sprinkle the pizza with black pepper. Return to the oven and bake about 10 more minutes on the MIDDLE rack.
-While pizza is baking, mix together arugula, red onion, walnuts, salt and oil in a medium sized bowl.
-When the mozzarella is melted and the figs look a little caramelized, remove from the oven and drizzle the balsamic glaze on top. Lightly spoon the arugula mixture all over the pizza, slice and serve. I sliced the pizza into 24 slices using a baking sheet.
-Enjoy!

 

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Balsamic Mushroom and Onion Calzone

There is just something so satisfying about breaking into a sauce-smoothered dough to have cheese and delicious ingredients spill out! I had some extra pizza dough on hand recently and I rummaged though my brain (and fridge!) to see what I could fill it with...the result was a super yummy calzone that had my family wishing I had more leftover dough :)

Serves 6
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-1 lb pizza dough, split into 6 equal parts
-2 tablespoons olive oil
-1 large vidalia onion, sliced into strips
-1 lb fresh crimini mushrooms, sliced
-3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
-2 tablespoons fresh tarragon or 1 tablespoon dried tarragon
-salt and pepper to taste
-2 cups shredded cheese (I recommend an Italian blend of mozzarella and parmesan)

Sauce
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-1 tablespoon olive oil
-4 large tomatoes
-3 cloves of garlic
-2 tablespoons dried Italian seasoning
-1/2 cup water
-salt and pepper to taste

To make
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-Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
-Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray
-On a clean surface sprinkled with flour, roll out each mound of dough to about 8-10 inches x 4 inches
-Heat olive oil in a skillet and cook onions for about 5 minutes until halfway cooked. Add mushrooms, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper and continue cooking on medium heat about 5-10 more minutes, until the onions have caramelized and the vinegar has reduced to a glaze. Stir in the tarragon and remove from heat.
-Place about 1/2 cup to 2/3 cup onion and mushroom mixture on on side of dough. Sprinkle 1/3 cup cheese on top of onion mixture. Fold over the long end of the dough and crimp the edges closed. Repeat with remaining dough and mixture.
-Arrange calzones on baking sheet and bake for about 12-17 minutes, or until the top is golden and the dough seems cooked. Cooking time will vary depending on your dough.
-While the calzones are baking, prepare the sauce by heating oil in a sauce pan. Puree tomatoes and garlic and add to the heated oil. Add seasoning, water, salt and pepper and cook on medium heat until the sauce has thickened and reduced to desired consistency, about 10 minutes.
-Remove Calzones from oven and put onto individual serving plates. Spoon about 1/2 cup sauce on to each calzone and serve.
-Enjoy!

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

This is my favorite pizza. Its saucy and spicy and just smack-your-lips delicious! I've borrowed all of the flavors of buffalo wings to top a delicious crust dusted with cornmeal. This is pizzeria style at its best!

Ingredients
------------
-1 lb pizza dough (see my recipe at: http://savvychef.blogspot.com/2008/11/pizza-dough.html#links)
-2 tablespoons cornmeal
-1 cup buffalo wing sauce
-2 cups shredded cheese
-1/2 pound cooked chicken breast, diced
-1 cup finely sliced celery
-1/2 cup finely chopped green onion
-1/2 cup blue cheese dressing (or ranch)

To make
----------
-Preheat oven to what is directed for cooking pizza dough. If you have a pizza stone, sprinkle cornmeal and lay rolled out dough on top of it. If your pizza pan has holes in it do not use the cornmeal.
-Layer the pizza with buffalo sauce, shredded cheese, chicken, celery and green onion.
-Bake for about 12 minutes or whatever is directed for your pizza dough.
-Remove pizza from oven and drizzle blue cheese dressing.
-Slice and serve. When I use a pizza stone I like to roll out the dough into a square and cut the slices into squares for more of a rustic style pizza.
-Enjoy :)

Pesto Gorgonzola and Pine Nut Flatbread

My mom and I ordered a pizza with these toppings on it recently and we were wowed at the combination of the yummy flavors. So I did what I do best and I went home and made my own version :)  Using flat bread instead of pizza dough worked better because its quicker and you can control how many you make instead of ending up with a huge pizza.

This is a bit of a refined pizza because Gorgonzola cheese has a strong flavor, as does the pesto. But if you like these ingredients then you will love them together!

You can easily alter the quantities of this recipe to make however many pieces you want.

Makes 1 flat bread

Ingredients
------------
-1 flat bread
-2 tablespoons pesto
-2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
-2 tablespoons Gorgonzola cheese crumbles

To make
----------
-Spread the pesto evenly onto the flat bread. Sprinkle with pine nuts and Gorgonzola cheese.
-Toast in a toaster oven or a skillet until the cheese has melted and the flat bread has reached desired crispiness.
-Cut into 4 slices and serve
-Enjoy :)

Greek Pizza

This is a total copy-cat recipe from the California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) restaurant. It really wasn't too hard to copy because all the ingredients were layered in plain sight to be seen...and eaten. Using fresh vegetables and baking it to the right temperature (cooked crust but not soggy cooked cucumbers) is what makes this pizza fresh and crispy. Imagine eating a yummy Greek salad on a warm crust...and that's the pizza!

I've made this several times. In the pictures I'm posting, it was the first try and I made it (as the restaurant does, with chicken) and I layered the yogurt sauce like a traditional sauce for pizza: after the crust and before the pizza. When it cooked, I wasn't too happy with the warm yogurt, so the next time I made it I drizzled the sauce on top after the pizza was cooked and it tasted more like CPK's.  I also made it without chicken (you can add avocado instead) and I personally liked it more that way...

This is really easy to make because the crust is the refrigerated kind and all that its left is some chopping of veggies!

Easily serves 6.

Ingredients
------------
-1 pizza crust
-1 cup mozerella cheese
-1 large tomato (or 2 medium ones) chopped
-3 Persian cucumbers, chopped
-1/2 red onion, finely chopped
-1 cup kalamata olives, chopped
-1/2 cup pepperchinis, rinsed
-1 cup feta cheese
-1 cup cooked and cubed chicken breast pieces (optional)
-1 cup diced avocado (optional)

Sauce
-------
-1 1/2 cups yogurt
-1 tablespoon dried oregano
-1 tablespoon dried dill
-salt to taste
OR
-2 cups cilantro and chive yogurt dip from Trader Joes

*Optional: Drizzle buffalo sauce for a spicy kick

Assembly
----------
-Bake the pizza crust for 8-13 minutes.
-Remove from oven and spread half the sauce. Sprinkle with cheese, layer all other ingredients and return to oven for 5 minutes.
-Remove from oven and drizzle remaining sauce over the pizza and serve.  Drizzle buffalo sauceThis tastes good hot or cold.
-Enjoy and leave a comment :)

Sesame Chicken Flat Bread Pizza

Ingredients

----------------

-8 flat breads

-4 tablespoons sesame seeds

-1/2 pound chicken breast cut into small cubes

-1 tablespoon olive oil

-3 cloves garlic, finely diced

-3/4 cup teriyaki sauce or dressing

-1/2 red onion OR 3 green onions, julienned

-1 cup carrots cut into matchsticks

-1 red bell pepper, julienned

- 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

-1/2 cup chopped cilantro

-salt to taste

To make

------------

-Preheat oven to 425 degree Fahrenheit. Place the flat bread on baking sheet, brush 1 tablespoon oil and sprinkle sesame seeds. Bake for 10 minutes.

-Cook chicken pieces in 1/4 cup teriyaki sauce and garlic until cooked through.

-When the flat bread comes out of the oven, spread the remaining 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce on all the pieces.

-Layer chicken, onions, red bell pepper and carrot sticks on the flat bread. Season lightly with salt and sprinkle with cheese.

-Toast in the oven for an additional 10 minutes. Turn oven to broil and lower baking pan to lowest rack. Broil for 5 minutes or so.

-Remove from oven and sprinkle chopped cilantro. Slice and serve!

Not Your Typical Vegetable Pizza

I learned this unique pizza from a friend a few years ago. I'm kind of hesitant to call it a pizza because it is not layered the way traditional pizza is. It doesn't have much of a sauce, but more of a paste to bind together the veggies.

Whenever I make it, we really enjoy it. I'm sure some of the vegetables can be substituted with other types, but I always stick with these.

Ingredients

------------

-1 large zucchini, cut into chunks

-1 head broccoli, cut up

-2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms

-2-4 tablespoons mayonnaise (depending on how saucy you want it)

-2 cloves fresh crushed garlic

-1/2-1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

-2 cups shredded cheese (I use either the Mexican blend or mozzarella

-pizza dough (you can use my recipe or use pre-purchased dough)

Assembly

----------

-cut up all ingredients and mix together

-spread on top of pizza dough

-bake for 20-25 minutes in a preheated oven at 400 degrees (you will know the pizza is done when the vegetables have gotten soft but still have a slight crisp

Pizza Dough

This is a VERY versatille dough recipe...and like all other things I make, veeeeeeery easy!

Ingredients

------------

-3 cups flour

-1 cup warm milk (this can be made with water instead, but milk is a little better)

-1/4 cup oil

-1 tablespoon yeast

-dash of salt

-be creative with seasoning: you can leave it plain, or add italian seasoning, fresh rosemarey, fresh garlic...the possibilities are endless!

Assembly

----------

-Mix all ingredients until well blended. This can be done by hand (that is how I do it) or in a bread machine.

-This recipe works best when it is given time to rise. After I mix the ingredients, I leave it for an hour or two, then I roll it out on my pizza pan and leave it to rise for a couple more hours.

-Bake (with whatever toppings, different pizza recipes will follow soon) in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for 18-23 minutes.