Stephanie's Fruit Pizza (Dessert)

This recipe comes from one of my students who is an awesome cook. Ever since watching Jamie Oliver's video on superb salads, she has made her own salad dressings for lunch. She has tried out her own oreo truffles. Most recently, she brought this wonderful dessert to a shared meal. It was wonderful because it had a little bit of sugary sweet (from the 'crust') with the rest of the flavor from the fruit.

This dessert would work well with many kinds of fruit, as long as they are firm, like kiwi, apples, or bananas. Watery fruit such as peaches or oranges would not be good.

Ingredients

• 1 package premade cookie dough (usually in the refrigerated section)
• vegetable oil spray
• one 13.5 oz tub of cream cheese fruit dip, such as T. Marzetti brand
• 1 quart fresh strawberries, sliced
• 1 pint fresh blueberries
• 1 pint fresh blackberries
• 1 pint fresh red raspberries

Directions

1. Preheat oven according to temperature on cookie dough package.
2. Very lightly, spray your pizza stone or cookie sheet.
3. Roll out sugar cookie dough into one large pizza size circle.
4. Bake according to package directions.
5. Once cookie 'crust' is completely cool, spread most / all of the fruit dip onto your cookie.
6. Evenly spread your fruit topping over the entire cookie.
7. This pizza can be covered with aluminum foil and placed in the fridge to be served later in the day if needed.

Double Cheese Mini Pizzas

Happy new year, friends! We've finally finished moving into our new home and I'm welcoming the new year with some fun snacks.

These mini pizzas are a good base because they can be jazzed up with a number of toppings. I anticipate us trying some with caramelized onions, finely chopped pepperoni, or even pesto.

You'll find two variations of the recipe: one in the traditional style, and one where the bread is toasted and cold mozzarella cheese is applied afterward. Both are delicious, although the cold variation does preserve the wonderful texture of cold mozzarella.

Ingredients

• fresh Italian bread
• pasta sauce
• fresh mozzarella, sliced (a 4 oz package will make one cookie sheet's worth of snacks)
• Parmesan cheese
• dried parsley

Directions - Hot Variation

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Cut Italian bread in half lengthwise, then slice into medium-thick pieces. Place on cookie sheet.
3. Spoon a small amount of pasta sauce and spread evenly on the bread.
4. Top each piece with a slice of mozzarella and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. Finish with a pinch of parsley.
5. Bake at 450 degrees until cheese gets nice and gooey, about 5 minutes.

Directions - Cold Variation

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Cut Italian bread in half lengthwise, then slice into medium-thick pieces. Place on cookie sheet.
3. Spoon a small amount of pasta sauce and spread evenly on the bread.
4. Bake at 450 degrees for 3-4 minutes, until sauce begins to dry out.
5. Remove from oven. top with slice of cold mozzarella, sprinkle of parmesan cheese, and a pinch of parsley.

Mushroom, Olive, and Caramelized Onion Pizza

Sometimes we go back to basics. It is cool out; I want the house to be warm with the smell of bread baking and cheese melting. I love using pizza as an excuse to clean out the fridge and finding new combinations of flavors. 

For a long time I didn't like olives at all; now I know that I prefer those that don't come out of a can. Kalamatas are known for their strong salty flavor and beautiful deep purple color. How can you resist purple?

This pizza features the salty and sweet combo. By caramelizing the onions, they cook down and marinate in their own sugars, browning and sweetening up perfectly. I added mushrooms but feel free to add whatever you've got handy; ham might taste good on this too.

Ingredients (makes 1 pizza)

• 1 batch pizza dough
• 1/2 onion, halved and sliced
• 1/2 package white mushrooms, sliced
• about a dozen kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
• cornmeal for sprinkling the pizza stone/pan
• pizza sauce or spicy marinara sauce
• 2-4 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
• parmesan cheese (freshly grated if possible)

Directions

1. Prepare pizza dough about 2 hours ahead of when you'd like the pizza to go in the oven. Be sure to allow it to rise in a draft free location. If your house is cold, warm the dough bowl.
2. Caramelize onions over medium-low heat. (Cover them, and add a splash of water if you need more steam. Other than that, leave them alone, stirring occasionally. You will see them become translucent, then eventually brown as they cook in their own sugars.)
3. About 15-20 minutes before baking time, preheat oven to 450 degrees. (If you're using a pizza stone, this should preheat too.)
4. When oven is preheated and onions are caramelized, remove pizza stone from oven. Sprinkle stone liberally with cornmeal to prevent sticking. Stretch dough onto stone. Top with sauce, mozzarella, mushrooms, olives, and onions. Sprinkle with a generous amount of parmesan cheese.
5. Bake at 450 degrees for 12-15 minutes, until crust is golden.

Roasted Vegetable English Muffin Pizzas

I know what you are thinking: is she serious? Is it possible to combine English muffins, symbol of Western imperialism, with the class and elegance of roasted eggplant and garlic? Yes, I am serious, yes it is possible, and yes, it is delicious and amazing. I had planned on making an amazing vegetarian dish from the new cookbook given to me by my friend. However, all I wanted after trudging home through the rain was some comfort food. So we improvised by combining the eggplant I desired with the English muffins that were on sale at the local grocery store.

Trust me on slicing those vegetables thinly - it is not only to help keep them atop your pizzas, but it also minimizes their roasting time in the oven.

Ingredients (enough to do up one 6-pack of muffins)

• 1 eggplant, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
  
• 1 red onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 red pepper, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
• 5-8 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
  
• olive oil
• salt and freshly ground pepper

• 1 package English muffins, split
• 1 jar pizza sauce
  
• package of shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Combine eggplant, onion, pepper, and garlic in a 9x9 roasting pan. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and toss to coat.
3. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until eggplants are fully cooked.
4. While vegetables are baking, place muffin halves on cookie sheet(s). Spread a dollop of pizza sauce on each one and some mozzarella; set aside.
   
5. Remove vegetables from oven, leaving temperature at 425.
6. Top each pizza with a spoonful or two of vegetable mixture.
7. Bake pizzas for 12-15 minutes until cheese has browned.

Comments
This was a filling meal although they were so flavorful I probably could have eaten a lot more if I put my mind to it. :) The salt and pepper adds a nice touch to the eggplant, which often can taste too plain if left unseasoned. Roasting the garlic also worked quite well as it mellowed the sharp taste that garlic has in its raw state; I enjoyed several cloves of roasted garlic on top of my pizza.

Mini Pizzas - and Happy New Year!

After receiving protests from the Bee Balm Gal for my lack of posting, I realized it has been three weeks since my last post! Please accept my apologies - and enjoy this fun recipe.

Now that we've survived the holiday Bermuda Triangle - Hanukkah, Christmas, and Festivus - it is time to make space in your fridge by using some of those leftovers. My recommendation: mini pizzas. Pizzas are always a good tool for using up the last of the green pepper / chicken / cherry tomatoes, and since so many people are in the mood for appetizers or other smaller-than-normal sized foods, I thought mini pizzas would fit in perfectly. We had them for New Year's Day lunch at my husband's family's house. This recipe makes about 5-6 small (8-inch or so) pizzas.

In this recipe I stretch and bake the crust for a couple minutes before dressing the pizzas - I found that it made the bottom crust sturdier and better able to withstand the saturation of sauce, cheese, and toppings.

Ingredients

• a batch of Basic Pizza Dough that has risen and been punched down
  
• flour (for dusting)
• 14 oz. jar of pizza sauce (we like the flavor of Ragu's pizza sauce)
• 3- or 4-cup bag of shredded mozzarella cheese
• desired toppings (we used pepperoni, diced chicken, and sliced cherry tomatoes)
• basil
• oregano

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
   
2. Cut dough into 5 or 6 equal sized pieces.
3. Stretch them into approximately 8-inch rounds and place on a floured cookie sheet or other flat pan.
4. Bake the dough, plain, for 2-3 minutes until just risen.
5. Remove from oven and dress with sauce, cheese, and desired toppings.
6. Sprinkle with basil and oregano.
7. Put back in oven for another 5-6 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.

Comments
These could be made even smaller if desired, but cut into quarters they make a nice snack for people to share. It can also be fun to let people decorate their own pizzas.

Basic Pizza Dough

I consider pizza dough a staple - it can be used for pizza crust, yes, but also calzones, stromboli, and even non-Italian foods. This entry is for my basic pizza dough, which I make using a KitchenAid mixer. I've included a separate set of instructions for making this dough by hand.

You can make this the night before a meal that might require it, and put the entire bowl, saran wrap and all, in the fridge. It will rise slowly and be ready for you come dinner time the next day.

This recipe is adapted from Mark Bittman's basic pizza dough recipe in How to Cook Everything.

Ingredients

• 3 cups flour (unbleached bread flour if you've got it)
• 1 tsp instant yeast
• 2 tsp salt
• freshly ground pepper
• garlic powder and/or onion powder, if desired
  
• 1 1/4 cups warm water
• 2 Tbsp olive oil

Directions by Hand

1. Combine half the flour, the yeast, salt, pepper, and any other flavorings you might like (such as a few shakes of garlic powder and/or onion powder).
2. Add water and olive oil. Stir with wooden spoon until smooth.
3. Add remaining flour a bit at a time. Begin kneading by hand on floured surface when dough gets too tough to work with spoon.
4. Knead for about 10 minutes until smooth.
5. Drizzle a little olive oil in the bowl and roll the dough in the oil to coat. Place dough in bowl and cover tightly with saran wrap.
   
6. Let dough rise in warm, draft-free area until dough doubles in size, about 1-2 hours.
   

Directions Using Stand Mixer

1. Attach the bread hook to your stand mixer.
2. To mixing bowl, add half the flour (about 1 1/2 cups), the instant yeast, salt, pepper, and any other seasonings you might like (such as a few shakes of garlic powder and/or onion powder). Stir to mix ingredients.
3. Add water and olive oil and mix at Speed 2 for 30-60 seconds.
   
4. Add half of the rest of the remaining 1 1/2 cups flour while on Speed 2. Once incorporated, add in the remaining flour. Let mix at Speed 2 for another 2 minutes or so. Add a little more flour if the mixture is still very sticky.
5. Once dough sticks to bread hook in one large mass (2 minutes or more total), stop mixing.
6. Remove dough from bowl, drizzle a little olive oil down the side and roll the dough in oil to coat.
   
7. Leave dough in bowl and cover tightly with saran wrap.
8. Let dough rise in draft-free area until it doubles in size, about 1-2 hours.

Comments
You can use all-purpose flour if you don't have bread flour; however, the bread flour makes it a little chewy, rather than the flaky and somewhat dry consistency that you might get from all-purpose flour. Bread flour also browns nicely while cooking, making it attractive as well as tasty. If you intend to make your own dough, I certainly recommend making the investment in buying a nice bread flour, such as King Arthur.