Wild Mushroom Pizza with Caramelized Onions & Goat Cheese

I can't be objective when it comes to this pizza. Because I love the combination of caramelized onions and goat cheese so much, I think I would eat it spread on a piece of cardboard. Cold. So all I can say is, if you feel the same way and you like mushrooms - booyah! This is your new favorite pizza. You're welcome. Side note: if you have any toppings leftover, use them to make your new favorite omelet. Again, you're welcome.

  WILD MUSHROOM PIZZA

WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS & GOAT CHEESE

Yield: 6 (8-inch) pizzas

Onions:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 onions, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise (about 6 cups)

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Mushrooms:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 teaspoon olive oil

2 lb. assorted wild mushrooms (crimini, oyster, chanterelle, shiitake), cut into bite-size pieces

6 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons minced shallot

2 cups dry white wine

1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary

salt and freshly ground black pepper

6 Kontos pocketless pitas (whole wheat or plain)

olive oil (for brushing)

8 oz. soft goat cheese, crumbled

Onions:

Melt butter with oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until golden, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Mushrooms:

Melt butter with oil in another heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, garlic and shallot. Sauté 4 minutes. Add wine and simmer until almost all liquid is absorbed, stirring frequently, about 13 minutes. Add rosemary; season with salt and pepper.

Can make toppings ahead—bring to room temp. before adding to pizza dough on the grill.

1.      Preheat grill.

2.      Brush the top side of each pita with olive oil.

3.      Place pita oiled side down on hot grill. When the bottom is lightly browned and has nice grill marks, turn the pita over.

4.      Working quickly, sprinkle the pita with goat cheese and top with mushrooms and onions.  Close the lid, and cook until the pita has browned on the bottom and the cheese is warmed through.

adapted from Woodfire Grill (Atlanta, GA)

raw chopped onions in the pan

I decided to chop mine, instead of thinly slicing them. The flavor
is the same, but the pizza looks a little more elegant with the onions
sliced (it's me that looks way less elegant when I'm eating and
the long, thin onions slide off my pizza and onto my chin).

caramelized onions

shallots

rosemary

raw mushrooms

adding wine

adding rosemary

cooked mushrooms

Kontos pocket-less pita (whole wheat)

You can, of course, make your own pizza dough from scratch.
I just really like this for a short cut. Since I made my toppings the
day before, making this pizza with these pitas took all of
10 minutes to assemble and 10 minutes to cook.

goat cheese sprinkled on pita

I usually grill these pizzas, but it's was hot and rainy out
there. So I preheated my oven to 400º F. and cooked these
on the bottom rack (for crispier crust) for about 10-11 minutes.
(There's no need to oil the pita if you're baking them.)

mushroom layer

caramelized onions on top

baked & sliced

wild mushroom pizza with caramelized onions and goat cheese

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Greek Pizza

This recipe and I go way back (I consider it a classic in my culinary repertoire). I discovered my love of cooking soon after moving out of my college dorm and into my first apartment in NYC. It was so much fun cooking for my friends/roommates and experimenting with new cuisines and ingredients (when I could afford to buy them).

I'm pretty sure this recipe was my first attempt at using filo dough. I remember how pleasantly surprised I was at how easy it turned out to be (and how thrilled I was when I tasted the results). This pizza was so popular, I always made at least two at a time, no matter how many friends were (or weren't) over...and believe me, it never went to waste. The leftovers (if you have any) are outstanding cold for breakfast.

GREEK PIZZA

(Yield: 4 to 6 servings)

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

6 large cloves garlic, crushed

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon crushed basil

1/2 teaspoon oregano

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 lb. fresh spinach (cleaned, stemmed & chopped)

   or 1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen chopped spinach (thawed and water squeezed out)

1/2 lb. filo dough, defrosted

1/2 cup melted butter

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 lb. grated mozzarella cheese

2 1/2 cups crumbled feta cheese

2 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced

1/2 cup fine bread crumbs (optional)

1.     Preheat oven to 400° F.  Butter a large baking sheet.

2.     In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the onions, garlic and salt; cook until the onions are clear and soft. Add basil, oregano, lemon juice and spinach, and cook over fairly high heat, stirring, until the spinach is limp and the liquid is evaporated.

3.     Combine the melted butter and olive oil. Layer the sheets of filo dough on the buttered baking sheet, brushing the entire surface of each sheet with a generous amount of butter/olive oil mixture.  Continue layering the pastry leaves until you’ve used them all.  Brush the top surface of the stack with the remaining butter/olive oil mixture.

4.      Use a slotted spoon, transfer the spinach mixture from the skillet to the filo stack, leaving behind whatever liquid failed to evaporate.  Spread the spinach mixture evenly over the filo, leaving a 1/2-inch border of pastry.

5.     Sprinkle on all the crumbled feta, plus half of the mozzarella.

6.     Dredge the tomato slices in bread crumbs (optional). Arrange the tomato slices on top of the pizza, and sprinkle the remaining mozzarella over the tomatoes.  Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes (start checking at 20 minutes).

adapted from “The Enchanted Broccoli Forest” by Mollie Katzen

juicy tomatoes

onions and garlic

lemon
(sometimes I wonder if I should bother with these captions)

I used frozen spinach to save some time.

paper thin filo dough

brushing the filo with butter/oil

all the filo sheets layered

spinach mixture spread on top of filo

crumbled feta (buy the good stuff)

feta and half the mozzarella sprinkled on top

tomato slice dredged in bread crumbs (you can skip this
step if you want, but I like the flavor of the bread crumbs).

tomatoes layered with remaining mozzarella sprinkled on top

just look at all those golden, crunchy layers

dinner is served (I used a pizza cutter to slice)

This stuff leaves such a great aftertaste in
your mouth...you'll never want it to fade away.

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Tempeh "Sausage"

Tempeh is cultured, fermented soy beans pressed into a cake. Are you still with me? I've never been big on tempeh in general, but this is a great substitute for sausage if you're vegan or vegetarian (or just trying to cut down on your sausage intake). This recipe is originally from Lisa Boymann (the self dubbed Queen of Pizza), a friend of mine from the cooking school where we work. It really does taste a lot like sausage (trust me).

tempeh sausage on pizza

TEMPEH “SAUSAGE”

Yield: 2 cups (enough for 4, 10-inch pizzas)

1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon finely minced or pressed garlic
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 (8 oz.) package three-grain tempeh, finely chopped
1 tablespoon ground dried sage
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons ground dried fennel seed
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1.      In large sauté pan, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Gently soften the garlic in oil for 1-2 minutes.  Deglaze pan with vinegar and add remaining ingredients. 

2.      Stir over medium-high heat until tempeh is lightly browned, about 5 minutes.  Adjust seasonings to taste (it should be a little salty, like real sausage).

3.      Allow mixture to cool completely before applying to pizza.  Can be made ahead and kept refrigerated for up to 5 days.  Freezes well.

adapted from Lisa Boymann

pressing the garlic

slicing the tempeh
don't worry, slight discoloration is normal

chopped tempeh

spices

adding the balsamic vinegar

browning the tempeh

I freeze the tempeh sausage in small amounts to use on pizza

A

Pizza Sauce (and Quick Pizza)

I always have a few
of these in my freezer.

If you like making pizza at home, you've got to ditch the canned pizza sauce (that stuff has no soul). I originally got this recipe from my coworker (and Queen of Pizza), Lisa Boymann and I'm hooked!  It has a fresh flavor you can't get from a jar. I realize that's ironic (since this is a photo of frozen sauce), but frozen or not, I'll stack it up against the others any day of the week (maybe not this Saturday, I have plans). 

I make pizza fairly often, maybe every two weeks.  But I do cheat and use whole wheat pita bread for the crust. I have made homemade dough, but I haven't found a recipe I love yet. But I'd be lying if I let you believe I use the pita because of my high dough standards...the truth is, with a pita and stash of sauce in the freezer, it's ridiculously fast and easy to make some tasty pizza. The perfect weekday meal that my daughter loves. Plus the pita pizzas are personal size, so you can top each one with whatever each person wants.

PIZZA SAUCE

Yield: approx. 3 cups (enough for 6, 10-inch pizzas)

(scant) 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon dried basil

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried ground rosemary (I use a small coffee grinder to grind)

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste

1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste

freshly ground black pepper to taste

½ to 1 teaspoon sugar (optional)

1.      In large sauté pan, gently soften garlic in olive oil over medium heat for 1-2 minutes (do not let garlic brown).  Add tomatoes and vinegar and stir.  Add basil, oregano, rosemary, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.

2.      Stir ingredients together and bring to a simmer.  Lower heat and cook over medium-low heat, uncovered, for about 20 minutes.

3.      Season to taste (you can add a touch of sugar if you want your sauce a bit sweeter).  Allow mixture to completely cool before applying to pizza dough (or freezing).

adapted from Lisa Boymann

Frozen pizza sauce defrosting. It doesn't take much per
pizza (just a few spoonfuls), so freeze in small containers.

Preheat oven to 400º F. Spread pizza sauce on the pita
(wait until the oven is ready, if you let it sit, it can get soggy).

Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese
(then add other toppings if desired).

Bake for only 9-12 minutes (until the
cheese is melted and crust is a little crispy).

My favorite is Kontos whole wheat pocket-less pita
(because it's pocket-less, it stays flat).