1.04.2010

That's-a pizza pie!


Photo from Martha Stewart


Photo from Sweet Paul

One of my New Year's resolutions - are you totally sick of hearing about these yet? I kind of am, especially since I don't normally even make resolutions! - is to cook at home more often. I always think about how much healthier it is, plus cost efficient, but when push comes to shove, we often order food or go out. It seems so much more fun and exciting...? Anyway, we're going to make an effort to cook at home three nights a week at least and one of my go-to staples is homemade pizza.

B and I share the fortunate/unfortunate fact that we could eat pizza every day, forever, so pizza is always popular around here. I don't make the dough from scratch - that may have to wait for New Year's resolutions 2015 or something! - but Trader Joe's makes a really good dough for only 99 cents a bag. They sell regular crust, herbed or whole wheat. (We usually get the whole wheat, but it's admittedly a bit more sticky than the regular).

The entire pizza gets a layer of tomato sauce (I use jar pasta sauce, not "pizza sauce" from the can, ick) and we switch up what kind of sauce now and then. We also use fresh basil from B's basil plants when there's enough to pick. My half of the pizza is usually goat cheese and sun-dried tomatoes, while B's side is traditional mozzarella and pepperoni.

Since I make pizza so often (about once a week?), I'm looking to branch out in 2010 with our toppings choices. About a month or so ago, I had half an onion left over from something else, so I decided to caramelize it and added it, along with some yellow peppers, to the pizza. It was delicious. I've tried broccoli and yellow squash as toppings in the past too, but they've come out slightly burnt and not the best. B doesn't like mushrooms, so that's out, and I'm really not a fan of olives. So with that in mind, what other toppings and combos are out there? I'm thinking BBQ chicken might be the next one to try...mmm...but I know there are a ton of other topping options that we may be missing out on.

So? Any great ideas from you all? Do you have any favorite pizza toppings? Do you love pizza as much as we do, or are we just TBM obsessed? (TBM = tomato, basil, mozzarella.) Any great ideas we have to try? Please share!

5 comments:

  1. Prosciutto, caramelized onions, and gorgonzola!

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  2. Mmmm, sounds delicious, Val! Since you're pretty much the best chef of anyone I know, I'll definitely give that a try! Do you do sauce with that?

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  3. No sauce! Just lots of caramelized onions and cheese. You can put fresh arugula on top too after it comes out of the oven if you want to add a little peppery flavor!

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  4. Try feta, black bean, red pepper, cilantro, and red onion. Sprinkle with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and a tiny bit of sesame oil. Also yummy. Good Summer pizza. Or fiesta night pizza.

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  5. Sounds awesome, Cov, and I never would have thought of that combination. Would be delicious with a mojito. Mmmm... Thanks for sharing!

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