Roasted Garlic Onion Pizza

Ever noticed that the audience on the Rachael Ray show always claps for cheese during her cooking segment?  Doesn't matter if it's mozzarella, Parmesan reggiano, Romano, cheddar...they clap like they're watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade for all kinds of dairy goodness.  

I've always found that a bit strange- does cheese really require applause?  Does Rachael need their unconditional support as she grinds, grates, slices, and smothers?  

Well...I was wrong.  Cheese deserves praises.  Especially when it's on top of this pizza.

So take a deep breath.  Sit down.  Relax.  

Maybe even grab a napkin. 

'Cause you're about to drool.

LEGEND...wait for it....DAIRY!

The secret to this pizza comes in a jar and it's not your mama's marinara.

Hello, lover.

Here's a loose recipe to follow if you want to recreate this masterpiece in your own kitchen. 

Roasted Garlic Onion Pizza

1 premade pizza dough- I used whole wheat dough from Portland Pie Co.    (found at Hannaford's)

~1/4 cup Roasted Garlic Onion Jam

6 1/4 inch slices of fresh mozzarella

~1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

olive oil

cornmeal

Take dough out of refrigerator about a half hour before you plan to stretch it.  This makes it so much easier to work with.

Preheat the oven to 475.

Dust your baking sheet with a few tablespoons of cornmeal.  You want enough to cover the entire surface with a thin layer.  This prevents the pizza from sticking and provides some lovely texture.  If you have a pizza stone, you can skip this step.  I don't, so I just use my gnarliest baking sheet that I've had since college.

Stretch the dough into a rectangle. 

Spread the jam in a thin layer over the dough, leaving a half inch border.  Make sure the surface is evenly coated.

Layer on the mozzarella.  It won't cover the whole pizza, but it will melt and ooze over the pie while it bakes.

Sprinkle the Parmesan over the mozzarella.

Drizzle a couple of tablespoons of olive oil over the pizza- make sure to put a bit on the crust.  You could use a pastry brush and gently paint the oil onto the crust, but who has time for that nonsense?

Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Gaze at it's glory.  Let it cool, lest you be scorched  by molten cheese.

Devour.

Serve alongside a spinach salad to maintain your virtue. 

 

An improvised kitchen

The kitchen closed on December 26. Since then, we've been living off of toaster oven dinners, sandwiches, cereal, oatmeal, and takeout.

For a few weeks, the toaster oven and Keurig were set up on top of my washer and dryer in the basement. Not exactly convenient, but home renovation is an exercise in patience.


Before the counters were installed, I balanced ingredients on any stable surface.

Pita pizza was an easy way to use up some food in the fridge. Pita + sauce + mozzarella + spinach + olives = yummy.


The bottom didn't crisp up too much so this was more of a toasted, open-faced pizza sandwich. Messy goodness.

Now that Nick has installed the cabinets, the stove is finally back in place so we can cook upstairs again. Hooray for progress!


Tin foil packets have also been a lifesaver.

You can wrap up pretty much anything in tin foil, pop it into the toaster oven, and about 45 minutes later, it will be heated through. Not exactly fast food, but it works. I've used tin foil packets to heat up BBQ pulled beef, frozen vegetarian biryani, and frozen green beans.


An Indian-inspired meal from the Trader Joe's freezer section: vegetarian biryani, vegetarian masala burgers, and green beans.


A down home classic consisting of a BBQ pulled beef slider, french fries, and the Southwest salad, all from Trader Joe's.

And sometimes we get lazy and just go for takeout. One Saturday night we cashed in a Cheesecake Factory gift card and feasted on meatloaf and a cheeseburger. Did you know that Cheesecake Factory take out comes with two loaves of bread? Score!

This fancy meal came from our favorite local pizza joint, Napoli Pizzeria. We got the Greek salad and Gaetano Special pie- Tomato Sauce, Mozzarella Cheese, Peppers, Onions, Pepperoni, Meatballs, Sausage, Salami, and Fresh Tomatoes. That was some good pizza!

What is your favorite convenience food??

Pizza happens

I'm usually a very hands-on cook- I make myself a homemade breakfast every morning, pack myself a lunch, and usually prep a pretty involved dinner 5 nights a week. But sometimes you have to cut yourself some slack. Tonight was one of those nights. Work has been wacky lately and I've been leaving work much later than usual. We are running wicked low on groceries and it's hot.

This is all a very long way of telling you that I picked up a pizza on the way home. And it was good.

I first tried Unchained Pizza back in May when my sister was here. It was delicious! One of the only veggie pies I've gotten that wasn't completely soggy.

Non-soggy bottom.

Huge 18" pizza- we each had two slices and have several leftover. Lunch!

Covered in mushrooms, broccoli, olives, tomatoes, onions, and peppers.


Just because we had takeout didn't mean we couldn't enjoy some ambiance. Enter our lovely backyard and a glass of 3 buck Sauvignon Blanc. Hurrah for al fresco dining!

And while we're outside, how 'bout a few backyard pictures??

Check out the garden- growing like weeds! And there are plenty of actual weeds in there- I've been pulling up the naughty ones a few times a week!


Kevin hiding in the kale.

Baby peppers.

Baby cucumber.
Baby 'maters.

Whole lotta mint- we need to have a mojito party, stat!

Gill loves playing in the BBY (big backyard- he can't spell but he knows where the fun happens!).



For dessert, a few freshly picked raspberries. And then birthday cake for my mother in law at their house- happy birthday Lorraine! (And Uncle Dan- his birthday is tomorrow, too!)

Eggplant and Zucchini pizza

I've been channeling my inner Sandra Lee these days, taking help from a bag or the freezer aisle. Training for a half-marathon keeps me busy and makes me hungry so there's been lots of simple and tasty meals at our house.

Trade Joe's has some amazing ingredients that aren't full of preservatives so I can use them guilt-free. Latest find- the marinated and grilled eggplant and zucchini, as seen here.

I chopped it up, sliced some mozzarella, stretched some ready made whole wheat pizza crust, and topped it with leftover marinara and the chopped veggies. Added some shitakes for pizazz!

For extra crunch, top your rimmed baking sheet with cornmeal. Keeps the crust from sticking and adds some authenticity!

Bake at 425 for 25 minutes until crispy and ooey-gooey!

Slice and serve with leftover Harvest Grain salad- oh, and some red wine. Yes, please!

Valentine's Day for one

Better late than never, right? Totally my life motto.

This is how I spent my Valentine's Day. The husband had a late night at work (hopefully his last for a while- woohoo new job!) so I treated myself to some of my favorites.

Enter: wine, pizza, and cake.

Wine: a very sophisticated, mellow Charles Shaw Cabernet Sauvignon...also known as Two Buck Chuck. Delicious, no matter what the price.

Pizza was easy peasy- pita topped with chunky tomato sauce, zucchini, red bell pepper, artichoke hearts, and monterey jack cheese. Broiled 'til crispy and melty. YUM!


Red velvet cupcake courtesy of a local pastry shop- yay cake!

I ate by the light of my laptop catching up on back episodes of GLEE. Not a bad way to get some quality alone time.