Pizza night is always a good time to get creative with the toppings. It can also be the night when you clean out your fridge of all the little chunks of cheese, spare fresh veggies, and leftover meats. I will admit to loading some of our pizzas up with leftover chicken, scraps of onion left from a slice/dice fest, the lone sprig of broccoli, a red or green pepper that is close to 'gone by', that last tablespoon of pesto that's been shoved around the top shelf, and cheese that needs desperately to be used before a mold colony establishes itself. No one ever complains because a loaded pizza is a beauty to behold!
Tonight, though, I have spent some time looking at my latest cookbook on Italian cuisine, so I made a classic Italian crust. I let it rise for the recommended two hours, slammed it down and pushed it into shape on a 16-inch pizza pan and went simple... olive oil in which three cloves of chopped garlic swam contentedly, two small tomatoes, chopped into wedges, chopped spinach tossed with a couple tablespoons of pecan and Parmesan pesto, an onion cut into thin wedges, cubes of mozzarella, and a mega hit of black pepper.
Cold beers and pizza on a Saturday night ... and it's full moon time outside. That's amore! Hope your dinner is just as lyrical!
PS. Notice the pizza survey to your left on the sidebar... looking for votes, please! Also comments on your fave topping combinations...
Favorite toppings: roasted red pepper, spinach, chicken, and pesto
ReplyDeletesausage
ReplyDeletebroccoli, onions, black olives, and red peppers with feta cheese
ReplyDeleteAnchovies, seriously. No one else likes them though. And spicy sausage and eggplant.
ReplyDeleteI recently made a leftover MEXICAN pizza, and it was delish! The sauce was salsa, then I piled on leftover taco seasoned meat (it was ground turkey), leftover sliced black olives, frozen corn, fresh cilantro (I can never figure out why you can't just buy a handful - I always throw some out!), and diced peppers. Then I topped it with a mix of jack and cheddar cheeses. YUM.
ReplyDeleteSo... when you prep the eggplant ... tell me about that! Cause the sausage and eggplant combo sounds good... and anchocies on at the same time?
ReplyDeletePepperoni and cheese ... so common, I know, but I love it!
ReplyDeleteGrowing up at Tony's I think it was sausage, mushroom AND pepperoni, but we have advanced. My favorite these days is a simple margherita - tomato, bufala mozzarella and a few basil leaves - served unsliced to just pull apart. M is the pizza maker in the house and is quite inventive with the toppings - often including ripe olives, roasted red pepper and some Italian sausage or salami.
ReplyDeleteWow, that pizza looks amazing! I want one!
ReplyDeleteblack olives, onion, fresh basil leaves, and feta on thin crust and drizzled with olive oil!
ReplyDelete