Broccolini and Olive Skillet Pizza

• 1 tablespoon yellow cornmeal
• 12 ounces store-bought pizza dough, at room temperature
• 1 (14.5-oz.) can diced tomatoes, drained
• 2 teaspoons sliced garlic
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 1 teaspoon black pepper, divided
• 6 ounces sliced low-moisture mozzarella cheese
• 8 ounces fresh broccolini, trimmed
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup pitted black olives, halved lengthwise
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Preheat oven to 450°F. 
 Sprinkle the cornmeal in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet. Place the dough in the skillet; press gently to cover the bottom and 1 inch up the side. Cook over medium, 8 minutes, 
until the dough bubbles and the bottom begins to brown.

Top the dough while it cooks with the tomatoes and garlic. Sprinkle with ½ teaspoon 
each of the salt and pepper. Top evenly with the mozzarella. Toss the broccolini with the oil and the remaining salt and pepper; arrange over the mozzarella. Top with the olives.

Bake in oven until the crust 
is golden and the cheese begins to brown, about 18 
 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing. Sprinkle with the red pepper.

Serves 4; 421 calories.

VERDICT:  I made this while Dad, Connie and John were gardening--super-easy and better than it had any right to be--kind of a non-goopy deep-dish.  The broccolini got crispy and delicious, and the olives were delicious and salty and savory.  Keep!

Cherry Tomato Pizza Margerita

• 1 refrigerated pizza dough
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 12-ounce bag cherry tomatoes, stemmed
• 1 garlic clove, pressed
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, coarsely crushed in plastic bag
• 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
• 1 4-ounce ball fresh mozzarella in water (ovoline), diced
• 4 ounces whole-milk mozzarella, diced
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves plus small leaves for garnish

Position rack in top third of oven and preheat to 425°F.  Roll dough to about 12x8-inch rectangle, pinching any tears to seal--put on baking sheet. Fold over edge of dough to make border.

Heat large skillet over high heat 2 minutes. Add oil, then tomatoes; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté until tomatoes are charred and beginning to break down, about 5 minutes. Transfer to large bowl. Mix in garlic, fennel, and crushed red pepper. Using back of fork, crush tomatoes in bowl, leaving large chunks intact. Season mixture with salt and pepper. Toss cheeses and chopped basil in medium bowl.

Sprinkle cheese mixture evenly over dough, right up to border. Spoon on tomato mixture in dollops, leaving some cheese uncovered. Bake pizza until crust is crisp and brown, 25 to 30 minutes.

Loosen pizza with metal spatula and slide onto board. Garnish with basil leaves.

Serves 4; 473 calories.
VERDICT: We made this twice, once with Lund's pizza dough, and once with refrigerated "artisan" dough in a tube.  The tube dough pizza was disgusting--the dough was like aerated cardboard--and stuck to the pan, but the Lund's-dough pizza was great.  The cherry tomatoes were fast and savory, and the pizza construction was unfussy.  Keep.

Roasted Vegetable and Ricotta Pizza

• 1 pound refrigerated fresh pizza dough
• 2 cups sliced cremini mushrooms
• 1 cup (1/4-inch-thick) slices zucchini 
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 medium yellow bell pepper, sliced
• 1 medium red onion, cut into thick slices
• 5 1/2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
• 1 tablespoon yellow cornmeal
• 1/3 cup tomato sauce 
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• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/3 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
• 2 tablespoons small fresh basil leaves

Position an oven rack in the lowest setting; place a pizza stone on rack. Preheat oven to 500°.

Remove dough from refrigerator. Let stand, covered, for 30 minutes.

Combine mushrooms and next 4 ingredients (through onion) in a large bowl; drizzle with 1 1/2 tablespoons oil. Toss. Arrange vegetables on a jelly-roll pan. Bake at 500° for 15 minutes.

Punch dough down. Sprinkle a lightly floured baking sheet with cornmeal; roll dough out to 15-inch circle on prepared baking sheet. Brush dough with 1 teaspoon oil. Spread sauce over dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle 1/2 cup mozzarella over sauce; top with vegetables. Sprinkle 1/2 cup mozzarella and red pepper over zucchini mixture. Dollop with ricotta. Slide pizza onto preheated pizza stone. Bake at 500° for 11 minutes or until crust is golden. Sprinkle with basil.
 
Serves 6 (347 calories).

VERDICT:  I didn't bother getting cornmeal, so the pizza stuck to the pan I rolled it out on, so it didn't slide onto the preheated pan, so I cooked it on the cold pan, so it was a little gummy in the middle.  Apart from that, pretty good--the roasted mushrooms and onions are excellent.  Dial it back on the red pepper.  Try again--keep.

Ricotta Pizza with Fresh and Roasted Tomatoes

• 1 cup whole-milk ricotta
• 1 cup grated Parmesan (4 ounces)
• Salt and pepper
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 pound pizza dough, thawed if frozen
• 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes
• 1 large tomato, preferably heirloom, cut into half-moons
• 2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves, for serving

Preheat oven to 500 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Combine ricotta and Parmesan, season with salt and pepper, and stir in egg. On a baking sheet, drizzle pizza dough with 2 tablespoons oil and stretch or roll into a 16-inch-long oval. Spread ricotta mixture on dough, leaving a 1-inch border.

On a rimmed baking sheet, toss cherry tomatoes with remaining 2 tablespoons oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake cherry tomatoes on bottom rack and pizza on top rack until tomatoes are soft and skins have burst, 15 minutes. Remove tomatoes and bake pizza until crust is deep golden brown, about 8 minutes more. Toss cherry tomatoes with sliced tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Transfer pizza to a cutting board and top with tomato mixture and oregano. 

 

Serve 6.  (More like 4.)

 

VERDICT:  The whole kitchen filled up with smoke and the crust on the pizza was already very dark when the tomatoes were done.  Apart from that, not hard and quite good.  Keep.

Margherita Pizza

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to grease pan4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves
• 1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, drained and hand crushed (recommended: San Marzano)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 recipe fresh pizza dough, recipe follows
• 1 (8-ounce) ball fresh buffalo mozzarella, water drained, shredded
• 1/2 bunch fresh basil leaves, torn

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Put a jelly roll pan or a half sheet pan in the oven.

Begin by making the tomato sauce. In a large saute pan over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons olive oil, the minced garlic, thyme and oregano. Cook until just fragrant then add the crushed tomatoes and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Lower the heat and simmer for 7 to 8 minutes to reduce and concentrate the flavor. Shut off the heat and set aside.

Take the preheated jelly roll pan out of the oven and drizzle some olive oil over the entire surface. Cut the dough into 2 pieces and reserve 1 piece for another use. Stretch the pizza dough out so it is just bigger than the pan, then lay it inside the pan, so the dough comes up the sides to form a crust on the rim. Smear with tomato sauce then tear up the mozzarella and scatter it evenly over the top of the pie. Tear the basil leaves, spread them over the top and drizzle with a little more olive oil. Give it a final season with salt and pepper, to taste, then bake in the hot oven until golden and bubbly, about 15 to 18 minutes

Fresh Pizza Dough:

• 2 packages active dry yeast
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 cups warm water (100 to 110 degrees F.)
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 6 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for bowl

In a small bowl, combine the yeast, sugar and water and stir gently to dissolve. Let the mixture stand until the yeast comes alive and starts to foam, 5 to 10 minutes.

If you're using a stand mixer, combine the salt and flour to the bowl and pulse a few times to mix. Add the yeast mixture, at the lowest speed, until the flour incorporates. When the dough starts to come together, increase the speed to medium and mix until the dough gathers into a ball. This should take about 2 minutes. Add the olive oil and pulse a few more times. Stop the machine periodically to scrape the dough off the hook. Get a feel for the dough as you're making it by squeezing a small amount together between your thumb and fingers. If it's crumbly, add more water, if it's sticky, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and fold it over itself a few times, kneading until it's smooth and elastic.

If you're making the dough by hand, add the yeast mixture to a large bowl and stir in the salt and the 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Then begin stirring in the flour. When the mixture becomes too stiff to stir with a spoon, knead in the rest of the flour by hand, adding just enough so that the dough is soft but not too sticky. As you work, squeeze a small amount of dough together between your thumb and fingers. If it's crumbly, add more water; if it's sticky, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.

Form the dough into a round and put it into a lightly oiled bowl, turning it over to coat the dough entirely with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let it rise in a warm spot (i.e., over a gas pilot light) until it doubles in size, about 1 hour.

Yield: 1 13" x 18" pizza.

VERDICT:  I neglected to really read the directions, so we had a little mishap with the sauce, but it all turned out well in the end.  I substituted a cup of whole-wheat flour for one of white in the dough, and would probably do more in the future.  A good recipe for when mozzarella is BOGO at Lund's (i.e. always).  Keep.

 

Basil and Three-Cheese Thin-Crust Pizza

Dough:

• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water (100° to 110°)
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (about 5 1/2 ounces), divided
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Cooking spray
• 2 tablespoons stone-ground yellow cornmeal
• 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

Spicy Pizza Sauce 

• Cooking spray
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion 
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, undrained
• 1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar 

Remaining ingredients:

• 3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese 
• 1/2 cup part-skim ricotta
• 2 tablespoons finely grated fresh Parmesan cheese
• 3 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil

To make Spicy Pizza Sauce:
Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion to pan; sauté 3 minutes or until tender. Add garlic to pan; sauté 30 seconds. Stir in wine; cook 30 seconds. Add tomato paste, oregano, crushed red pepper, black pepper, and tomatoes. Reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes or until thick. Remove from heat; stir in vinegar. Cool.

To make pizza:
To prepare dough, dissolve honey and yeast in 1/2 cup warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add 1 cup flour and salt to yeast mixture; stir until a soft dough forms. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 6 minutes); add enough of the remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel slightly sticky). Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and chill 1 hour.

Position one oven rack in the middle setting. Position another rack in the lowest setting, and place a rimless baking sheet on the bottom rack. Preheat oven to 500°.

Roll dough into a 13-inch circle (about 1/4 inch thick) on a lightly floured surface. Place dough on a rimless baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal. Crimp edges of dough with fingers to form a rim. Brush oil over dough. Remove preheated baking sheet from oven; close oven door. Slide dough onto preheated baking sheet, using a spatula as a guide. Bake on lowest oven rack at 500° for 5 minutes. Remove from oven.

Spread Spicy Pizza Sauce in an even layer over crust, leaving a 1/4-inch border. Combine mozzarella and ricotta; sprinkle evenly over sauce. Top with Parmesan. Bake on middle rack an additional 10 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese melts. Sprinkle with basil. Cut into 8 wedges.

Serves 4 (2 wedges); 328 calories.

VERDICT:  The Spicy Sauce really is spicy--I would cut down the red pepper--but otherwise delicious.  All else is easy.  I accidentally made twice as much dough as the recipe calls for, so we got to eat it twice!  Keep.

Jacques Pépin's Tortilla Pizza

"Tortillas make the best pizza for lunch. Rub a bit of olive oil on both sides of the tortillas and then top with slices of tomato, arugula, parmesan cheese, olive oil, salt & pepper. Bake in 425º oven for ten minutes and enjoy."

VERDICT: Wonderful! I can't believe that this actually worked. Keep!