BBQ Brussels Sprout Pizza

Can I tell you about my latest obsession? This salty and savory pizza is topped with all of my favorites. You've got BBQ sauce. You've got cheese. You've got brussels sprouts. And most importantly, you've got crispy pancetta. All piled atop a homemade pizza crust. There really is nothing better than this to me right now. Like I just want to eat this for every meal of every day I buy the store out of brussels. Except I can't. For so many reasons, like, it's completely insane. But most importantly because I need to fit into my wedding dress in 75 days. Stupid pizza and weddings. Why can't they be friends? Don't worry, I still indulge quite regularly. And you should too!

BBQ Brussels Sprout Pizza

Ingredients:

• 1 ball pizza dough
• 2 tbsp. olive oil, separated
• 1/4 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 tbsp. pizza seasoning (I love King Arthur)
• 1/2 cup BBQ Sauce
• 1 cup shredded fontina cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
• 1 cup quartered brussels sprouts
• salt and pepper to taste
• crispy proscuttto, for garnish

Allow pizza dough to come to room temperature while you cook the brussels sprouts. 

To cook the brussels, heat 1 tbsp. olive oil over medium-high heat, then add the brussels and season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing occasionally, until browned. Remove from heat. 

Heat grill or oven to high, and prepare a pizza stone by sprinkling with cornmeal, to prevent the dough from sticking. Stretch out the dough to create a large circle, big enough to cover the pizza stone. Drizzle with the remaining tbsp. of olive oil and sprinkle the pizza seasoning. Add to the grill, or oven, and cook for 5 minutes until the dough begins to bubble slightly.

Spread the BBQ sauce over the prepared crust, then sprinkle the cheese and the brussels sprouts over the top. Close the lid and cook for another 10 minutes, or until the crust is deep golden brown and the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Remove from heat and sprinkle with the crispy prosciutto. Slice and serve.

Sausage & Pepper Calzone

I tried my hand at my first ever calzone, and I have to say that it was an instant hit in our house. It's no secret that my fiance loves all things food, especially pizza. So what's even better than pizza? Stuffed pizza! I took the traditional sausage and peppers combo and filled a pizza dough ball full of it, baked it, and served it with some homemade marinara sauce. It was perfectly cheesy, yet crispy at the same time, and made for excellent leftovers the next day. If you're looking for something hearty to serve on a cold night, bundle up and make this calzone for yourself. 

Sausage & Pepper Calzone

Ingredients:

• 1 ball pizza dough
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2/3 lb. hot Italian turkey sausage
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 white onion, diced
• 1 egg, whisked
• 1 tbsp. pizza seasoning
• marinara sauce for dipping

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 

Heat a large sauce pan over medium-high heat and cook the sausage, breaking it up with a spoon, until no pink remains. Add the cooked sausage to a bowl, and place the pan back over the heat. Cook the onions and peppers in the oil left in the pan from the sausage. Cook for 6-8 minutes until softened.

Roll out pizza dough to create a 12x6-inch rectangle. Place onto a non-stick baking sheet. Sprinkle 1/2 of the shredded cheese down the middle, then add the sausage and peppers on top. Top with the remaining cheese.

Fold one side of the rectangle over to cover half of the filling. Brush the whisked egg onto the folded side, and then fold the remaining side on top to close the calzone. 

Brush more whisked egg on the top and sprinkle with pizza seasoning. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the cheese in melted and bubbly. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minute before slicing and serving. 

Capicola & Kalamata Olive Pizza

Are you the type of person that dabs their grease off of their pizza, or you do embrace it with all you have? While I normally don't jump for joy when my pizza has little pools of grease, this smoked meat-olive mixture is the perfect combination of thin, crispy crust and classic savory flavor. The saltiness of the capicola and olives are a real treat, especially when you wash it down with my all-time favorite beer, Four Peaks Pumpkin Porter. I used a smoked cheese, which I would suggest shying away from, since it is a drier cheese and does not melt like your typical pizza should. Stick to a classic fontina or cheddar for a gooey result. I hope you guys whip this up for this weekend's games, have some friends over, and cheer on your favorite team over some homemade pie. 

Also, how amazing is this floormat that I used as my backdrop? I got it for Andrew for his 1/2 birthday (yes, we celebrate those in our house!) and I couldn't NOT use it! 

Capicola & Kalamata Olive Pizza

Ingredients:

• cornmeal for sprinkling
• 1 ball pizza dough
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 tbsp. pizza seasoning
• 1 1/2 cups marinara sauce
• 1 cup shredded fontina cheese
• 5 oz. sliced capicola
• 1/2 cup sliced, pitted kalamata olives

Preheat oven or grill to 400 degrees F. 

Sprinkle cornmeal on a pizza stone, then stretch out the dough to the size of the stone. Drizzle the olive oil over the dough and sprinkle the pizza seasoning.

Bake/grill the crust for 5 minutes. Then spread the marinara all over the crust, sprinkle the cheese, then top with the capicola and olives. If you are baking, bake for another 20 minutes until the crust is golden and firm. If you are grilling, grill for only another 10 minutes or so until the crust is golden.

Allow the pizza to rest for 5 minutes before slicing and serving. Tastes best with a cold beer, I promise.

Fig & Bacon Jam Pizza with Goat Cheese and Crispy Prosciutto

Yesterday I showed you how to make this insanely grown-up gourmet version of jam using figs and bacon.  Now I am going to show you how to throw it on some pizza and call it dinner. While I know that this recipe is far from difficult, and you probably don't need me rambling on an on about how to throw a ball of flattened dough topped with minimal ingredients onto the grill and serve, but this pizza was just too good not to share with you. Sometimes less means more in terms of ingredients, allowing them all to shine. Small steps like shredding a ball of mozzarella instead of buying pre-shredded/bagged cheese can make all the difference. 5 ingredients is all you need (assuming you already made the jam) to have dinner on the table on your family asking for seconds and thirds.

 Fig & Bacon Jam Pizza with Goat Cheese and Crispy Prosciutto

Ingredients:

• 1 ball pizza dough
• 2-3 tbsp. cornmeal for dusting
• 1 cup freshly shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup Fig & Bacon Jam
•  3-4 strips of prosciutto, torn into 2-inch pieces
• 3 oz. goat cheese, crumbled
• sliced basil for garnish (optional)

Preheat grill to 400 degrees. Stretch your pizza dough out into a large circle. Sprinkle corn meal onto a pizza stone and place the dough on top.  Sprinkle with the shredded mozzarella and place the stone with the pizza onto the grill. Cook for 5 minutes until the cheese has melted and the crust has begun to turn golden.

Using the back of a large spoon, spread the jam out to cover the entire pizza. Top with the torn prosciutto and crumbled goat cheese. Close the lid and cook for another 5-8 minutes until the pizza toppings are warmed through and the prosciutto is crispy.

Remove from the heat and allow to sit for 5 minutes before you slice and serve.

Grilled Squash Blossom Pizza

Local Arizona food blogger and now happy to call my friend, AZFoodie, has featured another one of my recipes this week. And this time I am featuring my latest obsession: squash blossoms. On pizza. Yes, you read that right. Local squash blossoms, roasted on a grilled pizza crust, topped with cheese, basil, and paper-thin slices of zucchini and squash. Doesn't get more summer than that right there. So head on over to AZFoodie to see what I've been up to and how to make this for yourself. 

Catch my Grilled Squash Blossom Pizza recipe here. 

Grilled Peach Caprese Pizza

This is a big week of recipe domination from the HDFB kitchen. I finally found my perfect vanilla ice cream base and now, I have perfected my pizza crust. I like my crust to be thin and extremely crispy throughout, until you get to the very end of the crust, and there awaits a slightly thicker, pillowy edge. I also like when the cheese is one massively thin layer, instead of large portions throughout. I found the secret to the perfect cheese layer is to buy one of those large mozzarella balls and then pop it into the freezer for about 15 minutes, allowing it to harden enough that you can slice it super thin with a knife without it crumbling in your hands. And while you are waiting for your cheese to harden, you can roll out your dough. I like to hand toss mine back and forth, stretching it as I rotate it around and around, making the circle large enough to cover my entire pizza stone. Rip a hole in your dough while stretching it? No worries! Just pinch it closed and keep stretching. The golden success to this pizza though is hands down the peaches. Sliced thin, you get the saltiness from the cheese and the sweetness from the peaches, creating the ultimate summer pizza. 

 Grilled Peach Caprese Pizza

Ingredients:

• 1 pizza dough ball
• 1/4 cup cornmeal
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 peach, pitted and thinly sliced
• 5 oz. mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup pesto

Preheat grill to 400 degrees. Roll out the pizza dough to create a 12-inch round. Place a pizza stone down  and sprinkle it with the cornmeal so the dough doesn't stick. Place the dough on top of the prepared stone and put onto the grill. Brush the dough all over with the olive oil and close the grill, allowing the dough to crisp up for 5 minutes.

Open the grill and place the sliced peaches on the top rack, allowing them to warm and crisp up just slightly. Layer on the thinly sliced cheese and close the grill again. Cook for another 5 minutes.

Add the peaches on top of the melted cheese and then drizzle the pesto with a spoon over the top. Close the grill and cook for another 2-5 minutes, until the crust is deep golden brown and the pesto has warmed through.

Carefully remove the pizza from the grill and allow to rest for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Homemade Meatball Pizza

Remember last week when I posted pictures of raw meatballs, and you went all Jimmy-Fallon-as-Sara-no-H-'cause-H's-are-EWWWW on me? Well this time I have managed to cook said meatballs, chop them up and put them on a savory pizza. All is right in the world again. Of all the pizza in all the land, Andrew's all-time fave is meatball pizza. He has proclaimed that he could eat it every single day. Who am I to deny that request? Okay, so not every. single. day. But I'm down to indulge quite often myself! So thaw out a few of those freezer meatballs you made and serve them atop your next pizza. Pizza pies for everyone!

Meatball Pizza

Ingredients:

• 4-5 large meatballs, cooked and sliced
• 1 ball pizza dough
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp. Italian herbs
• 1/2 cup marinara sauce
• 10-12 mini mozzarella balls, smashed or crumbled with your hands
• fresh basil for garnish

Preheat a pizza stone in your oven or on your grill to 400 degrees F.  Sprinkle some corn meal on your work surface and work your dough out to a large circle. Drizzle with olive oil and Italian seasoning. Place on pizza stone and cook for 5 minutes until slightly bubbly.

After 5 minutes, spread the sauce onto the pizza crust using a large spoon. Top with the sliced meatballs and mozzarella. Bake/grill until the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbly (time will vary).

Remove from heat, sprinkle with fresh basil and slice. Wait a couple of minutes before serving to avoid the burning-the-roof-of-your-mouth syndrome.

HDFB Take Out: The Parlor Pizzeria

Recently my fiance and I went out to eat at our favorite local pizza joint, The Parlor Pizzeria. I couldn't believe that it's taken me this long to introduce it to you all. Andrew and I have been eating here for years now, and time after time we always leave having had an amazing experience. We were recently;y lucky enough to have seats at the pizza counter, where we had a front row view of the kitchen, watching them cook numerous pizzas in their wood-burning oven. The Parlor has rightfully won awards such as Best of Phoenix from the New Times, Best of Our Valley, and even 50 Best Pizzas from The Food Network. Aside from the excellent set up that their space has, including the original chairs from when the space used to be a beauty parlor, there is a large bar where you can find them creating unique cocktails using fresh herbs from their very own garden out front. Or grab a table outside on their covered patio by the fireplace. Wherever you sit, just be sure to come hungry.

The Parlor Pizzeria
1916 E. Camelback Rd.
Phoenix, AZ
602-248-2480
Closed Sundays

What to Order:
Arrancini (saffron risotto balls)
Roasted Beet Salad
Spicy Barbeque Chicken Pizza (my personal fave)
Salsiccia Pizza (pictured: sausage, radicchio, sage)

Funghi Pizza (mushrooms, goat cheese, truffle oil)
Tiramisu

Classic Four Cheese Pizza

If you told me 5 years ago that I would have a food blog, and that I would be posting a cheese pizza recipe, I would probably laugh in your face as I scraped the cheese off of my pizza and ate the crust with a scarce bit of sauce left on it. Fast forward to January 28, 2015 and I am in fact running a food blog and posting a recipe for cheese pizza. But not just any old cheese pizza my friends. This pizza has 4 different kinds of cheeses, which all melt perfectly together to create a pizza mecca. It kind of reminds me of Kevin from Home Alone when he orders a cheese pizza all to himself while he gets chauffeured around in a limo to toy stores in New York City. But that is neither here nor there. This is just some damn good pizza. 

Classic Four Cheese Pizza

Ingredients:

• 1 ball pizza dough
• 1 tbsp. cornmeal
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp. mixed Italian seasoning (I love King Arthur)
• 1/2 cup marinara sauce
• 4 oz. shredded sharp cheddar
• 4 oz. shredded mozzarella
• 4 oz. shredded white cheddar
• 3 oz. crumbled goat cheese

Bring your dough ball to room temperature and then stretch it out into a large circle or rectangle depending on whether you are baking it on a baking sheet or pizza stone. Sprinkle some corn meal on your baking surface and place the dough down. 

Preheat your oven or grill to 375 degrees F. Drizzle the olive over the dough and sprinkle with the Italian seasoning. Bake or grill for 5 minutes to get the crust a bit crispy before adding the toppings.

After 5 minutes, spread the marinara sauce on the crust with a spoon and sprinkle the cheddars and mozzarella over the crust, ending with the crumbled goat cheese. Place back in the oven or close the grill and cook for another 18-20 minutes if it is in the oven or about 10 minutes on the grill, until the edges are golden brown and the cheeses are melted and bubbly.

Allow to cool for 5 minutes before slicing and serving. 

Homemade Pizza Dough in Your Bread Maker

Homemade pizza dough. In your bread maker. Everyone will think that you slaved over your dough, kneading countless times and covering your counters in enough flour that you keep finding it even after cleaning a minimum of 7 times. But in reality, you simply poured your ingredients into your bread maker, pushed 1, maybe 2, buttons, and presto! Pizza dough. No mess, no kneading, no messy counters. This is my new go-to after buying one too many pizza dough balls in a bag. It's the freshest thing you're going to find besides going to Italy yourself.

Homemade Pizza Dough

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water, room temperature
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
• optional add-ins: garlic, rosemary, parsley, basil, oregano

In the bowl of your bread maker, place the ingredients according the your specific maker's instructions (for instance, my bread maker requires wet, dry, then yeast in that particular order). 

Turn on the bread maker to the dough cycle. All of the work is done for you!

If you are not going to use the dough immediately, place into a bowl, greased with oil, and cover with plastic wrap for up to 1 day.

BBQ Short Rib Pizza with Caramelized Shallots & a Fried Egg

I actually had leftover short ribs. Like how is that even possible? Usually when short ribs are served in my house, we will finish them to the very last fork tender bite. But I recently hosted taco night at my house and made enough food for 8 people, instead of the more reasonable 4 person serving. That being said I had to make something worthy of the all mighty short rib. This. Pizza. Is. Worthy. I would actually make short ribs just to have this pizza again. And as if the short rib wasn't rich enough in flavor I added a couple of runny eggs on top. Your taste buds will thank you.

BBQ Short Rib Pizza with Caramelized Shallots & a Fried Egg

Ingredients:

• 1 ball pizza dough
• 1/4 cup corn meal
• 1 cup bbq sauce
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella
• 1 cup shredded short ribs (recipe below)
• 3 shallots, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 2 fried eggs
• 2 green onion, sliced

Start by caramelizing your shallots. Heat the olive oil over medium heat and add in the shallots, seasoning with salt and pepper. Lower heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally for about 20 minutes until they are fragrant and a deep golden color. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Sprinkle corn meal onto pizza stone or large baking sheet. Roll out dough into the largest circle that will fit onto your baking surface. Bake the crust for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and top with the bbq sauce, shredded mozzarella, caramelized shallots, and short rib. Bake in the oven for another 20 minutes until the cheese is melted and the crust is a deep golden brown. 

Meanwhile, fry up 2 or 3 eggs to place on top once the pizza is done cooking. Sprinkle with chopped green onions and serve hot.

Short Ribs

• 1 lb. short ribs
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/4 tsp. chili powder
• 1/8 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/8 tsp. onion powder
• 1/8 tsp. cumin
• salt and pepper
• 1 cup beer of your choice

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat and season the short ribs all over with salt and pepper. Sear on each side for about 1 minute and then add to your crock pot. Sprinkle in the chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, and cumin. Then add the beer. Cook on low for 6 hours until the meat is fork tender and falls apart very easily. Shred and reserve in an airtight container. 

Mexican Taco Pizza

Growing up in Arizona, it's no secret that I love me some Mexican food. Even though I grew up not eating cheese (we've talked about it before, and I am ashamed, but it's true), I would eat almost anything you put in front of me, scraping off the cheese as necessary obvi. And then. There's pizza. And who doesn't love pizza? But as sad as it sounds, I wouldn't touch a slice of cheese pizza with a ten foot pole. But my how things have changed. This pizza is cheesy, and topped with all your favorite Mexican food toppings; i.e. tomatoes, green chiles, olives, sour cream, oh, and cheese, duh. Mexican food and pizza. A match made in my kitchen.

Mexican Taco Pizza

Ingredients:

• 1 ball pizza dough
• cornmeal for dusting 
• 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese
• 3/4 cup cooked ground turkey or beef
• 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
• 1/4 cup diced green chiles
• large handful of chopped lettuce
• 1 small can of sliced black olives
• sour cream for garnish

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare large baking sheet or pizza stone by covering in corn meal. Stretch dough out into a large circle and place on baking sheet or stone. Cook for 5 minutes in the oven, then remove.

Top with 1/2 cup shredded cheese, then the ground turkey, tomatoes, and green chiles. Top with the remaining shredded cheese and bake in the oven until golden brown and the cheese is bubbling, about 20-25 minutes. 

Remove from the oven and top with the black olives, shredded lettuce, and sour cream. Serve hot. 

Fresh Fig, Caramelized Onion, and Goat Cheese Pizza

 

I'm back with yet again another pizza recipe, but what I love about pizza is that it can be so versatile.  We make pizza about once a week in my house, and we have yet to have a repeat offender. We have done everything form a leftover Thanksgiving turkey pizza, to a breakfast pizza, to a sausage and pepper pizza. But today is all about the sweet side of the pizza world. Onions when caramelized take on a very sweet note, and well, figs are just the sweetest little morsels to ever grace this planet. Especially when topped with a little sea salt and honey. Mmmmm, I'm getting side tracked in a foodie day dream here. But don't be alarmed that this pizza is too sweet. The saltiness of the cheese and the flaky sea salt cut through some of the sugar, which balances out perfectly. And trust me when I tell you that you won't even miss the sauce that you would have on a standard pie. My boyfriend is an avid sauce lover, and when he saw me preparing this, he was like, "what sauce are you going to use?". When I told him none, I thought I had lost him for good, but the trooper that he is went along on this adventure with me and didn't mention the sauce once! He was too busy shoving his face with pizza.

 

Fresh Fig, Caramelized Onion, and Goat Cheese Pizza

Ingredients:

• 1 ball pizza dough
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• cornmeal for dusting cooking surface
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 4-6 black mission figs, chopped
• 5 oz. goat cheese, crumbled
• sea salt for garnish

 

In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat, add in the sliced onion, then season with salt and pepper. Toss the onions well to coat in the oil and then lower the heat to low. Allow the onions to cook and caramelize for about 15-20 minutes. They will turn a deep purple color and will be very aromatic.

Once the onions are cook, preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare a pizza stone or large baking sheet by dusting it in cornmeal.  Stretch our pizza dough into a large round, as bis as will fit onto your stone or baking sheet. Place on the prepared sheet and cook in the oven for 5 minutes.

Remove the dough from the oven and then top with the shredded mozzarella cheese. Then evenly cover the pizza with the caramelized onions, the chopped figs, and the goat cheese. Place back in the oven and cook for 15 minutes or so, until the crust is golden brown and the cheese has melted.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle with just a little bit of flaky sea salt. Allow to sit for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

BBQ Chicken Pizza a la Seriously Delish

I'm back with another recipe from the new cookbook "Seriously Delish" from How Sweet Eats and this time we are talking about pizza. BBQ Chicken pizza to be exact. We have been on a serious pizza kick here in the new house, making something about once a week, and yesterday I bought the last package of black mission figs at my local farmer's market, so keep a lookout for a possible sweet pizza coming up real soon! Meanwhile, I have been brought down by the bug this week. I get sick twice a year. Once in the spring when the first hot day of summer comes around, and again when the summer heat fades away and we are greeted with cool crisp mornings. And the mornings have been quite nice lately, which would explain my head cold. Luckily I have awesome co-workers who send me home to rest and an even awesome-r (not a word, I know) boyfriend who makes me soup and tea and makes me rest instead of cleaning dishes or doing laundry. So make this pizza while I'm sick in bed so I know that at least someone is eating delicious pizza instead of drinking hot water and ginger around the clock. 

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Ingredients:

• 1 pizza dough
• corn meal for sprinkling
• 1 1/2 cups bbq sauce
• 3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup shredded chicken
• 1 cup fresh corn, cut from kernel (could also use canned or frozen)
• 1/2 jalapeno, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Prepare a large flat baking sheet of pizza stone by sprinkling corn meal all over it so that the dough doesn't stick.

Allow the dough to come to room temperature while the oven pre-heats and you prepare the chicken. 

In a large pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add in the onion and allow to cook and soften for about 5 minutes. Add in the garlic, chicken, and 1/2 cup bbq sauce. 

Stretch the pizza dough out into about a 15-inch circle. Place onto the prepared baking sheet or pizza stone and bake in the oven for 5 minutes.

Remove from the heat and spread the rest of the bbq sauce all over the pizza (as you would with marinara sauce). Top with the shredded cheddar, then the chicken/onion mixture, the corn, and then the sliced jalapeño.

Bake for 20 minutes or so, until the crust is deep golden brown and the cheese is bubbly. Let cool for 5 minutes before topping with the chopped cilantro, slicing, and serving.