Last week we celebrated P's birthday with a little lunchie. I made pizza, Momo made salad and Z made the most sinfully delicious torte I've ever had. Seriously, it was ridiculous. Hopefully we can coerce him into sharing the recipe sometime, but for now you'll have to settle for my pizza (which was actually pretty good).
Happy Belated Birthday P! We love you!!!
Pizza
For The Dough
(adapted from Barefoot Contessa PARTIES!)
1 1/4 cups warm water
2 packages (or approx. 2 tablespoons) dry yeast
1 tablespoon honey
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon salt
Combine water, yeast, honey and olive oil in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add three cups of flour and the salt and mix. While mixing, add 1 more cup of flour--or enough to make a soft dough. Knead the dough on a low speed for about 10 minutes--sprinkling with more flour as needed. When the dough is ready, move it onto a floured board and knead by hand. It should be smooth and elastic. Put dough in a well-oiled bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel. Let rise for 30 minutes at room temp. Divide the dough into 6 equal parts and roll each one into a ball. Let rest for 10 more minutes. Use immediately or refrigerate for up to 4 hours.
For The Sauce
1 onion, diced
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon thyme
1 cup milk or cream
1/2 cup ricotta
salt and pepper to taste
3 cups white wine
Cook onions in butter, sugar and thyme until caramelized. Add wine and allow the mixture to sit until reduced. Stir in milk, ricotta, salt and pepper. Let simmer until reduced.
For The Toppings
caramelized red onions
thinly sliced browned potatoes
pesto
fresh mozzarella
goat cheese
Jarlsberg (thinly sliced)
sharp white cheddar
dates
ricotta
rosemary
anything else that sounds appealing at the time :)
Preheat oven to 500
Roll and stretch each ball into a circle and place on baking sheets. Brush dough with olive oil and add sauce and toppings.* Bake for approx. 7-15 minutes, or until crust is crisp and toppings are cooked.
*Our three favorite pizzas were the one with the wine sauce, potatoes, Jarlsberg, goat cheese and rosemary; the one with pesto, red onions and ricotta; and the one with the wine sauce, dates, cheddar and Jarlsberg. So good. In fact, Momo liked it so much--I remember her saying something to the effect of: "I love the candy pizza!" I still haven't had the heart to tell her that the pizza was actually covered in dates and not candy...
