Savory Stiletto
Steaming Up The Kitchen…
Pizza Night
October 5, 2009One of my favorite parts about cooking is making things for other people. My all time favorite part though, cooking with someone else. It is so much fun to spend a random evening in instead of going out. Opening a bottle of good (cheap) wine, great conversation, and inevitably, something dropping on the floor. Knowing, at the end of the meal, that you made this together somehow make everything taste just a little bit better. Even if all he did was chop the herbs!
I’m lucky enough to go to my mom’s house every other week on a night off to cook a yummy (normally healthy) homemade dinner for her and her boyfriend. After the pizza dough incident of 2009 (see Messy Monsters), I figured I should make good use of the dough. I was flipping through some sites online and saw a Rosemary, Lamb and Gorgonzola pizza on Spork or Foon. YUM! The second I saw it, I knew I had to try it out. Because the little things in life excite me, I immediately called my mom to let her know what the coming week’s menu was going to be. The only problem? Her boyfriend only like his meats….well-done. Ew! I can’t, in good conscience, cook lamb over medium. No way. Hmmm…Lightbulb! Ground Lamb.
I didn’t want to show up at my mom’s with just one pizza. First of all, I had WAY too much dough for that, and second, I never do just one thing. I already had some caramelized onions in my fridge from earlier in the week, and had a few peppers chillin’ in the fridge, so I thought the perfect pizza would be my take on a traditional Chicago pizza, sausage, onions, and peppers.
The second I get to my mom’s house, I get busy. Mission #1, open and pour wine. Accomplished! I got started rolling out the dough for the pizza (which sat for an hour at room temperature). Instantly, the house filled with the delicious aroma of yeast, and basil, and yummy amazingness. First pizza in the oven and apparently, the amazingness permeated the neighborhood, because one of the neighbors stopped by while the pizza was cooking. “Mmmmm, what’s that smell???” he says, I, covered in flour if you can imagine, say “Pizza…wanna stay for some”. “Uh, I think I’m supposed to be having steak for dinner, but sure, I’ll stay for a piece”.
The kitchen didn’t get quite as dirty as mine did when I was making the dough initially. But I did forget that I was going to be dealing with more flour, so of course, I showed up looking cute, hair and make-up done. By the end of the night, flour in my hair, flour on my cheeks, flour ALL over my shirt. I don’t think I should play with flour anymore…
Lamb, Gorgonzola, and Rosemary Pizza
- ½ dough (find recipe here, I only used ¼ of the dough for each pizza because I wanted really thin crust)
- 1 lb. lamb shoulder, trimmed and diced (I used 1 lb. ground lamb instead)
- 2 TBS rosemary, minced
- 4 oz. crumbled gorgonzola cheese
- Salt and pepper
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Pre-heat the oven and a pizza stone to 500 F.
In a large skillet, heat the oil and minced rosemary. Add the ground lamb and brown.
Roll out the room temperature pizza dough and transfer the dough to the pizza stone. Drizzle some EVOO (thanks Rachel Ray!) on the dough and CAREFULLY brush it out towards the edges, leaving about ½ of an inch ring around the edge. Top the pizza with about 1 oz of gorgonzola and ½ the lamb mixture. Add another 1 oz of cheese and bake for about 10-15 minutes, until crust is golden and the cheese is melted.
Makes 2 pizzas (4 slices each)
T’s Sausage Pizza
- ½ pizza dough (again, I used ¼ of the dough for each pizza)
- 1 lb. ground Italian sausage
- 2 bell peppers cut into rings
- ½ package brown mushrooms (optional)
- 1 medium sweet onion caramelized
- EVOO
- 6 oz mozzarella cheese shredded
- 1 oz Asiago cheese shredded
Pre-heat oven and pizza stone to 500 F
Brown the Italian sausage in a pan over medium high heat until no pink remains. At the same time, sauté the peppers and mushrooms until they are tender.
Roll out your room temperature pizza and transfer to the hot pizza stone. Carefully brush EVOO on the dough leaving about ½” ring around the edge. Top with 3 oz of the mozzarella cheese, ½ the Italian sausage, ½ the peppers/mushrooms, and ½ the caramelized onion. Bake in the oven 10-15 minutes until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted. Top with a sprinkle of the freshly grated Asiago cheese and enjoy.
Makes 2 pizzas.
My thoughts:
Even though I was super excited about the lamb pizza, I was a little nervous that the gorgonzola was going to be too salty for the dish. It wasn’t. It was absolutely perfect! The tang from the cheese and the incredible flavor of the lamb were really complimented nicely by the rosemary. It was a huge hit with both my mom and her boyfriend. The sausage pizza was perfection! Not using pizza sauce was brilliant. First off, it kept the dough nice and crisp, even in the middle, even with all the toppings. Plus, the sausage and peppers weren’t competing with anything else. The ingredients really shone through. I can’t wait to make these pizzas again!
This entry was posted in Main Dish. Bookmark the permalink. ← Messy Monsters The best thing you’ll put in your mouth all week…. →3 Responses to Pizza Night
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Jenny Stark says:
This looks amazing! You are a prodigy in the kitchen!
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Mom says:
…and I was the lucky one to eat the pizza and drink the wine! It was as fantastic as it looks. Never would have guessed lamb on pizza, but the taste was divine! Who would have thought that my daughter, who just years ago almost had a meltdown one Christmas morning helping me cook breakfast (for 15), would now live to cook (and bake). Let’s see some good breakfast food on one of your posts. I need some ideas for the holidays! Love you!
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These look amazing! I wish I could have been around for these and I believe you are an incredible rising star! I’ll say I knew you when