Friday Night Pizza

Homemade pizza is one of the tastiest dinners ever!  (Or late night snack!!!)  And who doesn't like pizza anyway?  My awesome former roommate (from my Rice days) Lynsey and I had a tradition of Sunday Night Pizza Night.  For two years, we managed to do this almost every week (even in the craziest, most stressful times.  It somehow always gave us a brighter outlook on the week.  Sunday nights can sometimes be a bit of a drag...)!

Everyone has a favorite combination or two of toppings.  While Nicholas and I were on our "mini-moon," we had lunch one day at an Italian Pizzeria.  After looking over the menu a few times, debating and weighing the pros and cons of each pizza, we settled on a goat cheese pizza with balsamic onions and figs.  It was SO delicious!!!  Since then, we have been creating our own spin-off of this delicious creation each time we have homemade pizza.

We scarfed down these two pizzas tonight: Balsamic Red Onion and Fig Pizza with Goat Cheese and a classic Margarita Pizza!  Try something new next time you make pizza.  :)

Balsamic Red Onion and Fig Pizza with Goat Cheese
1 pizza crust (about 14")
2-3 tbs olive oil
4 - 8 oz fresh goat cheese
fresh spinach
1 red onion (thinly sliced)
1/4 - 1/3 cup sliced dried figs
3/4 - 1 cup balsamic vinegar
salt & pepper to season

In a sauce pan, heat approx a 1/4 cup of olive oil on medium-high heat.  Once oil has heated, toss in onions and season with salt.  Saute down the onions for about 5-7 minutes before adding in balsamic.  Add about a 1/2 a cup of balsamic to the onions and stir.  Allow the onions to cook down for another 4-5 minutes.  Check to see if more balsamic should be added (and add if necessary).  Add in the figs and about a 1/4 cup more balsamic and stir in.  Allow figs to cook down.  Turn off heat and allow to cool until you're ready to use them.

On pizza crust (see recipe below if you'd like to made your pizza crusts from scratch), brush a light coating of olive oil (if you desire, you may decide to season with some garlic powder or fresh garlic).  Top with cheese then spinach.  It'll seem like a TON of spinach, but it'll cook down substantially once in the oven.  Put the cooked onions and figs on top of the spinach.  Season with salt and pepper if desired.

Bake at 400 or 425 for 11-14 minutes or until the crust is baked and the cheese is melted.  Let stand for a few minutes before cutting.

Classic Margarita Pizza
1 pizza crust (about 14")
12 oz mozzarella
1 - 2 medium tomatoes (thinly sliced)
fresh basil (as much or as little as you like!)
2 - 3 tbs olive oil
salt & pepper to season

Slice tomatoes (and remove excess water - patting down with paper towels is the easiest way!).  Julienne basil (or if you prefer, leave basil leaves whole).  Lightly brush pizza crust with olive oil.  Sprinkle some basil on the crust (reserving some for later).  Add most of the cheese on top, following with the tomatoes.  Toss extra cheese on top.  Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder if desired.

Bake on 400 or 425 for about 8 minutes.  Remove from oven and top with extra basil.  Bake for another 3-5 minutes or until cheese is fully melted and crust is lightly golden brown.  Let cool for a few minutes before slicing.

Pizza Crust
1 cup warm water (temp of 105-110)
1 package yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp)
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 - 4 tbs olive oil
2 1/2 - 3 cups flour (use whole wheat if you desire)

In a bowl or stand mixer, combine water, yeast, salt, sugar, and 1 tbs olive oil and give a gentle stir.  Let this mixture rest for 10-15 minutes or until the yeast begins to react and bubble.

(Best in a stand mixer, using the dough hook), begin adding the flour, alternating with some olive oil, until everything comes together and forms a nice ball.  Remove dough from the bowl, cover lightly with olive oil and allow to double in size (this will take a couple of hours).  You can always skip the rising step, but your dough might start to bubble as you're pre-baking the crust.  :)

Divide dough into two equal balls.  On baking sheets, toss a little cornmeal (this will help the dough from sticking to the sheet - so much easier!).  Roll out dough (you can make it a little thicker or thinner depending on how your like your crust).  It's nice to pre-bake these for about 4-5 minutes each to give the crust a little bit of a head-start to you're not left with a slightly soggy crust under your pizza.