Giada's Arugula Pesto, Ricotta and Smoked Mozzarella Pizza

It had been awhile since I used an actual cookbook. I love cookbooks but usually find myself gathering recipes from Tastespotting, FoodGawker or Pinterest. I think the picture based sites hold my interest for longer, and I'll often come out of a 30 minute browsing blackout with tons of recipes to try.

However, last night I dusted off my fave Giada cookbook "Weeknights with Giada," which my roommates gave me for my birthday last year (and I also gave to Quin) and found some hidden gems.

Everything I've made from that cookbook has been a treat, and this pizza was no different. It was also quick to throw together, which you'd expect from a book with "weeknight" in the title. The process would have been a lot quicker had I used a food processor instead of a blender for the cheesy pesto mixture. I figured the ingredients were fine and wet enough that a blender would do. It ended up working but after some EVOO and a little time spent shaking the blender around, which I'm sure annoyed my roommates trying to watch The Bachelor finale.

It wasn't your typical za at all - no sauce but instead a ricotta and "pesto" mixture was the base with the tomatoes on top. I used a store bought ball of pizza dough to speed up the process even more. Call me Sandra Lee all you want, but Giada did it too so it's O.K. in my book. 

Just spread out the dough on a baking sheet - doesn't need to be round, but that does look prettier - then spread the pesto on top. I like thin crust so the bigger you can stretch it, the better. Since I added extra EVOO to the pesto, I didn't drizzle it straight on the crust as Giada suggested. Top with some thinly sliced plum tomatoes, drizzle a little olive oil, and you're ready to cook!

Since there was so much arugula already on the pizza, I skipped the side salad and instead got another slice. That's healthy, right? Makes sense to me.

Giada's Arugula Pesto, Ricotta and Smoked Mozzarella Pizza

Makes 4 Servings

Ingredients:

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded smoked mozzarella cheese

1 packed cup (1 ounce) arugula

1 (1-pound) ball store-bought pizza dough

Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

2 plum tomatoes sliced into ¼-inch thick slices

Directions:

Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. Spray a heavy baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

In a food processor, blend the ricotta, garlic, salt, and pepper until smooth. Add the smoked mozzarella and arugula. Pulse until just combined but still chunky.

Place the ball of dough directly on the greased baking sheet, and use your fingers and knuckles to smoosh the dough to cover the entire sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Spread the ricotta mixture on top leaving a 1-inch border. Arrange the tomato slices on top. Drizzle with more olive oil.

Bake for 15 to 16 minutes until the crust is golden. Cut into wedges and serve.

[Recipe adapted from Weeknights with Giada]

French Onion Soup Pizza

French onion soup is one of my long term favorite foods. Even when I was picky, this was one of my go to restaurant orders. It's a little trickier to make in my kitchen due to an old and scary broiler so when I saw this recipe for french onion soup pizza, I was game. This was great as dinner but would be just as good/better cut into smaller slices as an appetizer.

I had originally intended to buy pre-made pizza dough from Trader Joe's or even Safeway. Now that we have a hand mixer with a dough attachment though, I decided to tackle my first yeast experiment. I associate yeast with baking, and baking scares me. 

It's alive!

It rose! All that stress for nothing. I think with a little more practice I could actually make a pretty tasty dough. I had all the ingredients for it in my kitchen already (minus the yeast, but that's cheap), and all I needed to do was follow the instructions on the package. I did this first to give my dough the maximum amount of time to rise.

Next up were the onions. While caramelizing this amount of onions takes a while, it's extremely low maintenance and requires little actual work.

Chop

Throw in a pot

Stir every once in a while

The onions took a little over an hour to really caramelize. Just leave them on medium low heat for an hour or so, stirring occasionally. This also gives the dough plenty of time to rise and you time to do productive things like watch The Bachelor and/or paint your nails.

Once the dough has doubled in size and the onions are nice and brown, assemble on an oiled baking sheet and bake. Don't forget to chop some fresh chives over the whole thing at the end.

Boom

French Onion Soup Pizza
Serves 5-6 as dinner


Ingredients:

For the Crust:
1½ cups warm water
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 packet instant dry yeast
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt

For the Topping:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds onions, sliced
3 tablespoons sugar
¼ cup worcestershire sauce
½ cup red wine
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar (I used red wine vinegar, but sherry would be best.)
1 pound gruyere, shredded
freshly snipped chives (for garnish)

Directions:

For the Crust:
Combine the warm water and maple syrup. Sprinkle the yeast onto the sweet water and swirl to combine. Allow it to proof. Add the flours and incorporate on low speed with the dough hook. Add the salt and olive oil. Place dough in a large, oiled bowl. Coat the surface with additional olive oil, and cover with a damp towel. Set in a warm place to rise, 45 minutes to several hours.

For the Topping:
Heat the first six ingredients in a heavy pot, on medium low heat, for one hour, stirring occasionally. Preheat the oven to 550 degrees.

Once the dough has doubled in size, flatten it onto an oiled half-sheet pan. Working quickly to avoid the dough rising again, spread the caramelized onions evenly on the dough, and top with shredded gruyere. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Top with freshly snipped chives and truffle oil if you have it.


[Recipe adapted from Yin Mom, Yang Mom]