Good Taste: Lloyd Family Pizza Party

Along with so many other families in the world, on Friday night, we Lloyds enjoy a pizza party. I prefer the classic pizza crust recipe from Joy of Cooking and improvised variations on this pizza sauce recipe. I've been shaking things up lately, and am here to report on our most recent pizza night successes (both recipes were rapidly made, with effortless prep work, and they were rapidly consumed by all four of us!).

First, from August 2005 Bon Appetit:

Bell Pepper, Red Onion, and Goat Cheese Pizza

1 pound of pizza dough
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic cloves, minced
3 cups (packed) baby spinach leaves
1 1/2 cups thickly sliced mushrooms (we love cremini)
1/2 cup drained roasted red peppers from jar, cut into thin strips
1 /2 cup paper-thin red onion slices
8 large fresh basil leaves, cut into thin strips
1 5-oz package soft fresh goat cheese, coarsely crumbled

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place pizza crust on large baking sheet. Mix olive oil and minced garlic in small bowl. Using a pastry brush, brush 2 tablespoons garlic oil evenly over crust. Top with spinach leaves, then sprinkle with sliced mushrooms, roasted red peppers, red onion slices, fresh basil, and crumbled goat cheese. Drizzle pizza evenly with remaining garlic oil. Cook 15 minutes.

Thoughts: I added the 15 minutes instructions at the end--I guess it's best to keep an eye on it. The recipe doesn't really say. This is the pizza for chevre junkies like us, especially since we seem to always have a little stash around, so I didn't end up buying anything extra to make it (I only dreamed of putting fresh basil leaves on top...ah, winter).


From November 2008 Real Simple

Three-Cheese Calzones

1 pound of pizza dough
1 cup fresh ricotta
1 cup grated mozzarella
1/4 cup grated Parmasan
1 bunch spinahc, thick stems removed and roughly chopped (5 cups)
Black Pepper
1/4 pound thinly sliced salami (we used pepperoni)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup jarred marinara sauce, warmed

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, divide the dough into 4 equal portions and roll and stretch them into 8-inch rounds.
2. In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, spinach, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
3. Layer salami on one side of each round of dough, and top with the cheese mixture. Fold the dough over the filling and pinch the edges to seal.
4. Brush the tops of the calzones with the oil. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Serve with the sauce.

Thoughts: Good. For some reason, this recipe screams teenage boys to me. Better keep it handy for later.