Caprese Pizza

Hey there! Long time, no see! And why is that, you ask? Well, because I’m lazy. And to be honest, I haven’t really been making anything worth blogging lately. There have been a couple of things here and there that have made me say, “Oh! I should have blogged this!” but nothing too fancy. But this time…this pizza…it deserves to be delivered to the masses. “The masses” being the maybe eight people that read this blog haha.

I love caprese anything. Tomatoes, basil, mozzarella cheese, and olive oil? How can that not sound good? Just a couple of simple ingredients and you have delicousness. So, here I give you, caprese pizza.

The music: None this time as I was watching re-runs of The Vampire Diaries. Vampires love pizza…it’s a fact…trust me.
The drink: Not coffee! Believe it or not, it was water this time.

Ingredients for the noms:

Olive oil

5 tomatoes (I used ‘on the vine’ tomatoes but use whatever looks good that day)

A couple of handfuls of fresh basil

Approx. 2 ½ cloves of garlic

A homemade or store bought pizza crust (Yeah, I used a Pilsbury one this time…sue me)

1 ¾ c. mozzarella cheese (The cheese opted to not have its picture taken today)

Preheat the oven to 425. Slice the tomatoes, not too thick, not too thin and place them on some paper towels while you work on everything else. This will help soak up the excess liquid so that the crust won’t be soggy.

Spread the dough out onto a greased baking sheet. And let me add, this can that the crust came in…scared the CRAP out of me! Why must they pop the way they do!? Stupid pop cans.

Give the basil a rough chop. No need to be perfect here.

Grate the garlic cloves. You could mince them if you’d like but I think using a grater makes the garlic easier to spread.

Drizzle the olive oil over the crust, then spread it out along with the garlic.

Add the tomatoes, then the basil.  Finally sprinkle the cheese that finally decided to crawl out of the dark and have its picture taken on top.

Bake for 10 minutes. I had done 12 and ended up with some browning…which is ok too. And viola, a delicious, beautiful pizza. PS: This pizza is very good with some red wine (but then again, what isn't good with some wine?).

Hope you like it!!

Love,

Sarah

Fig Prosciutto Pizza with Baby Spinach

I saw this recipe a while ago at The Pioneer Woman.  It's good.  So make it.  Right now.  NOW!  K?

Start off making your pizza dough.  I forgot to take pictures of mine as I was making it because my child made me stupid.  I swear he ate half my brain cells when I was pregnant.  At least thats my story. 
Once you've made the dough, and let it rise, divide it in half, because you'll want nice, thin, crispy crust for this pizza.

Once your dough is made, either roll it out, or spread it out onto your pan.  Pizza pan, cookie sheet, whatever floats your boat.  I spread it out.  I don't like to use my rolling pin more than I have to.  (On another note, I used my BRAND NEW Pampered chef stone baking sheet.  I loves it.) 

Ignore the crappy lighting.  Please.

Take a few spoonfuls of your fig preserves and spread it right onto the crust.  Then, once you're done spreading lick the spoon.  You know you want to.  It's divine. 

Take your mozzerella cheese and put it on top of the fig.  I like to use fresh mozzerella, sliced, but I'm not above using shredded.  Not a bit. 

Bake at 425 degrees for 13-15 minutes, until the cheese is slightly brown and bubbly.  It may take a little longer if you're not using a stone.  Just keep an eye on it.
Once its done, take it out and put the prosciutto on top, and pop it back in the oven for a minute.  Take it out and add the baby spinach.  Bend over the pizza and inhale.  Try not to drool on the pizza.  Your family will thank you.

On a personal level, I think I added too much prosciutto.  Next time I will add maybe half as much, and in smaller pieces.  But it was still amazing.  Delightful.  Fantastic.  It'll make you sing.  And dance.  Believe me.

It might even make you weep. 

Pizza dough:
2 1/4 t. active yeast
1/2 t. brown sugar
1 1/2 c. warm water
2 T. olive oil
1 t. salt
4 c. flour

In a large bowl, combine water with brown sugar and yeast.  Let it sit for about 10 minutes to activate the yeast.  Add the salt and oil and mix.  Add two cups of flour and mix together.  I use my dough hook on my kitchen aid.  Add remainder of the flour 1/2 c. at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm, draft free spot for 1-2 hours.  I always rise my dough in my microwave.
Once its done, punch it down and divide it in half.  Put half of the dough in a ziploc bag in the fridge.  It will keep for several days, and taste super yummy.

For the pizza, you'll need:
Pizza crust
Fig preserves
Prosciutto
Mozzerella cheese
Baby spinach

Spread or roll pizza dough into your pan.  If you're using a pizza pan or cookie sheet, lightly grease it.  Spread the fig preserves onto the crust, and top with cheese.  Bake at 425 for 13-15 minutes, until golden and bubbly.  Place proscuitto on top of hot cheese, and place back in the oven for a minute or so.  Remove from oven and top with baby spinach. 

Eat it all.  You'll want to.

-Liz