Pizza Two Ways

I was responsible for providing snacks for my book club tonight and wanted to try something a little different. We have a lot of wine lovers in our group and decided to have a wine tasting before our book discussion.

My husband and I went out to Trader Joes and picked a few wines that looked promising. We chose a 2008 Mouton Cadet Bordeaux which intrigued us with a blend of 60% Sauvignon Blanc, 30% Semillion, and 10% Muscadelle. We paid $7.99 for the bottle. The second bottle we tried was a 2009 Hamilton-Steven's Pinot Noir from the Russian River Valley. We love Pinots from the Russian River Valley and we really loved the $8.99 price tag. 

I decided to make two different pizzas, one to go with the Bordeaux and one to go with the Pinot Noir. The first pizza I made was an Artichoke and Fontina Pizza. I got the recipe from the December 2009 issue of Food & Wine magazine.

Artichoke & Fontina Pizza

Artichoke & Fontina Pizza

You have to start this recipe the day before if you are marinating your own artichokes, so plan accordingly. If you don't want to marinate your own artichokes buy a jar of marinated artichokes from the store and save yourself some prep time.

16 ounces frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 cup of olive oil
3 smashed garlic cloves
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
2 (8 oz) balls of store bought pizza dough
1 tablespoon cornmeal
2 1/2 cups grated fontina cheese
4 ounces crumbled goat cheese

To make marinated artichokes take your thawed artichokes and place in a medium size bowl. Add the lemon juice, olive oil, smashed garlic cloves, thyme, rosemary, bay leaf and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate overnight or up to three days.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Roll the pizza dough onto a cutting board sprinkled with cornmeal. Put the dough on baking sheets and bake for around 8 minutes, or until lightly browned.

While the dough cooks chop the artichokes into bite size pieces and drain them on paper towels. When the 8 minutes cooking time is up take the pizza dough out of the oven. Sprinkle the cheeses on the dough, then put the artichokes over the cheese. Season with salt, pepper and a few leaves of rosemary then return the pizzas to the oven.

They are done when the edges are browned; about 10 minutes.

Marinated Artichokes

About to go in the oven

The pizza went will with the wine and was very tasty. I enjoyed the Bordeaux so much I am already planning a trip to Trader Joes to stock up on some more bottles. I only marinated my artichokes for one night and didn't think they were flavorful enough, so next time I will try to marinate them for three days. Other than that, I really enjoyed this recipe. The fontina and goat cheese were a delicious combination.

Puff Pastry Pizza with Marinated Mozzarella and Cherry Tomatoes

The next pizza I made is one of my all time favorites; puff pastry pizza with marinated mozzarella and cherry tomatoes. I have made this a handful of times and always get rave reviews.

Puff Pastry Pizza with Marinated Mozzarella and Cherry Tomatoes

12 ounces of cherry tomatoes (heirloom if possible)
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
3/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 sheets frozen puff pastry (1 lb total), thawed
2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
4 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup coarsely grated marinated mozzarella cheese
1/2 bell pepper cut into thin strips
1/3 cup quartered pitted black olives
2 teaspoons coarsely chopped fresh oregano

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Toss tomatoes, olive oil, salt and dried oregano in a medium bowl. Scatter tomatoes on a large rimmed baking sheet. Roast until soft and beginning to collapse, about 22 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the tomato mixture cool. Keep the oven on 400 degrees.

Brush 1 tablespoon melted butter on a rimmed baking sheet. Place the puff pastry on top of the butter. Brush remaining butter on top of the pastry. Sprinkle with 4 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle with grated mozzarella leaving a half inch plain border. Top with roasted tomatoes, pepper strips and olives.

Bake pizza until pastry is crisp, about 25 minutes. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons fresh oregano over the pizza and serve.

Ready to Roast

Right before putting in the oven.

The pizza came out perfectly and my cousin Elizabeth declared it to be the best pizza she had ever eaten! High praise indeed. Opinions were mixed on the Pinot Noir, but I thought for the price it was a good wine. It is hard to find decent bottles of red wine for under $10.00 so whenever we find a bottle we like we try to stock up.

It was a little bit hectic trying to make the two pizzas at once but the party came off without a hitch.


Till tomorrow...