A few weeks ago, my best friend’s father passed away suddenly. It was a horrible situation, but I’m incredibly thankful that I could be there for her. I picked her up in Pennsylvania and brought her back to NY, where she stayed with me for the week. I can’t even begin to imagine how hard this has been for her, but I offer comfort in the best way I know how: through food.
We took a day trip to my favorite market, ate cupcakes and brownies in Brooklyn, made brisket for her extended family, stuffed ourselves silly with Greek food, and then… we made pizza.
May I present to you our caramelized onion, pear, and gorgonzola pizza. With arugula. And a drizzle of light ranch dressing.
When we get together, we always end up cooking or baking or.. talking about cooking and baking. Her dad was a baker, and I’m convinced she inherited his good fortune with food.
For dinner one night, we decided to make pizza. I’ve used the same pizza dough recipe for the last few months, and I always enjoy it. While I was lying on the couch taking a nap, she whipped up a batch. (Sadly, I’m not joking.) We were making two pizzas, and for some reason I thought the recipe made enough dough for two large pies. I was wrong. Very, very wrong. At the last minute, we asked John to go to a pizza shop around the corner and pick up some dough. Within minutes, he was back, and we could make our second pizza.
Yum.
Did I forget to mention the stuffed crust?
Directions
Begin by rolling out your dough to the desired shape and thickness. Place on a pizza stone that has pre-heated in a 450 F oven.
If you have a lot of extra dough hanging off the side of the pizza stone, you can either trim it off with a knife, or… you can do what we did. Place slices of fresh mozzarella around the edge of the pizza, fold the extra dough over on top of it, and voila! Stuffed crust pizza!
Drizzle the olive oil and some salt on top, and bake for 5-7 minutes to give the crust a head start.
Pull the dough out and top with caramelized onions, sliced pears, and gorgonzola dolce. (*If you cut your pears earlier in the day, squeeze some fresh lemon juice on them so they don’t turn brown.) Place the pie back in the oven and continue to cook until the cheese has melted and the crust is no longer doughy, about 15 minutes. (If you use a thinner crust, this will take less time.)
When the dough is fully cooked, remove the pizza and top with some baby arugula…
…and a few drizzles of ranch dressing.
Just do it.
You can thank me later.
And that’s what friends are for, ladies and gentleman. Stuffed crust pizza with ranch. And, you know, being there for each other no matter what.
Pear Pizza with Caramelized Onions and Gorgonzola
Yields: 1 large pizza
Time: 30-45 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 large pizza dough
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- Salt
- ½ onion, sliced and caramelized
- 1 pear, sliced into half-moon pieces
- Gorgonzola dolce (as much or as little as you’d like)
- Fresh mozzarella (if you’re stuffing the crust)
- ½ – 1 cup baby arugula
- 2 tablespoons ranch dressing (light)
Instructions
- Begin by rolling out your dough to the desired shape and thickness. Place on a pizza stone that has pre-heated in a 450 F oven.
- If you have a lot of extra dough hanging off the side of the pizza stone, you can either trim it off with a knife, or… you can do what we did. Place slices of fresh mozzarella around the edge of the pizza, fold the extra dough over on top of it, and voila! Stuffed crust pizza!
- Drizzle the olive oil and some salt on top, and bake for 5-7 minutes to give the crust a head start.
- Pull the dough out and top with caramelized onions, sliced pears, and gorgonzola dolce. (*If you cut your pears earlier in the day, squeeze some fresh lemon juice on them so they don’t turn brown.)
- Place the pie back in the oven and continue to cook until the cheese has melted and the crust is no longer doughy, about 15 minutes. (If you use a thinner crust, this will take less time.)
- When the dough is fully cooked, remove the pizza and top with some baby arugula and a few drizzles of ranch dressing.