I'm not a snob when it comes to pizza. I have been happily enjoying greasy pizza for years, and I'm not really sure whether I will ever grow out of it. After all, when you want pizza at 2am you have to make some sacrifices. You may regret those sacrifices in the morning, but quality is never an overriding factor when the pizza craving hits right as you're heading in for the night. I also make homemade pizza a decent amount, and I'll admit that I'm not remotely above using jarred sauce. 

All that said, nothing beats great pizza with fresh ingredients. Using a homemade sauce makes a noticeable difference. The same thing goes for using homemade dough (even if you purchased that homemade dough from the bakery counter or a local pizza place). This sauce has a bold tomato flavor mixed with the perfect blend of spices. It's slightly sweetened with a teaspoon of sugar, and has a little kick from the red pepper flakes. It's well worth the time if you have it. I've also found that eating pizza with homemade sauce and homemade dough reduces the guilt factor you get from eating it by at least half.

I realize I'm talking about pizza and my pictures only show a jar of sauce, which is only part of the equation. You'll have to imagine the sauce on a delicious, cheesy slice of pizza because I didn't take pictures of the one I devoured shortly after making the sauce. But it was good. This recipe makes enough for more than one pizza, and if you keep it stored tightly it will stay good for over a week.

Enjoy!

Homemade Pizza Sauce

Recipe Slightly Adapted from Robyn Stone | Add a Pinch

Serves: 2 cups

 

Ingredients

• ¼ cup olive oil
• ½ medium onion, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1 ½ teaspoon fresh basil (or 3/4 dried)
• 1 ½ teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

Instructions

1. Drizzle olive oil into 3-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and cook until translucent and tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, chopped basil and dried oregano. Cook for about 1 minute to release flavors.
2. Pour in tomatoes, tomato paste, and add salt, sugar, and black pepper. Stir well to combine. Add fresh oregano. Reduce heat to low-medium and simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring often to prevent any sticking or burning.
3. Remove from heat and use immediately or allow to cool before storing in an airtight container for up to one week.

 

Given that I'm on a never-ending quest to try every adaptation of pizza possible, I'm well acquainted with the concept of pizza paninis. For those who aren't, you take the cheese, pepperonis and sauce and throw it into sandwich form. It's foolproof. It's also cheap and easy, so I used to make pizza paninis all the time back in college.

Little did I know, my standard pizza panini was missing what now seems like a crucial addition: parmesan grilled into a perfect crust the outside of the bread. It's brilliant. Also, two cheeses is almost always better than one in my book. I'm actually a bit sad I've eaten so many of these paninis without adding parmesan to the outside of the bread. Never again.

I got the inspiration from Rachel over at Rachel Cooks. It seems she and I share a love of all things pizza and grilled cheese. She used wheat bread for these. I used sourdough. Any sort of thick bread will do. My picture doesn't do these sandwiches justice (read: I was hungry, so I rushed through making it and taking pictures), but it's what's on the inside that counts. In this case, it's pure, cheesy deliciousness. Rachel's pictures, on the other hand, absolutely do it justice. So, if you aren't convinced, head on over to her page for proof

Parmesan Crusted Pizza Panini
Makes Two Sandwiches

Ingredients
Four Slices Thick Bread
1 Tablespoon Butter (softened to the point it's spreadable)
12 Pepperonis
2 Tablespoons Pizza Sauce
1/4 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
3/4 Cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Heat up a panini maker or a skillet over medium heat. Spread butter evenly over one side of each piece of bread. On the unbuttered side of one piece, add 1 tablespoon of pizza sauce. Sprinkle 1/4 of the mozzarella cheese on top of the pizza sauce. Layer the mozzarella with pepperonis and another 1/4 of the cheese. Top sandwich with another piece of bread, unbuttered side facing down. Repeat this process with the remaining two slices of bread.

Spread half of the parmesan evenly one buttered side of each sandwich and press down gently. Flip the sandwiches into the pan or onto the panini maker and top the other side of each sandwich with the remaining cheese, again, pressing down gently to secure the cheese. You don't really need to worry about measuring here. Add the ingredients to your liking, increasing or decreasing each depending on your preference.

If you are using a panini maker, you will not need to flip the sandwich again. Just cook for 4-6 minutes and serve it up. If you are using a skillet, flip the sandwich after 2-3 minutes to brown the other side. Remove sandwich when you can see that the cheese on the inside is melted and the parmesan on the outside has a nice, lightly brown crisp to it.

Slice and enjoy!

I think it's apparent I'm not the healthiest of eaters. I mean... I have a blog full of chocolate recipes, and I'm fairly certain a scan of my brain would show there is an entire section devoted to thinking about carbs. That said, if I can make a healthier version of something I often will.

Recently the craze seems to be using cauliflower in recipes. Who knew cauliflower was such a versatile vegetable? I've seen cauliflower mac and cheese, cauliflower alfredo sauce, cauliflower buffalo chicken bites...you name it. Cauliflower pizza crust also seems to have been big over the past year. Being the pizza fanatic that I am, I decided I should give it a try.

Here's the thing about cauliflower pizza crust compared with regular pizza crust: it cannot possibly compare if your favorite thing about pizza is doughy, delicious crust, and you're hoping to discover the way to get that taste with only a fraction of the calories. You will be disappointed. It's a vegetable. There is nothing that is going to make it rise and magically become a delicious, carby crust. If only. But, unless I'm at a place with delicious pizza crust (i.e. Mellow Mushroom), really crust is just a vehicle for toppings. It's kind of like people who eat foods on rice cakes. Does anyone actually like plain rice cakes? I doubt it. But when you spread peanut butter on a rice cake does it become infinitely better? Absolutely.

If you like thin crust pizza anyways you'll think this crust is a great substitution. It slices just like a regular crust, and even browns and gets a slight crunch around the edges. You can also add all sorts of Italian herbs and spices. I used turkey pepperoni (which I actually really don't like), so that made it even healthier. I also added a ton of cheese because apparently I'm incapable of going too far into the healthy zone.

I would definitely recommend giving this recipe a try. I took these pictures the day I had to stay home from work because of the polar vortex (which apparently wasn't actually a polar vortex), so it doesn't look as cheesy and hot as regular pizza, but that's because it literally froze the second I walked outside to photograph it....as did my fingers while taking these pictures. Sacrifices.

I will definitely be trying some other cauliflower recipes in the future. Do any of you have any good ones? I'd love to hear some other ideas!

Cauliflower Crust Pizza
Recipe from The Lucky Penny

Ingredients

• 1 head (Small Head) Cauliflower
• ¼ cups Parmesan Cheese
• ¼ cups Mozzarella Cheese
• ¼ teaspoons Kosher Salt
• ½ teaspoons Dried Basil
• ½ teaspoons Dried Oregano
• ½ teaspoons Garlic Powder
• Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
• 1 Tablespoon Almond Meal (optional)
• 1 whole Egg

Directions
Place a pizza stone in the oven, or baking sheet if you don’t have a pizza stone. Preheat oven to 450ºF. On a cutting board, place a large piece of parchment paper and spray it with nonstick cooking oil.

Wash and thoroughly dry a small head of cauliflower. Don’t get one the size of your head unless you are planning on making 2 pizzas. Cut off the florets—you don’t need much stem, just stick with the florets. Pulse in your food processor for about 30 seconds, until you get powdery snow like cauliflower. You should end up with 2 to 3 cups cauliflower “snow”. Place the cauliflower in a microwave safe bowl and cover. Cook for 4 minutes. Dump cooked cauliflower onto a clean tea towel and allow to cool for a bit before attempting the next step.

Once cauliflower is cool enough to handle, wrap it up in the dish towel and wring the heck out of it. You want to squeeze out as much water as possible. This will ensure you get a chewy pizza like crust instead of a crumbly mess.

Dump squeezed cauliflower into a bowl. Now add Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, kosher salt, dried basil (crush up the leaves even more between your fingers before adding), dried oregano (crush up the leaves even more between your fingers before adding), garlic powder (not garlic salt), and a dash of red pepper if you want. Add the egg and mix. Hands tend to work best.
Once mixed together, use your hands to form the dough into a crust on your oiled parchment paper. Pat it down thoroughly, you want it nice and tightly formed together. Don’t make it too thick or thin either.

Using a cutting board, slide the parchment paper onto your hot pizza stone or baking sheet in the oven. Bake for 8-11 minutes, until it starts to turn golden brown. Remove from oven.

Add however much sauce, cheese, and toppings you want. I’m not gonna give you measurements for this. You know how you like your pizza—so go for it! Slide parchment with topped pizza back in the hot oven and cook for another 5 to 7 minutes until the cheese is melted, bubbly, and slightly golden.
Test your patience and allow it to cool for a minute or two. Probably closer to two. Then using a pizza cutter and a spatula, serve up your delicious grain-free cauliflower crust pizza!

 

I make cheesy bread fairly often. It's one of my many healthy habits. What to do with the pizza dough in the freezer and that bag of cheese you bought because it was on sale? Cheesy bread, obviously. It seems every pizza spot is now trying to outdo the others with their new and improved cheesy bread recipe these days. Truth is, you don't need much to make amazing cheesy bread. It's not rocket science. Extra cheese + extra garlic butter = better cheesy bread. However, I find the garlicy grease that covers your hands after eating said cheesy bread is enough to make you feel guilty for the next few days. I don't like feeling guilty after eating something I enjoy, so I make my own cheesy bread. Sure, I still load it up with cheese and butter, but at least I know how much I use.

I saw this method for making garlic butter on Sweet Anna's the other day, and I knew I needed to give it a try. I usually brush with melted butter and spread garlic over the top when I make cheesy bread. Garlic infused butter--yes please. I don't have a pizza stone (who knows why not considering how much pizza I make) and I wanted to use up some frozen dough, so I did this the easy way. You can change it up however you'd like with spices, different types of cheese, dipping sauces, etc. And if you prefer your cheesy bread thicker, just don't roll the dough out as much. This is a game-changer here, people. Enjoy!

Homemade Cheesy Bread

1 ball of pizza dough*

1 1/2 cups shredded cheese**

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon Cayenne or crushed red pepper

2 cloves garlic, smashed

3-4 tablespoons butter

*You can make your own or buy the premade version from your local grocery store's bakery. White or wheat both work fine.

**I usually use some sort of Italian blend 

Preheat oven to 500 degrees and remove the pizza dough from fridge ~30 minutes before you start. Combine smashed garlic cloves and butter in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds, or until melted. Leave garlic in butter for 20-30 minutes. Mix spices together in small bowl.

When ready, roll pizza dough out to your desired thickness. If you have a pizza stone, by all means use it, otherwise place rolled out dough onto pizza pan or other sheet pan that has been lightly brushed with olive oil. 

Remove garlic from butter, and brush butter over entire surface of dough. Make sure to cover the crust portion as well. Spread cheese across dough (again, don't leave the edges out!), and sprinkle spices over cheese.

Place in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes, or until cheese has slightly bubbled and some spots have browned, and dough has turned golden. Remove and slice however you'd like! I prefer cheese sticks because they're great for dipping. Serve immediately with marinara sauce or ranch...or both.

I'm a mushroom fiend (normal 'shrooms, people). Seriously, I will throw them on anything and everything. I was in New York for Santacon this past weekend and managed to get a portobello mushroom sandwich from one of my favorite sandwich shops there three times from when I got in Friday night to when I left Sunday night. I also order a mushroom dish on any menu 9 out of 10 times. Coming from a huge meat eater, it's kind of an odd obsession. 

I know mushrooms aren't for everyone, though. I actually made this pizza over the summer and never posted it because look at it - that's a mushroom overload. But I realized that it's a delicious pizza and there's no reason it has to have mushrooms on it for those who aren't fans of fungi (I do somewhat understand the aversion if you've never tried them). The method for making the crust is the part I found most interesting about the recipe. Resist temptation and add the extra step!

I've obviously made it pretty clear on my blog that I make pizza all the time. It's so easy and I love being able to mess with ingredients however I want. For those of you who like mushrooms, feel free to make your pizza look more like mine. I think my goal when making this was to cover every inch of the pizza with mushrooms. If that's not your thing, add all of your personal favorite toppings. Also, if you don't want to splurge on truffle oil you can do without it.

Enjoy!

p.s. get excited for holiday cooking...it's coming!

Truffled Fontina and Mushroom Pizza

Recipe adapted from Flying Fourchette

Active time: 10 minutes

Total time: 30 minutes

Makes 4 servings

 

1 pound pizza dough, thawed if frozen
1/2 pound sliced mushrooms
3/4 pound cold Italian Fontina (or Taleggio), rind discarded and cheese sliced, or freshly grated (use good fontina for this)
1 teaspoon white truffle oil (optional)

1 tablespoon minced garlic spread

Directions:

Put a large heavy baking sheet (17 by 14 inches) on lowest rack of oven, then preheat oven to 475°F.

Stretch out dough on a lightly floured surface, pulling on corners to form a roughly 16- by 13-inch rectangle. Transfer to a tray lined with parchment paper. Lightly prick dough all over with a fork.

Slide dough (still on parchment) onto hot baking sheet. Bake until top is puffed and pale golden in patches, 6 to 10 minutes.

Remove from oven; prick any large bubbles with a fork and flatten. Gently spread garlic over crust, and scatter mushrooms or your toppings of choice on top.

Season with salt and pepper and lay or sprinkle cheese on top.

Bake pizza until edge of crust is deep golden and cheese is bubbling and golden in patches, 8 to 10 minutes.

Drizzle with truffle oil (if using) and season with pepper. Serve immediately.

I don't think I could ever get tired of pizza. It's been a staple throughout my college years (is this where the nostalgia sets in..when I talk about food?). I feel I've moved up the ranks in my pizza obsession in these last four years. It started out as it would with any young, naive freshman, ordering late night pizza from the greasiest place in town, Gumby's. There is honestly nothing better than Gumby's "Pokey Stix" at 2am. They're garlicky, greasy and delicious. You can also smell them from a mile away and get an XXL for $10. It was an essential part of making friends. The problem is, you only enjoy Pokey's for the brief time you are actually eating them. Guilt sets in about five minutes later. Then slight nausea.

So, then it came to sophomore year. Sophomore year I chose the more traditional route: Domino's, Papa John's or pizza from one of our great local places. I hoarded coupons to keep things cheap. By sophomore year you scoff at the freshmen ordering Pokey's and pretend like you weren't doing the same thing a year before. Junior year I discovered pizza bread. That's when I started making my own pizza...all. the. time. That's healthy. A week ago (aka one week to go in my senior year) I discovered these. Good heavens. It was a long and, at times, treacherous journey, but it was all worth it if this is the pinnacle of pizza perfection. Yes, I know I could go and get amazing pizza from a restaurant, but I'm young and broke.

I've been up working on a final exam since 5am this morning. I only made it to 6am before I had to go down and heat up two of these. Do I stop getting away with odd eating habits once I graduate? That's unfortunate. As an awkward side note, I had to sprint through campus to turn my take home exam in on time and ran right past my professor who immediately called me out. So much for cool, calm and collected to close out senior year.

You've probably seen something similar to these without the sauce and garlic in the bread. I've made those a few times in the past. I've never posted them because I don't really like posting things I don't love, and they're good, but not great. But I found the missing link. Also, I did not measure out anything. Pizza is all about personalization. I tried to guess out about how much I put of everything, but if you use more or less that's fine!

Enjoy!

Pizza Rolls

Ingredients
1 batch pizza dough *
50 pepperonis, cut in quarters
1/4 cup pizza sauce
Minced garlic spread (I use California Style Minced Garlic)
6 ounces shredded mozzarella or Italian blend cheese
Italian seasoning

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9-inch pie plate (a cake pan will also work fine if you don't have a pie plate). 
• Divide the dough into 10 roughly equal pieces. Take the dough pieces, one at a time, and flatten them out into a small circle about 4 inches wide. 
• Spread about 1/8 teaspoon minced garlic across the dough. You are not trying to overwhelm anyone with garlic, it's just for a slight kick. 
• Dab roughly a tablespoon of sauce on, but don't spread it out to the edges. 
• Place a few pepperonis on top, and sprinkle about a tablespoon of cheese on. 
• Pull the edges around the contents and pinch closed. If you put on too much sauce, the sauce will start dripping out and you'll never be able to seal the dough, so be careful with amounts! 
• Place seam-side down around the outside of the pie pan. 
• Repeat this process, placing the sealed rolls side by side. One or two might have to go in the middle, this is ok. 
• Lightly brush the tops of the dough with olive oil, then sprinkle Italian seasoning and parmesan. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown. Serve warm, with ranch or marinara (or both!). 

*I happen to stockpile frozen pizza dough like it's my ticket to surviving the apocalypse. My recommendation, buy it in bulk when it's on sale for 99 cents at the grocery store. When you get home, pop what you aren't using in the freezer. You can either thaw it by setting it out on the counter for ~6 hours, or thaw it in the fridge overnight when you are ready to use it. If you have time and want to try homemade pizza dough go for it! I just like shortcuts.

You know those charts that show a breakdown of what people think about by parts of their brains–I'm pretty sure mine would have a giant section for food. I may be the only person who struggles with this, but I always feel somewhat conflicted when anyone asks me about my favorite food. While I thoroughly enjoy my daily bowl of cereal, and I don't think it gets much better than a grilled PB&B sandwich, there are other foods I adore as well: eggs benedict, funfetti cake with rainbow chip icing, a fresh toasted bagel loaded with cream cheese, milkshakes, croissandwiches (is that weird?), etc. 

But the other issue is that I never want to list off something that's too normal. Pizza is too normal. Everyone loves pizza. But favorite food or not, pizza didn't get so popular for being average. And yes, I do realize normal people never put this much thought into the "What's your favorite food?" question. Not surprisingly I've gone over this dilemma with many friends and family members, none of whom seem to understand.

The reason I bring this up is that I've been on a pizza appetizer kick recently. This one is by far the best of them all. In fact, it may be one of my favorite things I've ever made and posted on this blog.  I declared yesterday a baking day and made three things. Everything was good, but I think this pizza overshadowed the others. I kept it simple with just cheese, pepperoni, sauce and minced garlic. Many of you may omit the garlic for the sake of your breath or because you don't think it's necessary, but that may have been my favorite part of the bread. The whole thing comes together so easily that I have a feeling I will be making it a lot in the future. After just now eating two pieces (to serve as inspiration for this post, of course) I can also say that it reheats fantastically. Two posts in a row from A Southern Plate, and I've got another on the way that I'm equally obsessed with. Thank you, Christy Jordan!

Pizza Sticks

Recipe from Southern Plate

• 1 Loaf frozen bread dough, thawed*
• 1 Jar Pizza sauce (some for bread some for dipping)
• 1-2 Cups Mozzarella
• Your favorite toppings (Be creative and make this for your family’s taste!)*

*This is best when you only use a few toppings because they stay inside the sandwich better

*I happened to have a batch of regular (unfrozen) pizza dough on hand and that worked well too! 

Thaw bread dough completely. Roll out on floured surface until it is a rectangle approximately 14 inches wide by eight or ten inches tall (this is just to give you an idea, just eyeball it and you’ll be fine). Spread with 1/3-1/2 cup pizza sauce. Sprinkle with pizza toppings and cheese. Wet the edges and fold up sides and ends to seal into a loaf. Place seam side down in a lightly greased baking dish and lightly spray top of loaf with cooking spray. Cover with cling wrap and place in warm place to allow to rise for 1-2 hours, or until doubled.

Remove plastic wrap and place in 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow to cool slightly and then slice in 1-1/2 inch segments and serve with the remaining pizza sauce.

My amateur photography skills and limited plate options made it tricky to do justice to this. Think giant calzone.

Twice, recently, I have baked and taken pictures of food that I have already posted at other times without realizing it. Not sure how this keeps happening–it's not like I have hundreds of posts on here. One time I even did it with my favorite cookie recipe. I make them all the time! How did I somehow convince myself that the most recent batch was different? I have no idea. I think I may be losing my mind.

My most recent repeat was with this delicious blueberry muffin recipe. I meant to separate the pizza puffs and the appetizer recipe below here with the blueberry muffins so that I could change up courses a bit. I took a set of new pictures and everything. But it's on here! I guess it's ok since at least that means you all can still make these muffins (they are single-handedly getting me through exams).

But, I guess I'll carry on with the appetizer trend. These pepperoni pizza puffs are awesome. They are also without a doubt the easiest thing I've made recently. I had a  big bag in the fridge that I just finished off for lunch today. Make sure to serve them warm with some marinara sauce on the side. You can whip these up in literally no time at all, and I guarantee they will be a crowd-pleaser!

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs
Recipe from The Family Kitchen 

• 3/4 cup flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 egg 
• 1 1/4 cup Italian Cheese blend
• 4 ounces Pepperoni Mini’s (or regularly-sized pepperoni, chopped)
• 1 cup your favorite marinara for dipping
• 2 Tablespoons fresh basil, thyme, or italian parsely, chopped

Grease a mini muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.  In a large bowl, combine all ingredients together, stirring until completely mixed.  Spoon into the prepared mini-muffin cups. Bake in an oven preheated to 400 degrees for 15-18 minutes. Sprinkle with fresh chopped herbs, and serve with warm marinara for dipping.

*I put a tablespoon of Italian seasoning in the batter so that I didn't have to go buy fresh herbs.

Maybe should use nicer marinara than Ragu next time?