Three Pizzas

Pizza is my favorite food, hands down. There are numerous close seconds, but I would be lying if I said there was anything else in the top spot.

So the other night when we had shrimp, a few whole wheat tortillas, and nothing else planned for dinner, we ended up with shrimp pizzas! (Three delicious shrimp pizzas, if I do say so myself). We had several topping possibilities in the fridge, and since I really couldn't narrow it down to just one theme, I ended up making three different pizzas.

Spicy Thai Peanut with Cilantro & Carrots

The first thing I did was roast a pound of shell-on, deveined tiger shrimp (that I had tossed with olive oil, S&P, and a crushed clove of garlic) in the oven at 400 degrees. I took them out just before they were fully cooked since they were going back in the oven atop the tortillas (rubbery shrimp=opposite of delicious). Then I peeled them, sliced them in half so they would lay flat, and prepped all the other tasty toppings.

Roasted Pepper, Arugula, & Goat Cheese

Here are the topping deets:

Spicy Thai-julienned carrots, chopped cilantro & scallions, sesame seeds. This sauce totally made it (I tossed half of it with the shrimp and then used the other half to drizzle after it baked): equal parts soy/lime juice, a bit of toasted sesame oil, a smidge of peanut butter and a dash of chili garlic paste. Added some chopped peanuts and a bit more cilantro...Thai heaven.

Roasted Peps-leftover roasted yellow peppers and red onions, crumbled goat cheese, and arugula (tossed in lemon juice, olive oil, S&P and was added right when it came out of the oven). Buonissima!

BBQ Blue Cheese-carmelized red onions, blue cheese & bacon crumbles, and shrimp tossed in BBQ sauce (store-bought...I think the brand is Bull's Eye) before baking. Again, it was all about the sauce: equal parts BBQ sauce/ranch dressing, dash of chili powder, cayenne pepper, and some salt. Ooowwweeee, so yummy.

Blue Cheese Barbecue, Bacon, & Carmelized Onions

After assembling each pizza, I put them back in the oven at 450 for a few minutes until everything was melted and warmed through. I think my fave was the Thai while the hubs favored the blue cheese & bacon. Really, not a bad one in the bunch.

I mean, what's better than a customized pizza? Um, three of them!

Happy Searching!

Pizza Perfection

Anyone who knows me is aware of my love for pizza. It probably started when I was little and my dad would pick up a Filippi's pizza on his way home from a late night's work. He and my mom would wake my sister and I up for an impromptu pizza party, the four of us giggling over a pizza picnic using their bed as a table. I think it's been my favorite food ever since.

Last night, we made pizza a casa (at home) and it turned out to be pretty delicious. We used some store-bought flatbread instead of making our own dough (which for the amount of time saved is well worth the purchase, although I'm sure homemade dough is delish). We picked up this whole grain naan flatbread that we found in the deli section. The whole grain was more for nutritional value than flavor, but it was still pretty good:

We were inspired by two pizzas: the Parma from Mandola's Market and Tyler Florence's Bacon, Rosemary, Potato Pizza. We made a few adjustments, but both of our versions were spot-on scrumptious. Mandola's was a layer of fresh mozzarella and prosciutto, topped with arugula tossed in a lemon vinaigrette and shaved parmesan cheese. Tyler's had a mixture of crumbled bacon, rosemary, onion, and thinly-sliced potatoes baked under melty cheese.

Mmmm...I wish we had some leftover!

Happy Searching,