Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Pizza

Growing up, ordering take out was a rarity. Chinese or subs would be ordered in a bind but my dad has the amazing ability to turn the contents of a seemingly barren fridge into a delicious meal. In his mind, putting together a pizza is easy enough to do on a Friday night but also delicious enough to serve when friends visit.

Homemade pizza always tastes better than take-out if you use the right dough and is absolutely healthier! Pizza gets a bad rap as a fat-laden, carb trap. With whole grain dough, well-chosen cheese, and lots of fresh veggies, it is a meal that I eat nearly once a week.

This is a combo I tried the other night and I will absolutely make it again. I intended to make a white pizza but at the last moment had a hankering for tomatoes. I spooned sauce around the crust (I may have lifted a few pieces of mozzarella to slip some tomato underneath ;)) and it was such a good last minute decision!

Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Pizza

Ingredients:

• 1 whole grain pizza dough (Trader Joe’s 100% whole wheat is delicious)
• 4 slices part-skim mozzarella cheese (or about 1/2 cup shredded)
• 4 oz soft goat cheese
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 350*.
• Roll out the dough and place onto a lightly greased baking sheet. Tap the entire surface lightly with a fork. Bake for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat a large pan over medium heat and add about a teaspoon of olive oil. Add the sliced onions and allow to slowly caramelize (about 12 minutes).
• Remove the dough from the oven. Spread the sauce over the dough and add the caramelized onions. Next add the mozzarella and crumble the goat cheese on top.
• Bake for another 15 minutes or until the mozzarella has fully melted and browned slightly.

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Saturday Night Family Dinner

Mini sun dried tomato and artichoke on the left, pineapple and andouille chicken sausage on the right.

My roommates and I needed to do some serious carbo loading before tomorrow (one is in her first bike race, the other and I are doing the Walk for Hunger – 20 miles!). We decided a pizza night would be a perfect excuse to invite a longtime friend over (and also have a cocktail or two…).

Making the vinaigrette!

This was SUCH a good salad. Baby spinach, yellow and red bell pepper, cucumbers, avocado, and strawberries. I tossed it with a really basic vinaigrette.

Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons honey mustard
• 1 teaspoon honey
• sprinkle kosher salt
• few cracks of fresh black pepper

Shake it all together and pour a bit on the salad. Keep the rest refrigerated in a closed container it should keep for weeks!

I started with 2 slices – 1 of each variety – and a big serving of salad. The flavors on the pineapple were out of control – the sausage was spicy and the pineapple gave the perfect sweet finish. I loved the texture of the sundried tomato and artichoke pizza, much more, because the dough stayed much chewier.

I haven’t made pizza in several weeks because our stone mysteriously cracked in the oven one evening (I’m blaming it on the ghost) but the baking sheet method worked pretty well! A 425* oven for 20 minutes made for a very tasty dinner.

We split a slice of leftover brownie sundae cheesecake (and a handful or two of mini cadbury eggs =)) for dessert.

Our friend brought over the fixings for a LIFE CHANGING cocktail. I begged her to write a guest post about this fabulous drink but you’ll have to wait until tomorrow before we reveal any secrets.

Very early alarm tomorrow for the walk. I’m sure I’ll have a lot to say about it…my memories from last year are much too vivid! Goodnight!