Pizza for Ivan and me is lazy food. Actually, for me it’s lazy since Ivan usually takes over as chef when we have a pizza craving. He piles it high with meat and all things carnivore and I sometimes have to beg for a vegetable or two, but admittedly, it’s always delicious despite being my meat intake for two weeks.

Although we have ventured into making our own pizza dough a few times, since the whole point is the laziness, often times we just rely on store bought dough. And I have never been disappointed, nor have I ever felt guilty for being somewhat Sandra Lee of Semi-Homemade. (As a side-note, that woman is seriously strange and tends to scare me with her Tablescapes and what-not. If you don’t know what I mean, check this out.)

Here are a few things I have learned from our pizza episodes:

1. Do not forget to grease and cornmeal the baking sheet or don’t expect to use the baking sheet ever again.

2. Don’t worry about making a perfect circle. Pizzas look better in weird shapes.

3. Only marry a man that will let you eat his pizza crusts.

3. Never order delivery pizza. It arrives cold and takes longer than making it yourself.

4. Always cook the pizza at a super high temperature.

5. Always keep a pillow handy for fanning the smoke alarm when it starts blowing out your eardrums and alerting the neighbors of your inadequacies in the kitchen. 

For the Recipe, click here:

Sweet and Spicy White Bean and BBQ Turkey Pizza

It’s Mushroom Week! We begin with the mother of all mushrooms, the portobello.

When I worked in Boston, Chef Bill at Sonsie Restaurant made a portobello pizza and I loved the idea. I have done this many ways with lots of different ingredients, but I think this is my favorite one. I made my own pesto, but you can easily buy prepared pesto and add it to the ricotta and get just as good of a result in a teeny bit less time! But nothing beats a big bunch of basil to stick your nose into! So fresh, so awesome!

Portobello “Pizzas” with Fresh Pesto Ricotta and Stewed Tomatoes

For the pesto:

2 cups fresh basil leaves, washed

3 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 cup walnuts

1 clove of garlic

1/2 cup part skim ricotta

For the tomatoes:

1 tsp vegetable oil

1 cup grape tomatoes or cherry tomatoes, halved

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp lemon juice

For the mushrooms:

2 portobello mushrooms, brushed off

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees with the racks high in the oven. Prep the mushrooms. Mix the olive oil and 2 cracks each of pepper and salt. Using a brush, coat the outside and inside of the mushrooms. Place topside down in a baking dish.

In a saucepan, heat the oil for the tomatoes. Add the tomatoes, salt, vinegar and lemon juice. Stir and cover. Let simmer over low heat while you prepare the pesto (about 10 minutes.)

In a food processor, combine all ingredients for the pesto, including the ricotta and blend until smooth and creamy.

Stuff the mushrooms with the pesto, ricotta mixture (you will probably have a little leftover. Great for a sandwich the next day!) Top the pizzas with the tomatoes, reserving the liquid by straining the tomatoes on the side of the saucepan with a spoon. Use 3/4 of the tomatoes, leaving the rest to garnish the dish.

Place the portobellos in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Garnish with fresh basil and serve with the reserved tomatoes.