Food is love

There are quite a few things in life that I love. Being a stay at home mom leaves me few opportunities to really explore my passions the way I would if I were childless person with actual, honest to goodness free time. My solution to this is to cook. Its a chore. I have to do it, and there are days that I hate it, but I am finding that with some bravery, creativity, and a husband that will eat (or at least try) my crazy creations, I am really enjoying food. This blog will feature recipes, pictures, and my triumphs and failures. Now, on to my latest creation...

Goat Cheese Pizza with Caramelized Onions and Garlic

Hubby and I have been exploring our local farmers market of late, and while there we discovered the Cheese Guy. That's not his name, but since I don't know it, that's what I am calling him. CG has goats and cows, and he makes the most divine cheese. Every weekend, I rush to his stall and start tasting. CG doesn't pasteurize his goats milk, and that makes for an incredibly flavorful cheese. This weekend, I bought a log of goats cheese with garlic scapes, rolled in fresh parsley. Now that I have this beauty, what to do with it? I decided on pizza. It cooks fast and in the heat we have had a fast cooking food is at the top of my list. It turned out very well, I didn't use a sauce, but the melted chevre was creamy and delish, and it paired well with mellow mozzarella, and the garlicky crust. Here are the component recipes: Bon Appetite!

Garlic Thin Crust Pizza Dough (makes 2 large pizzas)

3/4 c water (110 degrees F)
1 T extra virgin olive oil
1/4 t salt
2 minced cloves of garlic
2 t basil
2 t oregano
2 c flour
2 t active dry yeast.

In a large bowl (attached to a stand mixer, if you have one) add all ingredients except the olive oil, and mix with a dough hook. Drizzle the olive oil into the mixture as it is mixing. After a few minutes it should come together in a nice ball. Feel free to add a bit of extra water or evoo if it is too dry. Allow your ball to rise in a warm place, covered with a towel, for about an hour. The picture above is the dough after about 45 minutes of rise time. When this is done, divide into two balls, and stretch them onto a pizza pan, or pizza stone. If using a pan, be sure to grease it well. Once the dough is on the pan, poke little holes all over the surface of it with a fork, this will keep it from bubbling up during cooking. Add toppings and bake.

Toppings -
I brushed the surface of the uncooked pizza dough with a light coating of olive oil, and then put chunks of goat cheese over the surface of the pizza. I then sprinkled mozzarella and Parmesan cheese on top of that, and then put on the caramelized onions. I baked it at 450 for 12 minutes.

So, you've never caramelized onions? Its not that hard, just slow. Chop an onion into even sized pieces, and toss it in evoo into a pan on medium heat. LEAVE IT ALONE for about 10 mins. Then stir them around and LEAVE THEM ALONE again for about another 10 mins. This can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour. The trick is to keep the heat low and allow the onions to turn a nice brown color without burning them. As you get closer to done, you will need to stir them more frequently (caramelized, not burnt). When they are (hopefully) evenly browned and sweet, take them out. Done. See, not so hard.