Homemade Pizza

This is a smoked provolone pizza with caramelized onions: I got the idea to make this pizza after going to a restaurant called Quartino in Chicago and eating a pizza called pugliese, which had smoked provolone and onions on it. It was soooo delicious at Quartino that I thought I would try to make one myself. I have to say that mine turned out to be very yummy as well! But, just to warn you, smoked provolone cheese has a very strong flavor, so if you don't like strong cheeses, I would suggest using regular provolone or a mix of the two. The carmelized onions gave it a slighty sweet flavor and I just used crushed tomatoes for the sauce. This pizza was very simple, delicious, and you could taste all of the yummy flavors together. (Recipe Following)

Pizza with pepperoni, mushrooms and ham.

Pizza is one of my most favorite foods to eat and so simple to make by yourself...but don't get me wrong, I still do love ordering take-out pizza once in a while! I always like trying out different recipes for dough and I found this one in a Food Network Magazine (it also has 50 different pizza topping recipes!) I really liked this dough a lot, I got a slightly crispy crust where you could hear a little crunch, but, the inside was nice and soft and not doughy at all (I think it worked out so well because I used a pizza stone and a little cornmeal on the bottome of the crust.) It was a simple dough to make and work with and the best part of making it was the smell of the yeast! Who doesn't love the smell of yeast?! I made two different types of pizza; a regular one and a more sophisticated one!

Pizza Dough:

Whisk 3 3/4 cups flour and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Make a well and add 1 1/3 cups warm water, 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 packet of yeast. When foamy, mix in 3 tablespoons olive oil; knead until smooth, 5 minutes. Brush with olive oil, cover in a bowl and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour and 30 minutes (I let mine rise for only and hour and it was perfect.) Divide into two 1-pound balls.

How to make a pizza:

Step 1: Place pizza stone or an inverted baking sheet on the lowest oven rack and preheat to 500 degrees.

Step 2: Stretch 1 pound dough on a floured pizza peel, large wooden cutting board or parchment paper. (I used a wooden cutting board and cornmeal instead of flour. I found it was easiest to stretch out the dough on the cutting board, transfer to the hot stone and then put the toppings on.)

Step 3: Top as desired, then slide the pizza onto the stone or baking sheet (I found it was easiest to stretch out dough on your surface, transfer to the hot stone and then put the toppings on & I used cornmeal instead of flour.) Bake until golden about 15 minutes.

Smoked Provolone and Carmelized Onion Pizza:

-1/2 cup crushed tomatoes

-8 ounces smoked provolone cheese

-one medium onion, caramelized

-olive oil, for drizzling

-dried oregano

Directions:

Drizzle pizza dough with a little olive oil and sprinkle with oregano. Top with desired about of tomatoes, cheese, and caramelized onions. Bake as stated above.

For the onions:

Place 2 tablespoons of butter and thinly sliced onions in a pan over low heat and season with pepper. Caramelizing the onions takes about 30 minutes. Be sure to stir the onions and keep a close eye on them until they are golden brown.