Posted on January 28, 2009 - by Amanda

Gourmet Pizzas

Gourmet or pizza? Gourmet or pizza? Sometimes it’s hard to choose – and really, why should we have to? After all, Queen Maria Carolina d’Asburgo Lorena (1752-1814) of Naples, commissioned an oven in their summer palace of Capodimonte to bake pizzas for her and her guests. Might we suggest the following recipe for your next gathering? Serve it with leafy greens topped with toasted pine nuts and a dressing of your choice, wash it down with a glass of wine, and just try to tell us you don’t feel a bit like royalty yourself.

Ingredients

Crust*

Topping

2-4 chicken breasts, cubed, cooked through and lightly browned

1 small yellow onion, sliced

1 Tablespoon olive oil

2 Tablespoons honey

1 (8 oz) package of goat cheese, softened for spreading

Salt and pepper to taste

10 oz. fontina cheese, shredded

1 Tablespoon of Italian seasonings

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Over medium heat, cook onions until translucent and soft (approximately 5 minutes). Mix in honey and continue cooking until brown and fragrant (approximately 5 to 7 minutes more).

Spread goat cheese evenly over pizza crust and season with salt and pepper. Layer caramelized onions, fontina cheese, chicken and seasonings. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, or until cheese in the center of the pizza is completely melted.

*You can use a purchased crust or follow our recipe:

This recipe makes four 8 – 10 inch pizza crusts.

Pour 1 cup of warm (110 – 115 degree) water in a bowl.

Sprinkle one packet (2 and 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast and one generous teaspoon sugar on the water. Let stand 5 minutes or until the yeast swells.

In another larger bowl or in the bowl of a mixer combine 3 cups flour and 2 teaspoons salt. Then mix in the yeast mixture and 1/4 cup olive oil.

Once it is thoroughly mixed turn it out and knead it for a few minutes. If the dough is sticky then add a Tablespoon of flour and knead it some more. Continue until the dough is no longer sticky.

Now you can let it rise for about an hour or immediately make it into crusts. We usually just roll it out right away so that the pizza is done sooner but letting it rise first makes your crusts chewier.