Pizza Bianca

CknLomeins?Flickr.com

I have always been a huge fan of white pizza; I actually prefer it over the traditional with tomato sauce. Don’t get me wrong that doesn’t mean that I’d pass up a slice of the tomato sauce laden pie but if given the choice I will always choose the white.
I have grown up with some really great pizza makers, my aunt, grandmother and I even had an uncle that use to make a pretty mean pizza. Over the years I have honed my own pizza making skills mostly because I really haven’t had much luck finding any pizzeria’s around here that I like. There is one exception though, a little place called Surace’s right around the corner, so close I can walk to it. Surace’s makes this white veggie pizza that I adore, it comes with lots of cheese olive oil, garlic, broccoli and artichokes. I tweak mine a bit and order it with extra cheese and anchovies, it is so good.

White Pizza

Pizza dough (your recipe, store bought, frozen bread dough, whatever you like to use)
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

3 large cloves garlic, minced

1 cup shredded mozzarella

1 cup shredded provolone (may also use any other cheese you prefer)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano

1 (15-ounce) can artichoke hearts in water, drained and thinly sliced
Cut up broccoli, Spinach (again, whatever you like)
Anchovies (optional)

1/4 cup chopped parsley

Preheat oven to 425-450 degrees F.

Press out dough or place store bought shell onto a pizza pan or cookie sheet.
Drizzle dough with oil and scatter minced garlic over dough to the edges.
Cover with all of the cheeses combined and work all the way to the edge of the dough.
Top with artichoke hearts, broccoli (whatever toppings you like)
Cook 8 to 10 minutes, until cheeses have melted and begin to bubble. Remove from oven and garnish with parsley. Cut with pizza wheel or knife into squares or wedges and serve.

A Nice Hot Bath For Everyone!

Bagna Cauda which is an Italian dialect meaning warm bath or warm sauce derived from Bagno Caldo which means; “Hot Bath” the perfect soak for those tired veggies or an instant perk for that same old pasta dish. Another little trick I have is putting a few spoonfuls of this on the crust of my pizza before putting on the toppings (works best when making white pizza).
Bagna Cauda can be served fondue style or just served in a bowl for dunking, dipping or in my case ladling. A perfect dip for lightly grilled or broiled vegetables, truly a perfect party dish.

Bagna Cauda

1/2 lb butter (2 sticks)

1/2 cup of good olive oil

12 or more garlic cloves, crush some, leave some whole

1/2 teaspoon of freshly cracked black pepper

1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

1 small jar of anchovies in oil (may also use tinned variety)

Salt or Parmesan cheese, to taste (optional)

Heat butter, olive oil, red pepper flakes and crushed black pepper in a skillet or sauce pan over low heat. Add garlic and anchovies (oil and all) and mash to a paste with a fork as they become tender or leave the garlic whole if you prefer.
Can be used as a sauce for pasta (add more Parmesan cheese). For dunking try some steamed, grilled or broiled broccoli , Cardoon, Celery, Bok Choy leaves, Cauliflower etc.
How about dunking some breadsticks wrapped with prosciutto….delicious or drizzle on some salad greens.

Better when kept warm

Photo Courtesy of HBomb/Flickr.com