If you think the dough is the best part of a pizza, you may want to reconsider after this post…
I think Kyle’s parents thought they were opening a pizza parlor when they went shopping for dinner. No ingredient left behind.
Toppings:
- marinara
- spinach
- feta
- arugula
- parmesan
- red onion
- parsley
- red bell peppers
- basil
- yellow bell peppers
- goat cheese
- avocado
- tomatoes
- mozzarella
- green bell peppers
- roasted red peppers
And those were just the raw toppings!
For the grilled veggies, we had million dollar mushrooms. All we did was sauté them in olive oil.
They were soft and creamy like buttah! So worth the $$$.
We also caramelized yellow onions.
Even though they looked (and smelled) like the most perfectly golden specimens, I passed on them due to the fact that they are in the fructans category of FODMAPS. [This is post is from last week when I was still in the elimination phase]
Zucchini and eggplant met their final destination at the hands of my knife.
Tossed in olive oil & salt and roasted to a bronzed and wilty state.
Ditto for the asparagus, carrots, and butternut squash.
The asparagus was chopped to a more appropriate size for pizza topping.
Did you know that pesto has cheese in it? I always thought it was just basil, garlic, and pine nuts, but a few weeks ago I learned it was made with parmesan too. Kyle was surprised by this as well. Interesting. I guess there’s no real reason for this to surprise me, seeing as I have hated real pesto for as long as I can remember. Maybe my taste buds are maturing though, because I loved the vegan, raw protein pesto I made the other week. Anyway.
We used Trader Joe’s pizza dough in two flavors – plain and spinach & basil.
Stretched and tossed…
Then rolled in flour.
Then rolled in wine. Kidding. We didn’t have a rolling pin. But we did have a few empty wine bottles. ;) Murphy Goode to the rescue!
Since the pizza dough had wheat, I opted for a huge salad made of the toppings. It was like a WF salad bar with all the options!
I basically took a little of everything (no garlic or onions, light on the asparagus & zucchini, heavy on the avocado and butternut squash).
Everyone else made pizzas, which we then grilled on the BBQ. Ready for some delicious looking creations?
Oops! How did that one get in there? :) I was too busy grubbin’ to get photos of all the pizzas as they came off the grill, but here’s Kyle’s masterpiece.
What are your favorite pizza toppings? I think the goat cheese, caramelized onion, butternut squash trio sounds award winning.
All the crusts were perfectly crisp with an excellent ratio of bread to toppings. Props to grill master Kevin for the superb BBQing and to Beverly for the fun dinner idea.
Addendum: The timing of my posts is rarely current usually obnoxiously dated, but the delay in this one worked out to my benefit because as it turns out, today is Bev’s birthday! So HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my second mom. I love you so much!
That WAS fun!! Especially having you guys here! Food and Fam – can’t beat it!
OMG! droooooling.
sadly, i DID know that pesto had cheese in it bc its one of the beloved foods that i can no longer eat 🙁
on the plus side, however, many places in central america do not know this and omit said cheese…which made me quite happy. So all of you lactards like moi should go to central america!
I think the best pizza toppings are cashew cheese, peppers, spinach, and mushrooms!
Avocado is my favorite pizza topping. I never cook it on the pie (so unnecessary, and I’m not sure if it would even survive the baking process), but afterwards, oh yes. Perfect on a cheesy pizza (usually with mushrooms and onions, a couple other of my favorite toppings), whether it’s hot or cold. Hot sauce and pepper are an excellent complement to the avocado.
I also really like eggs on pizza- I bless the blogger who introduced me to this idea (can’t remember who it was, but thank you whoever you are!). The way it works with egg pizza is you cook the pie partway, and then crack open an egg or two over it. The trick is knowing when to crack the egg- you don’t want it to overcook (no fun), or undercook (just not very tasty). Properly cooked egg pizza is a joy, and now that I have my own (bratty, but very happy and fertile) chickens, I’m hoping to have it more often!
bahh i just had butternut squash and goat cheese on a salad! its amaze.
Wow! Sounds like one pizza party I wouldn’t have wanted to miss. Glad I’m not the only one who doesn’t own a rolling pin! 🙂
Caramalized onions are SO GOOD. I used to work in a restaurant that made a dessert pie with caramelized onion – sounds weird but seriously it was amazing. I totally prefer pizza toppings to the crust, pizza salad sounds right up my alley.
Anything that acts like a WF hot bar salad is perfect in my book! Looks delish.
Wow, talk about seriously gourmet pizzas! The caramelized onions get me every time!
Oh, I’ve totally used a wine bottle as a rolling pin several times. Finally I asked my mom for her old rolling pin since she never uses it anymore 🙂 Score!
total score!
ps im loving your posts btw. i always forget to comment bc i read on my bberry, but your top 10 series cracks me up. and the vegan ones are great. please keep it up!!