Monday, January 27, 2014

Pesto, Pear and Gorgonzola Pizza


It was a really busy week last week
with two pizza parties, a birthday dinner,
my daughter in law competing in the
regional yoga competition (and taking
first place so now she is going to 
the National Competition), 
a family sleepover at the cabin
with ski lessons for the little ones
and one 
more dinner party!  Whew!!!
Did I make it through last week?!!


We fired up the pizza oven two nights in a row 
and had around 20 to 25 both nights.

Remember the luscious pizza I told you
about from Hotel California in Cabo?
Well, I made a copy of it,
even running to a couple of stores
to find Mexican Crema to finish
it off with
and I think I made a great rendition of it!


When we remodeled our house
about 9 years ago, we put a wood burning
pizza oven in the kitchen and use it often
for entertaining.  

You could make this pizza on a pizza stone
in your own oven.  The trick is to really take the
hour or more to heat up the stone.  In the pizza
oven, the floor is around 650 - 700 degrees and
the roof of the oven is around 1200 degrees so
the pizza cooks in just minutes.


We love to have everyone make their
own pizzas so we started with this one
as an appetizer to let everyone have a taste
and then they created their own signature pizzas.


(The baked pizza was finished off with
a swirl of Mexican Crema.)

Pesto, Pear and Gorgonzola Pizza

1 sweet onion, sliced and caramelized in a frying pan
1 pear, cored, sliced and pan fried in butter until soft
prepared pesto
gorgonzola cheese (I used Boar's Head)
Mexican Crema (or table cream)

Prepare the pizza dough at least 2 hours ahead.
Let rise, then punch down and shape into
individual balls, cover and let rise again about 30-45
minutes.

Thinly slice and caramelize the onions in a little
oil until tender and evenly caramelized.  Use medium
heat so you don't burn them.

In another frying pan, melt a teaspoon of butter and 
lay the slices of pear in the butter.  Let them cook
for a few minutes until light golden and turn and 
cook the other side.

Shape the ball of dough into a round by
stretching.  Place it onto a well floured pizza peel.
Top it with prepared pesto.  Then lay the cooked
pears around the center forming a circle.  Top
with a circle of gorgonzola cheese and a final
ring of caramelized onion.

Bake on a hot pizza stone (following manufacturer's
directions) until bubbly and brown and crisp on
the bottom.  Remove from heat and top with a swirl
of Mexican Crema (or table cream).
Slice and Enjoy!




The mix of the savory pesto, onions and gorgonzola
against the sweetness of the cooked pears and
the creaminess of the Crema really make this
a fabulous pizza.


24 comments:

  1. Wow you have been a very busy lady! Love your pizza oven and that thick granite mantel/ledge. The pizza looks yummy!

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  2. O wowwwww...i will try to make this !!!...lovely !!!...x !

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  3. Sounds like a great pizza variation-yum:@)

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  4. It looks perfect..I have always thought you were lucky to have the oven:) We make pizza a lot too..it must make such a difference!

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  5. Congratulations to your DIL. That is quite an accomplishment.

    Your pizza sounds delicious. 20 or 25 people to feed sounds exhausting to me but you seem to thrive when you are doing what you do best.

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  6. I don't have a pizza oven, but I'm sure I can duplicate this with some adjustment - it just sounds too good not to try!

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  7. Sounds absolutely delicious. I would love to try it. You are a very busy lady. Love your kitchen too.

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  8. What a delicious looking pizza, Jacqueline! Your friends and family must love coming to your house to share in all the fun! That pizza oven of yours is just gorgeous. xo

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  9. Girl, you do beat all!
    Did you try Winco for the Crema? They always have it here. That makes the BEST caramels, believe it or not. You probably have a store closer to your home that carries it. I can get it at my local corner market, 5 miles away!, because of our diversified community.
    It's great! But when i have to go to "the big town" I go to Winco for most things because they have it. And Costco, of course! Hey, I did find a store where they have a HUGE Wilton isle now, carrying the fun candies you showed on your Hot Chocolate Bar! Have you seen the pink candy "cane" hearts they have? I thought you might want to add them to your Bar for Valentines Day!
    THis pizza looks SOOO good! I need to get a [pizza stone. My friend swears by hers, she is the same friend who I dipped chocolates with this year!
    hugs to you,
    Betsy

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  10. Okay- This is MY idea of pizza! lol I am not a big pizza buff the way they fix them in Wisconsin. YUM, Jacqueline. What a wonderful addition to your home for entertaining the pizza oven is - xo Diana

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  11. A pizza oven...What a great idea to put one in your kitchen!!! Wow, people must be dying for an invite to your house....That sounds like one crazy week!

    Carol

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  12. That sounds SO delicious! I love different pizzas. Your pizza oven is fabulous. Have a great week!!!!!!

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  13. I am exhausted just reading about your week!
    Pizza sounds delicious...will be trying it soon.

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  14. You have more going on in a week than I do in a month. You are always doing something fun and creative. Your pizza oven looks like it would be the center of attention each day.......it is beautiful. I think making your own pizza would be sooooooo entertaining in your gorgeous kitchen.

    Congratulations to your daughter-in-law on her yoga win!
    Hugs, k

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  15. Pizza parties are fun where everyone makes their own flavor. I went to a pizza place in Paris that was delicious. I shared a table with a family-you could buy as little as you wanted. They had so many flavours that I just had to try a little more.

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  16. Jackie, wow, you have been quite busy and you keep going. Why not bottle some of that energy? I adore your pizza oven. If I had room, I would have added one to our new kitchen. It is a piece of art! Love your version of the pizza you had in Cabo. I know your family and friends had a wonderful time making their own pizzas. Congrats to your daughter-in-law....xo

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  17. YUM! Looks amazing. I can't wait to make this pizza! Wondering if you have a good pizza sauce recipe?

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  18. Thanks so much for sharing this Jacqueline, it sounds divine! Your party sounds like a lot of fun too~
    Jenna

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  19. Whew! You have been a busy lady! What a delicious pizza and the toppings are one of my very favorite combinations. How wonderful it must be to make pizza in that wood burning oven.

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  20. Wow! That is one of my favorite pizza combinations. There is something about the blending of pear and Gorgonzola. Lucky you to have a pizza oven in your home!

    Now, I'm very interested in what you mentioned about heating up the pizza stone. I've cracked more than one on a grill. I'm thinking I'm not heating it up slowly enough. But I'm to heat the stone up empty and then add the pizza? I would guess the same applies for a regular oven. I'd really love to learn the trick to this.

    My email is thetablescaper@gmail.com

    - Alma, The Tablescaper

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  21. I made this pizza...unbelievably delicious! I added some pine nuts and didn't use the crema. Next time, and there will be many, I will add a little bit of fresh thyme.
    Thanks for the recipe, Jacqueline.

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  22. That looks incredible! We make home made pizza and even made one tonight but we never try new variations. We really should! This would be delicious!

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  23. Looks delish! You really had a very busy week...and 20+ for dinner 2 nights in a row? Wow, I don't know how you do it. :)

    Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!

    xo
    Pat

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  24. What a delicious combination of flavors! We love pears and Gorgonzola~ the addition of caramelized onions and pesto take it over the top!

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