Bacon-Egg Polenta Pizza with Arugula

Cute looking pizza, right?  I thought so when I saw it in a magazine.  I also thought it might be kind of genius to have a runny egg yolk act as the “sauce” for the pizza.  After having tried it though, I’m feeling very lukewarm about this topping concoction,  Maybe if it did have some crushed tomatoes underneath that cheese it could have worked.

What did work, though, was the crust.  I took that from another recipe, thinking the polenta texture would work well against the eggs.  We both loved this crust and since, through an unfortunate (read: fortunate for Nate) misreading of the term 5/8 c. I ended up almost doubling the dough, we’ve been able to use it with other pizza toppings as well.  It’s delightfully crispy and full of crunch.  And I’ve never had an easier time time rolling a dough out super thinly without having it stick to the counter, shrink back to much smaller, or fall apart transferring it to the pizza stone.

Polenta Pizza Crust
Adapted from the Costco Connection cookbook

2 t. active dry yeast
2 T. olive oil
1 t. kosher salt
1.5 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
3/4 c. fine-ground polenta

Combine yeast with 1/4 c. warm water in a mixing bowl and let sit for 10 minutes.  Stir in 5/8 cup warm water, olive oil, and salt.  Mix in flour and polenta.  Knead for 7 minutes on a floured work surface.

Place dough in a large, oiled bowl.  Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1.5 hours.  Punch dough down and let rest 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.  Roll dough out as thinly as possible and place on a pizza stone.  Bake for 10 minutes, brush with additional olive oil and then add desired toppings.  Place back in the oven til crust is crispy and cheese is melted.

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Tiramisu Pizza

My pictures don’t do it justice.  This is one of those recipes you’re just going to need to trust and try.  How to make a flat, two-layered, khaki-colored thing look delectable?  Well, my camera skills haven’t figured that out yet.  But it is.  Delectable.

I expected Nate to be disappointed because when he thinks pizza, he thinks gooey cheese, saucy spots, saltiness.  And yet, he though, “Delectable.”

If you’re into coffee and you’re into pizza, try it out.  I found it’s a good balance of sweet, but not overly sweet … which is probably why it went over well with Nate.  Although if the crust is crispy enough, almost anything will.  It’s got a nice, pure flavor of sweetened coffee and cream without too much else to confuse it.  It’s got simplicity going for it.  And that makes it delectable.

Tiramisu Pizza
Taken from foodnetwork.com, recipe from the kitchen of Piece Pizza in Chicago
6-8 servings

12 ounces mascarpone cheese
1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar (I added a bit more)
1/4 cup brewed espresso, cooled, plus more as needed (I actually used a bit less, being afraid that my mascarpone would become too runny on the pizza)
1 prebaked pizza shell (and please read this as a homemade pizza shell because anything else would be atrocious)
Unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

In a food processor, whip the mascarpone cheese and confectioners’ sugar until smooth and creamy. Add espresso, process until mixture is creamy and spreadable. Add a bit more espresso if mixture is too stiff.

Spread the tiramisu filling over baked pizza shell. Create a dappled effect by first dusting the cheese liberally with cocoa powder, followed by a very light dusting.

Place on a baking sheet in the oven just until slightly warmed.

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