Gorgonzola, Mushroom and Carmelized Onion Pizza

I based the pizza sauce off of this recipe being that I had no canned tomatoes, I used some tomato sauce (16 ounces) instead and I threw in maybe a teaspoon of sugar and about 1/2 tsp. dried oregano.

I used my regular pizza dough that I always use when making a pizza

3 cups all purpose white flour OR 1 cup whole wheat flour and 2 cups AP white flour
1 Pkg. yeast either fast rise or regular
1 cup warm water (110 degrees or warm to touch)
1 tbsp. applesauce OR 1 tbsp. olive oil (I always use the oil, it works just as well with the applesauce though)
1 tsp. sugar OR 1 tbsp. corn syrup OR 1 tbsp. golden syrup
1 tsp. salt

Place water, salt, sweetener of choice and yeast in large bowl. It will proof in about 5 minutes.
Add oil.
Add 2 cups flour and mix.
Add the rest of the flour, mix and turn onto floured board, adding additional flour if necessary.
Knead 5-10 minutes.
Cover with bowl, let rise at least 30 minutes to one hour or until doubled in bulk. It will hold an indention of your thumb if doubled in bulk.
Punch dough down, and roll out in oiled pizza pan.
Cover for about 30 minutes with clean tea towel or you can skip this step however the crust will be very thin.

Cut up 2 medium onions into very thin slices. Saute in a pot over medium heat about 15-20 minutes in about 2 tbsp. oil until fragrant and slightly brown. Set aside.

Place tomato sauce (however much you like) on rolled out pizza that has risen covered, for 30 minutes. Top with 1 pkg. (or 2 cups) shredded mozzarella cheese (I used 2%), your caramelized onions, about 1/4-1/3 cup Gorgonzola cheese, and maybe 4 ounces sliced mushrooms. Bake at 425 degrees F for about 10-15 minutes until cheese is slightly brown and bubbly and bottom crust is golden brown. Enjoy. I think this is the best pizza I have ever had.

Pre-baked Pizza

 Baked Pizza, if you can wait 5-10 minutes it will cut better.

Pumpkin Gorgonzola and Mushroom Pasta

If you have never had Gorgonzola, you should go get some now! Here is an interesting read on Wiki , basically a blue cheese made from goat's or cow's milk, from Italy. Can you hear me saying "I love-a da stinky cheese?"....anyways......

I have used it in the watercress salad and now I am going to use it in a Pumpkin Gorgonzola Sauce. It is a blue cheese, but with a milder flavor, it is not "in your face" with its taste. Blue, but not shockingly blue cheese flavor, if that makes sense. I have made this recipe before, however that was when I was a vegan and made a mock Gorgonzola Cheese. Rich creamy pumpkin sauce with undertones of sage and thyme, caramelized onions, mushrooms and creamy Gorgonzola cheese. You cannot go wrong with this flavor combination. It is very flavorful, I used this recipe ....I think that I would have liked it a lot more if I had fresh herbs and I used a lot more milk in mine, and I used skim milk instead of cream, and I added some dried thyme. Good flavor combination made even better by some tempeh bacon on top. Not a healthy post here by any means.

Watercress Salad

I picked up some watercress on a whim over the weekend from the Asian grocer (more posts to come from that visit) and came home and found
this wonderful recipe to use some of it on. I say "some" because you get a ton of it. It comes in a small "butcher pack" and it looks like a very small amount but it was enough to fill up my Pho noodle bowl. My earliest memories of watercress was eating some wild out of my grandma's yard. It has a peppery bite to it, spicy and a little heat not unlike horseradish. This salad has romaine, watercress, walnuts and Gorgonzola cheese. The dressing uses Gorgonzola cheese, fresh basil, olive oil, basalmic vinegar....It is supposed to be a clone recipe from California Pizza Kitchen, however I have never been to one. This is one of the best salads I have ever had, and I think that the only thing that would make it better is to have some thinly sliced Granny Smith apple or dried cranberries added to it.

California Pizza Kitchen Romaine-Watercress Salad W/ Balsamic-Basil Vinaigrette

Balsamic-Basil Vinaigrette

* 8 large fresh basil leaves
* 6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
* 1/4 lb gorgonzola, crumbled
* 3/4 cup olive oil, mild flavored

Romaine-Watercress Salad

* 1 head romaine lettuce, cleaned and chopped
* 1 bunch watercress, cleaned and cut bite-size
* 8 ounces gorgonzola, crumbled
* 2 cups walnuts, shelled halves

In a blender, process basil, gorgonzola and vinegar. Then, on a slower speed, blend in oil briefly. Set aside in refrigerator to chill. Later, in a large mixing bowl, combine the greens. Add dressing and toss to coat all leaves. Transfer the dressed greens to several chilled serving plates. Top each with equal amounts of crumbled Gorgonzola cheese and walnuts.