This is a sponsored post and giveaway in partnership with Vidalia onions. All opinions and recipes are my own.

How exciting is this Vidalia Onion Summer Fruit Pizza?  Very, especially because,  thanks to the Vidalia Onion Committee, we are sponsoring a $1,000 gift card giveaway. Just imagine how handy this will come in for early holiday shopping.

Earlier this summer, I was invited to a lovely dinner at this much loved East Nashville restaurant, sponsored by the Turkey Foundation and the Vidalia Onion Committee. Chef Hal Holden-Bache prepared a gourmet meal centered around these Vidalia onions and turkey. We started with a camembert onion soup that was a dream combination and ended with a Vidalia onion ice cream sandwich that left us astonished. There wasn’t a bite left on any plate.

The History of the Vidalia Onion is Intriguing

The Vidalia onion gets it name from Vidalia, Georgia, where the onions got their surprising start. Only a limited number of counties  in Georgia can produce these sweet onions, which were grown “sweet” by accident.

When developing my recipe, there were so many ideas swimming in my head for how to make onions the star of the show. This Vidalia onion summer fruit pizza is just one of several dishes I will be featuring in the coming days, so be sure to come back to visit for Vidalia onion risotto and Vidalia Onion Savory Cheesecake. I decided to make the summer fruit pizza the highlight of this group of recipes because of the summer fruits complementing the sweetness of  Vidalia onions. Add to this a layering of salty prosciutto and sweet corn, and you have the best of the summer in one bite.

The blackberries, honey and basil garnish the pizza AFTER the summer fruit pizza comes out of the oven. The berries give the bite that extra juice and texture, meld perfectly with onions and compliment the corn and peaches. It’s a fantastic bite.

Make sure to not over top the toppings. Proscuitto is salty, so place small amounts here and there. The fresh corn adds texture and another layer of sweetness. The Vidalia onions are thinly sliced and added as the last ingredient (with a smattering of olive oil) before hitting the oven.

Make sure you put the blackberries on the pizza after it comes out of the oven and then drizzle honey.

Please come back this week to get more Vidalia onion recipes. Think risotto and savory cheesecake. The Vidalia Onion Website  has lots of great recipes.

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Vidalia Onion Summer Fruit Pizza

How to make a summer fruit pizza sizzle with vidalia onions and proscuitto, sweet corn, peaches blackberries and drizzle of honey.

Course Entree

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 1 16- ounce pizza dough store bought or recipe here
• 6 slices prosciuitto thinly sliced
• 2 ears fresh corn
• 8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese see note
• 1 large peach
• 1 -2 Vidalia onions thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 16 large blackberries
• 6 leaves fresh basil for garnish
• 1 tablespoon honey for drizzle

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees (500 degrees if your oven goes that high)
• If using a store bought pizza dough, bring to room temperature for at least one hour. If the dough seems to resistant to stretching, allow to warm up even more.
• Slice peaches, leaving skin on.
• Cut corn off of the cob.
• Slice Vidalia onions thinly.
• See notes on bakeware for pizza. Divide your dough accordingly, depending on size of pizza.
• Stretch out as much as possible to get a very thin crust. If you make holes in pizza, just push dough together. Holes will fill as pizza is baking.
• When assembling ingredients, place them sporadically.
• Put prosciutto on bottom, followed by corn, peaches, cheese, onions and drizzle of olive oil. Do not put blackberries or honey until the pizza comes out of the oven.
• Bake in very hot oven 450 - 500 degrees for 10-15 minutes, checking at 8 minutes.
• Slice basil chiffonuad style, but not until you are ready to apply.
• Stack basil leaves, roll, and slice perpendicular to the roll.

Notes

You can use cast iron griddle, frying pan, pizza stone or baking sheet pan for pizza. If using sheet pan, make one large pizza. It will not reach sides completely. That's okay. If using stones, this will make two medium sized pizza or three small individual pizzas.

Mozzarella Cheese - if using fresh, make sure you get all the moisture out, especially if packed in water. You can crumble into bite sized pieces with your hands and place on paper towels.

More Pizza Recipes from Spinach Tiger

Let’s Connect on Instagram

Vidalia Onion Sweet Corn Risotto 

The post Vidalia Onion Summer Fruit Pizza appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

It’s easy to put together and I’m so in love with everything sheet pan lately. I’ve made entire meals using either my stone sheet pan this aluminum sheet pan, roasting everything at once. Then I got this wild idea to make a sheet pan pizza.

I used my alumium sheet pan because I took my oven up to 550 degrees. You don’t have to do that. You can make this pizza at 400 or 450 degrees, but it may take a little longer to bake. I love this stone baking sheet and it will go up to 450 degrees. I bake or roast every day in the stone sheet pan.

I use store-bought dough which is about 16 ounces, and I stretch it thinly in the pan. It does not have to reach the sides. We love thin crust, and I try to get it as thin as possible without making holes.

I have a few pizza secrets for easy sheet pan pizza.

1. If you don’t have time to make homemade dough, use store bought dough (read below to see my favorite).
2. Use pizza sauce sparingly.
3. Scatter your toppings.
4. Go light on cheese when using fresh mozzarella.
5. Go ahead and mix your meats. We love Italian sausage and pepperoni, but we scatter instead of layer.
6. Allow ingredients like cheese to come to room temperature so everything bakes evenly.
7. Put fresh herbs such as basil on pizza when it comes out of the oven. 

My Favorite Store Bought Pizza Dough for Sheet Pan Pizza

When you need to make a lot of pizza use a grocery store dough. One batch fits the sheet pan almost perfectly. After testing out a few, Trader Joe’s pizza dough is my favorite and this is not a paid post. It doesn’t have the same elasticity of Publix dough, but it’s much easier to work with and more consistent in baking.

My Favorite Pizza Sauce for Sheet Pan Pizza

My second secret is to use pizza sauce sparingly. An overload of sauce won’t allow the crust to brown properly and it’s not necessary. Think of the pizza sauce as more of a condiment for your toppings. I use a high quality brand of tomato puree, add a tad of olive oil, salt, pepper and sometimes some fresh oregano. That’s it. It’s clean, simple.

A cooking tip regarding pizza sauce  is simply to save some of your tomato sauce from this basic tomato sauce recipe when you make spaghetti and freeze it for the future. A sheet plan pizza doesn’t need more than a cup of sauce.

Scatter Your Toppings for a Sheet Pan Pizza

Forget all that heavy layering that the pizza delivery companies do. They are trying to show value, not necessarily good taste.  That’s no way to enjoy pizza. Scatter your toppings so that each bite of pizza gives you something different. It’s a more authentic way to make Italian pizza and it will bake better.

How to Cut Sheet Pan Pizza

Here is a sheet pan pizza I made with sausage and red onion. So good. Cut down the center lengthwise and cut into triangles.

So tell me are you into the sheet pan trend for making easy meals?

Lets connect on Instagram.  I’d love to see you there.

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Sheet Pan Pizza with Trader Joe's Pizza Dough

How to Make Sheet Pan Pizza with seven tips including my favorite pizza crust.

Course Pizza

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Servings 16

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 16 ounce pizza dough
• 1 cup easy pizza sauce
• 2-3 cups fresh mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup broccoli rabe recipe here
• 3 links Italian Sausage cooked, crumbled
• 2 ounces pepperoni cheese
• cornmeal for bottom of pan

Easy Pizza Sauce Ingredients

• 1 small can high quality tomato puree
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• dash salt pepper
• fresh oregano

Instructions

• Take pizza dough out of refrigerator at least 60 minutes in advance.
• Preheat oven to from 450 to 550 degrees
• Sprinkle sheet pan wth corn meal (to prevent sticking.)
• Stretch dough out on sheet pan.
• Spread pizza sauce lightly, leaving room for crust.
• Place sausage, broccoli rabe and pepperoni in scattered way.
• Bake in lowest rack of oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Easy Pizza Sauce Instructions

• Heat tomato puree with olive oil, salt, pepper.
• If you have fresh oregano, add that in.
• You can substitute with a dash of oregano, but I usually don't like that heavier taste.

More Pizza Recipes from Spinach Tiger

Thin Crust Pizza with Homemade Dough

Brussels Sprouts and Bacon Pizza with Video

Peach Pizza on the Grill

The post Sheet Pan Pizza with Trader Joe’s Pizza Dough appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Brussels Sprouts and Bacon Homemade Pizza is amazing.It has whatever it is that keeps brussels sprouts lovers, well brussels sprouts lovers. As far as bacon, I need to say nothing, except feel free to change this up with pancetta.

I’m not a fan of red tomato sauce on pizza. I know that sounds crazy, and I may make an exception to this for a pepperoni pizza if I’m in the mood for that. Most of the time I like fresh vegetable or fruit combinations and not a ton of cheese.

You can put as much cheese as you like, I like to just make sure most of the brussels sprouts are covered. Add a few on top just to get that crispy brussels sprouts thing going.

I might add this as an option: Before you put the brussels sprouts on, add a layer of fig jam or apple jelly for a little surprise sweetness. Be bold, you might even go with something cherry or berry.

This is the pizza everyone loves and fights over the last piece!

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Brussels Sprouts and Bacon Pizza Video

Brussels Sprouts and Bacon give a sultry spin to this unique pizza.

Course Pizza

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• Pizza Dough enough for 2 10-inch pizzas
• 20 brussels sprouts
• 2 shallots diced
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 6 strips bacon cooked, cut crosswise
• salt
• pepper
• Course corn meal

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 450-500 degrees F.
• Heat cast iron griddle or baking stone for twenty minutes.
• Sprinkle pizza peel with corn meal (or use parchment paper and corn meal). The corn meal helps prevent dough from sticking.
• Thinly slice brussels sprouts, holding onto the stems.
• Saute brussels sprouts, garlic, shallots in 1 tablespoon olive oil, until wilted.
• Put brussels sprouts mixture on dough.
• Top with mozzarella cheese.
• Top with bacon.
• Bake for 8-10 minutes, on lowest rack of oven.

The post Brussels Sprouts and Bacon Pizza Video appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

It has been way too long since I’ve talked about pizza, but now I just may overload you.

I recently got out Marcella Hazan’s Pizza Dough recipe and then got a little pizza crazy. We’ve been making pizza every day. I love playing the the dough and we even made a video making dough and will be embedding a video of this pizza here as soon as we clear the music copyright.

I’m always giving Retro Rose a lecture about eating too much pizza, trying to get her to cut down on the grains, but ask me how I’m doing with that. You know she was the first to arrive at my most recent pizza party, but while she sticks to the traditional, I like unusual toppings, and I tend to play around with fruit a lot.

Pears and prosciutto are a natural together, and last year I made prosciutto pear amuse bouche. That same combination with cheese and honey on a crispy, chewy pizza crust is even better.

Now this a pizza of two lives. It could almost be a dessert pizza because of the honey and the pears. However, it could just as easily be a main course pizza or an appetizer pizza. That’s up to you.

More Pizza Recipes from Spinach Tiger

Pizza Dough

Pear and Fig Jam Pizza on the grill

Broccoli Rabe Pancetta Pizza

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Pear Prosciutto Goat Cheese Pizza

Pizza that is good for dessert, appetizer or main event, sweet, salty, chewy, crispy.

Course Pizza

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• Pizza Dough Recipe found here
• 2 Bosc Pear thinly sliced
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese
• 8 thinly sliced pieces prosciutto
• 4 Tablespoons goat cheese
• salt
• pepper

Instructions

• Roll out pizza dough
• Arrange mozzarella cheese almost to the ends of dough
• Cover with pears
• Tear prosciutto and place intermittently
• Add in some goat cheese in small amounts, intermittenly
• Put pizza on heavy cast iron griddle or stone that has been preheated.
• Place on bottom rack of the oven.
• Bake at 450 or 500 degrees F for 6-10 minutes.
• Season with salt and pepper out of the oven.

The post Pear Prosciutto Goat Cheese Pizza with Honey Drizzle appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Peanut Butter and Apple Bacon Jam Pizza isn’t something one eats every day. I’ll bet, in fact, you’ve never tried it. It was my first time too. You see I had to meet a cooking challenge for the Creative Cooking Group.

Every month we are assigned an ingredient or theme. Last month it was meat and potatoes, and I made these frisky little shepherd’s pie party bites. The month before that it was vegan, and I turned tofu into hot tofu sliders, Nashville style. But, please keep in mind, I’m not a trendy cook. I like delicious, modern, comfort food that is approachable. I like to excite the taste buds and not force ingredients to work. I told you in the last postnwhen I saw the four ingredients, I wasn’t happy. I had a hard time envisioning the full combination of the chosen four ingredients.

Similar to the show Chopped, we were assigned four ingredients to make a dish from. Granny Smith apples, vinegar, bacon and nut butter.

So I brewed for a while, pondering, thinking, and even discussing this challenge with friends. I knew that bacon and peanut butter go together, and apples and bacon go together, and apples and peanut butter go together. So I started there. In discussion with one of my favorite Nashville chefs, we threw the of idea of some kind of take on peanut butter and jelly. But, where would that vinegar fit in? That was stopping me every time.

The part of the challenge I worried most about was layering the vinegar with a nut butter, but when it turns out to a PB & J takeoff, it works.  Apple bacon jam gave me the J of the PB and J. The vinegar is a common ingredient in bacon jam and since it’s cooked down slowly for about 45 minutes, it’s very subtle. I added cayenne pepper which makes many condiments and jams a little extra special. Some bacon jam recipes call for bourbon, but I was using apples and left it out, but it’s an option.

The recipe for the apple bacon jam is in my previous post.  Now all I needed was a creative twist. You wouldn’t expect me just to put it on plain old bread would you? This is supposed to be a creative cooking group. So I thought of flat bread, which is license for anything you want it to be. Flatbread became pizza because I purchased a store bought pizza dough which refused to flatten out or produce anything even resembling a thin crust pizza. My own pizza dough recipe would be more ideal for that, but in a pinch, this worked out just fine.

The best thing about an Apple Bacon jam, peanut butter pizza is the jam can be made in advance and the pizza dough can be store bought. This makes whipping up an appetizer very simple. This will also travel well to a party, as it can be eaten at room temperature.  It’s the bite people will return to until it’s gone. And, it will be gone quickly.

I had never baked peanut butter on anything before. This is what I learned. The dense natural peanut butter will not bake as nicely as the store bought creamy version in a jar, which bakes up beautifully. Make sure you cook the compote down enough to marry the flavors and cook off the vinegar. As an option, you can add in some bourbon, but makes sure it gets cooked down. Do not over process; pulse and look to make sure it’s appetizing and the bacon is still in bits. You don’t want a jelly. You want a jam.

The apple bacon recipe is located here at my previous post. As far as how much pizza dough and ingredients, this is a very loose recipe.

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Peanut Butter and Apple Bacon Jam Pizza

Apple bacon jam and peanut butter pizza is a creative take on the classic peanut butter and jelly.

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 1 cup apple bacon jam found in previous post
• 1 store bought pizza dough
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter

Instructions

• Roll out pizza dough, to thickness you desire. This is great on thin or thick pizza.
• Spread enough peanut butter to cover the dough. Be generous.
• Spread on top the apple bacon jam, totally covering the peanut butter.
• Bake according to directions for pizza dough. I rolled out a medium pizza dough, and baked for twenty minutes at 375.

The post Peanut Butter and Apple Bacon Jam Pizza appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

The mere thought process that went into figuring out a bronze and red color scheme that looked like peeled paint that had been there for hundreds of years was daunting because I had to get the colors mixed to match what was in the client’s mind. The worst case scenario was if something was already there and had to be removed, like wall paper or badly painted walls from sloppy contractors.

It would have been easier to start fresh, but rarely does one get to do that. And, even with newly built homes, there would be problems with improperly primed walls, badly installed drywall, etc.

I learned that nothing is every simple, even if it’s easy.

Spinach Tiger is moving to word press and this is why I haven’t posted in so long. We knew going in that the move would not be easy because no move ever is, but in the end it will be worth all the work.

The transition is a few weeks away and while I’m idling, I thought I would share another pizza recipe.

The Pizza
My last two pizza posts were fruity, but this is savory, salty and addicting. The combination of broccoli rabe and pancetta is just the thing when you want a real boost of flavor without a red sauce.

Broccoli rabe, also known as rapini, should be a staple in every kitchen. It’s a green that is easy to cook and versatile. It’s probably one of the more misunderstood vegetables in all the American land and that’s all due to it’s name. It is nothing like broccoli in flavor or in the way it cooks. It’s in the mustard green family and it has that bitter (but not unpleasant) taste that marries perfectly with garlic, olive oil and a bit of salt and crushed red pepper. It can jump from a pasta to steak sandwich to a grilled cheese to a pizza in mere seconds and spark up your taste buds with flavor that has been described as pungent, tangy, bitter and nutty. We always buy two bunches because one never seems enough after taking that first bite.

Pancetta is an ingredient I thought I would not have to say much about, but according to the new Whole Foods in my area, it is no longer carried because they didn’t sell enough of it. That’s a culinary surprise and tragedy because they had carried the very best pancetta I ever tasted in Tennessee. (Disclaimer: you can still buy it there prepackaged and pre-sliced, but who would do that, as most recipes call for a dice not a slice.

If you can’t find pancetta, use bacon or a crumbled cooked Italian sausage. And, for the vegetarian, broccoli rabe can stand alone as the star ingredient.

This was made on the grill, but you can also bake your pizza in the oven, preheating a pizza stone and getting as high in temperature as your oven will allow.

Pizza Recipe

Tips for Cooking Brocolli Rabe
Trim the stems at least 1/2 inch from the end. I trim the stems all the way to the part where flowers and leaves begin. If you keep the stems, chop into 2 inch pieces and put into boiling water 3 minutes before adding in rest of broccoli rabe.

These are the stems you will need to discard. They will remain stringy and chewy, unlike broccoli.

Season properly. The bitter and pungent flavor needs accessorizing. Garlic, salt, and heat achieve this. Some even use anchovies in their base to get that saltiness. I prefer the use of pecorino romano (which is a very salty, yet creamy grating cheese).

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Pizza with Pancetta and Broccoli Rabe

A thin crust pizza with pancetta and broccoli rabe with an amazing pizza crust adapted from Marcella Hazan.

Course Pizza

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 2 hours hours

Cook Time 8 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours 8 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• pizza dough
• 1 bunch broccoli rabe
• olive oil enough to cover bottom of pan and more for adding in later
• 1-2 cloves thinly sliced garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup pancetta diced
• 1 cup fresh mozzarella cheese grated or crumbled
• salt and pepper

Instructions

• Prepare pizza dough.
• Preheat grill a high as you can get it or put pizza stone in oven and preheat at 450 for 30 minutes.
• Rinse and trim stems up to leafy area. Discard bottom inch of stem. You can maintain stems, by cutting them in 2 inch pieces and cooking a little earlier. I usually don’t keep stems. . If you keep the stems, chop into 2 inch pieces and put into boiling water 3 minutes before adding in rest of broccoli rabe.
• Submerge in large pot of boiling water for 5 minutes. Place in ice bath to keep green color, while preparing next step.
• Saute pancetta in medium heat frying pan until fat in rendered and it’s is cooked through. Remove from pan and use same pan to saute broccoli rabe.
• Saute garlic in same pan used to cook pancetta. Drain broccoli rabe and cut into 3 inch pieces and saute for a few minutes. Add red pepper flakes and salt to taste.
• Assemble pizza.
• Roll out dough to the size of dinner plate. Arrange mozzarella cheese, pancetta, and broccoli rabe.
• Bake for 8 minutes or until bottom is crisp.

The post Pizza with Pancetta and Broccoli Rabe appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

We have been pining for such an outdoor oven for years because we want to be able to make those thin, chewy crust pizzas made famous in Naples, or at least get close.

We can’t get up to 900 degrees, but we can get to 700 degrees which is much hotter than our indoor oven, and it’s hot enough to radiate to the top and thoroughly cook the pizza.

This is probably as close as we will get and based on response from friend’s who have had the pleasure of eating pizza with us this year, it works well. We have had many sausage, pancetta, fresh basil, fresh mozzarella concoctions without a picture to show you due to inclement weather at every gathering, But, one sunny day this week, I used the last of the dough and made a quick lunch pizza that quite the surprise.

If you let the dough ferment a few days in the refrigerator, you get that sour dough taste that we all love. And, it seems to even cook better.

This was made when I had ten minutes to spare, but only ten. The dough was already made days before and waiting in the refrigerator getting a rather nice “sour dough” taste. All I needed to do was light the grill, spread on ricotta cheese mixed with honey, slice a peach, and drizzle some blood orange olive oil. It became complete with some black pepper and lime basil.

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Peach Pizza and Best Pizza Dough on the Grill

A summery pizza using fresh peaches and ricotta cheese to make a great appetizer, a main or even a dessert.

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 1/3 pizza dough from recipe below make the day before; tastes better
• 1-2 ripe peaches sliced thinly with skin on
• 6 ounces ricotta cheese
• 1 tablespoon honey
• Dash Salt
• Blood orange olive oil can also use regular olive oil with splash of orange
• fresh basil
• Black Pepper

Instructions

• To Bake, heat pizza stone in oven for 30 minutes in pre-heated oven at 450 degrees.
• To Grill, set your grill on highest heat, pre-heat cast iron griddle for 20 minutes.
• Assemble Pizza
• Roll dough out using some flour so it doesn’t stick. Sprinkle corn meal on pizza peal. Place rolled out dough on peel.
• Mix ricotta cheese with honey and a dash of salt. Spread over rolled out dough leaving an inch for crust. Arrange peach slices over cheese. Drizzle with olive oil. Slide onto pizza stone or cast iron griddle.
• Pizza takes approximately 7 minutes, but times could vary. Top with black pepper. Serve.

Notes

The prep time is calculated on already having pizza dough ready to go.

Pizza Dough (adapted from Marcella Hazan)

Recipe For Basic Pizza Dough
(Adapted from Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking Page 623)
(Recipe made three individual sized 10” thin pizza)

1 1/2 t active dry yeast
1 cup luke warm water, divided into 1/4 cups
3 1/4 cups unbleached flour (I used 3 cups), divided into 3 one measure cups
Extra virgin olive oil (1 t for bowl) and some for finished product
1/2 T salt
Pizza stone, if using oven (or cast iron for grill)
Pizza Peel (Paddle)
Cornmeal

Dissolve yeast into 1/4 cup of warm water in large bowl, 10 minutes or less.
Add one cup flour. Stir with wooden spoon
Add in olive oil, salt, 1/4 cup water. Stir.
Add one cup flour. Stir.
Add 1/4 cup water. Stir.
Add one cup flour Stir.
Hold back on water and flour, adding as needed. I added water, but did not add last 1/4 cup of flour. Stir. Dough should be manageable, but not sticky. At this point you can knead by hand for 10 minutes or place in your kitchen aid type mixer with dough hook for about 5 minutes.

Place in oiled bowl. Cover and set in warm place for three hours. Dough cooks and tastes best when chilled overnight. Take out and bring to room temperature. Roll out a third of the dough and if you can manage it, give it a toss in the air several times. This helps to stretch the dough out properly.

The post Peach Pizza and Best Pizza Dough on the Grill appeared first on Spinach Tiger.