To make great homemade pizza, you don't need a fancy pizza stone (a cookie sheet will do), or a pizza oven (my regular one worked just fine) or expensive ingredients (I used leftover cooked asparagus and some extra goat cheese), or a gourmet dough recipe that takes a day to make (I used Jiffy brand pizza dough).
What you do need is a good appetite and family and friends to enjoy that hot-out-of-the-oven taste and smell of home-made pizza.
Next time, I'll invite some friends over and have a variety of toppings for them to choose from to make their own pizzas. Sounds like a party to me.
Homemade Goat Cheese and Asparagus Pizza
Serves 4
1 package frozen pizza dough (defrosted), or package to make your own dough, or your own recipe - enough for one large pie
1 T olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced thin
1/2 cup softened goat cheese (to make it real spreadable, stir in a tablespoon of olive oil)
About 10 spears of already-cooked asparagus, cut into bite-size pieces
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
freshly-ground pepper
red-pepper flakes, if desired
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Prepare the pizza dough according to package directions. Place the dough on a piece of parchment paper on a large cookie sheet. I stretched my dough into a rectangle to fit the cookie sheet - it was easier than a circle.
Prebake dough in hot oven for 8 minutes.
Meanwhile, saute onion in olive oil in small frying pan until softened.
Remove pizza dough from oven and carefully spread dough with softened goat cheese leaving a small crust/border. Sprinkle cooked onion evenly on top, followed by asparagus pieces, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, ground black pepper and red pepper flakes, if desired.
Bake for another 15 minutes, checking often to make sure the edges do not get too brown. Watch carefully, as depending upon the brand of dough, the cooking times will vary.
Remove from oven, carefully slide onto a large cutting board and slice.
Recipe adapted from Real Simple Solutions, "Getting Organized."
