Cook: Autumn Sausage and Butternut Squash Pizza

For those of you who know me personally, and/or follow my blog - you're probably aware of my passion for pizza making. To make it easier for those who are interested to find other pizza recipes featured on the blog - I've created a new label "Cook - Pizza".  The story behind this week's pizza recipe is that there was a pizza shop, Corner Grille, that J and I used to frequent when we lived in Worcester, MA.  They had this fabulous sausage and squash pizza that I loved, and since I haven't been able to find this combo anywhere in LA, I had to figure out how to make it myself.  It's not exactly the same as Corner Grille's, but if I can say so myself, this pizza is quite delicious!!!  

Cook: A Twist on the Classic: Variations of Pepperoni Pizza

I've been posting a bunch of pizza recipes recently.  (FYI - we do cook non-pizza dinners here in the FJ household and I'll be posting some other recipes soon :)  After the last non-meat (turkey bacon per Steph's request) pizza post, I wanted to return to a classic. Pepperoni.

I'll admit. I never was much a fan of the chain restaurant style pepperoni pizza. But after mixing up some higher quality pepperoni (nothing too fancy, I just got it at Trader Joe's) with some hot pepper, pizza sauce, good cheese and fresh basil - I must say, I'm a convert. Of all the pizzas we've made so far, the Pepperoni variations are my favorite.

Cook: Fig, Turkey Bacon and Goat Cheese Pizza

Ever since I got my pizza stone, and pizza peel - I've been making pizza about once a week.  It's fun to come up with new combinations - I no longer feel the need to follow any recipes, I just think of something that inspires me and go for it!

Figs have been in season, so I've been having a lot of fun with putting them on pizza. When you add them at the end for about 1-2 minutes, they become nicely caramelized.

This week's pizza recipe was for my friend Steph. She is new to pizza making, so I asked her to bring over some toppings she'd like to see on her pizza. She doesn't eat meat, so she brought over some turkey bacon to go along with some fresh figs she had picked up that morning at the Santa Monica farmer's market. She also brought some goat cheese and arugula. 

Cook: BBQ chicken pizza

My latest food obsession has been homemade pizza (except the dough part :) The Fig Gorgonzola Proscuitto and Arugula Pizza  (pictured below and recipe here) is one of our favorites, but every time I make pizza, I like to try a new combination.

This time, I decided to give BBQ chicken at try. I searched online for some recipes, but in the end, I made up one myself. :)

Cook: Fig Proscuitto Gorgonzola and Arugula Pizza!

I have been meaning to make homemade pizza for awhile.  Inspired by photos of my friend Monica's pizza feast on facebook, I decided to give pizza making a try this past weekend.  J and I like our crust thin and crispy so I followed the recommendation of reviewers on line and rolled 1/2 a bag of premade pizza dough as thin as I could, rather than the entire ball of dough. I warmed up with a classic margherita pizza and ended up with this gourmet one inspired by a recipe I found on epicurious. This pizza is so easy to make, but sure to wow!