Cheesy Carmelized Onion Pizza

I love Fridays! I always have, since I was a teenager. Then, it most likely had to do with the arrival of the weekend, and the opportunity to hang out, see my boyfriend, the usual teenage stuff. But, I admit that I still get that excited feeling in my stomach most every late Friday afternoon — and I’m usually doing nothing that evening different from any other!

Over the years, we’ve developed the same habits as many others, kicking off the weekend by going out for dinner, or enjoying takeout — most often, pizza. It was the perfect way to relax after a busy week, and for many, many years, it was, “PAYDAY!” Unfortunately, leaner, less profitable years happened, as well, and many weekends arrived without the Friday paycheck. Now, as small business owners, we are the last to be paid each week — and only after a long list of bills has been paid. So, Friday too often means, “we’ll eat what we have in the fridge”.

The good news is that I have become really good at making “something out of nothing”. I have developed a real talent for throwing together bits of this and bits of that and making something really delicious. The downside is that I can never duplicate the dish! When my children were young, I used to jokingly call this type of dinner “blue stew”. I confess that I loved to tease them by telling them I used all the unidentifiable “blue” items in the back of the fridge to create a new dish!
Maybe I can’t recreate the specific dishes, but I have decided to remember some of them in this blog. Being able to create interesting dishes using items I have on hand is really the secret to handling a bountiful garden. So, it seems appropriate to begin with a pizza …

———–

In our house, it wouldn’t be the weekend without a glass or two of wine, so we took the opportunity to try out one of Trader Joe’s very inexpensive blends, Grifone Sangiovese, which is only $3.99 a bottle.

It was, by the way, acceptable as a table wine. I found it a little light for my taste, but found the Grifone Primitivo (which we sampled the following evening) a slightly better choice, for the same $3.99 price.

—————–

A quick check of the pantry and fridge produced enough flour, salt and some honey for pizza dough, a pint of my own Heirloom Tomato Pizza Sauce (from Summer 2012), about 1/2 a carton of Genova Pesto, some Quattro Formaggio and Mexican Blend cheeses (all Trader Joe’s — What can I say? I love Trader Joe’s!), a small amount of Parmesan cheese, a couple of onions and some dried serrano chiles (from last year’s garden).

I think I’ve already been clear that there really is no recipe for this. I do make pizza dough all the time, and usually have the ingredients on hand. But, if I couldn’t make it for some reason, or didn’t want to make it, I might have used thick slices of a crusty bread or English muffins and had equally marvelous results!

Ingredients

pizza dough, enough for 2 pizzas

If I’m going to go to the trouble of baking pizza, I’m going to make two — one to eat and another to reheat later in the weekend.

2 medium onions
small amount of olive oil
Kosher salt & freshly ground pepper
about 1/2 cup pesto

I think I added a little more olive oil to thin the pesto, and some more garlic.

assorted grated cheeses — about 4 cups total
about 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
finely chopped dried serrano chiles

I use dried serrano chiles instead of commercial “pizza pepper” or crushed red pepper flakes.

Instructions

I thinly sliced the onions, then caramelized them in olive oil, salt & pepper until soft and golden brown. I rolled out the pizza dough, brushed it with the pesto/olive oil/crushed garlic mixture, and sprinkled it lightly with Parmesan cheese. I learned many years ago, from someone on television called, I think, “The Pizza Guy”, that sprinkling a little Parmesan cheese on a lightly oiled pizza crust forms a “tooth” — helps to keep the cheese and topping from sliding off with the first bite.

I then spread on the Heirloom Tomato Pizza Sauce — it still smelled GREAT, after 2-1/2 years –,

topped with the sauced dough with cheese, onions, and sprinkled with the serrano chile flakes and the remainder of my Parmesan cheese. I baked it on a hot pizza stone in the oven, but it would work well on a baking sheet or standard pizza pan.

This pizza was delicious! It was cheesy-greasy, just right for a relaxing end-of-the-week comfort meal. The caramelized onions were so tasty that no additional toppings were needed. The dried chile flakes added just the right amount of spice.

My first Frugal Friday posting was a success!

—————–

Serving suggestion: We always, always serve a tossed salad with pizza. Tonight, it was standard fare (using what was on hand, of course) — a light wine vinegar & olive oil dressed greens, some red onion, celery, a few slices of beets and some broccoli — served with the red wine, of course!