Why it works:
Who said every dinner party has to be a formal sit down or complicated? Gourmet pizza is about the best way I know to get friends to say yes to a fun Friday night. Why I love this concept is it’s easy and lends itself to a no-fuss approach to what promises to be a memorable evening. Let’s face it, the pressure is off in the kitchen when the dice or board games comes out.
I happen to have a chalk board hanging on my kitchen wall that looks like a menu board, and sometimes is actually used as a menu board, but much more often is used as a score board for the shenanigans going down at my house on game night. Just sayin’. There is no better way to bond than silly games and food.
And, if you have any fussy eaters or dietary restrictions, you can put out all the toppings and let friends make their own pizza, which is both interactive and saves you from having to stress about it. #Winning.
What type of pizza to make?
What makes a pizza gourmet? If you ask me, it’s just using really good ingredients in a well-thought-out way. It doesn’t necessarily have to be something over the top or obscure like duck confit. But I do love a good duck confit and goat cheese pizza if you’re making one. Hint. Invite me.
A gourmet pizza can be something equally decadent but simpler like Burrata cheese and homemade pesto with heirloom tomatoes. Or truffle salami with roasted mushrooms and fontina cheese. The possibilities are endless.
For my gourmet pizza night, I wanted to stick with a Fall theme and thought that pear seems to be a good Fall-like ingredient. Then my mind went immediately to sausage. I absolutely love fennel sausage because it’s hearty but has that sweet anise flavor. So, I decided two pizzas it was – one with a red sauce and one with a white sauce for variety.
Since pear and prosciutto are match made in heaven, I knew that was a good start for the cream based one and that gorgonzola cheese, which is a creamy blue, would be a great background note to highlight both the pear and prosciutto. But I didn’t want the blue cheese flavors to be too overpowering, so I decided to mellow the flavor a bit with some parmesan. And, if you aren’t a blue cheese fan at all, you can use a goat cheese instead. A little sliced red onion and chopped fresh basil as a garnish and you have all the elements of the perfect bite.
The second pizza, fennel sausage with red sauce, just needed a few final touches to round it out. Fennel sausage is hearty, so I added some sautéed leeks into the mix for a sweetness. You could use yellow onion as a substitute. And then just kept it simple with a fresh mozzarella for the mild flavor and luscious melting factor. Chopped parsley at the end for garnish was the final touch.
Let’s talk dough
Do you make your own dough or use store bought? If store bought fresh or pre-cooked? Normally I’d say fresh dough is always best. If you make your own, even better. In all honesty that’s a step I usually skip and just buy one of those dough balls at Whole Foods or Trader Joes. The kind you roll out and bake at home. But this time when I went to Whole Foods to get the fresh dough (which is usually fresh and then frozen and then sold in their refrigerated section where they sell pizza) they were out.
Next, I stopped by Trader Joes, where they also sell them, and before I could even make it to that section of the store, I saw a display stand with their pre-baked and packaged pizza dough and I thought, “Sure, why not.” And you know what? It wasn’t bad. I think the fresh dough that is baked at home has a nicer, chewier consistency to it, but I did like the perfect rectangular shape of the pre-packaged crust, and it did turn out very crispy, perhaps a little dry. The toppings were delish though so overall I loved it. Moral of the story, do what you can when you can. If you have time to make from scratch, do it. If not, don’t beat yourself up and go ahead and take the shortcut.
Recipes:
Ingredients for Pear & Prosciutto with White Sauce
Pizza
- 1/2 of 15 oz pkg store bought pre-cooked pizza dough
- ½ red pear (firm), thinly sliced
- ¼ cup thinly sliced red onion
- ¼ cup grated Pecorino or Parmesan
- 2 slices Prosciutto
- Fresh basil (garnish)
Gorgonzola-Parmesan Cream Sauce
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 Tbsp crumbled gorgonzola cheese
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 Tbsp heavy cream
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp white pepper (fresh ground black)
Method for Pear & Prosciutto with White Sauce Pizza
Make Cream Sauce
- In a small saucepan add the butter over medium low heat. Once melted add in the garlic clove. Stir for 30 seconds and then add in the gorgonzola cheese and heavy cream and stir with a rubber spatula over low heat until ingredients are combined and melted. Then add in the grated parmesan and continue to stir off the heat just enough to incorporate and thicken the sauce. Season with salt and white pepper and set aside.
Assemble & Bake
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment. Place cooked dough on the baking sheet and slather evening with cream sauce.
- Layer on the red onions, sliced pear and then season with pepper. Evenly distribute the prosciutto and last bit of grated pecorino or parmesan.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes and then garnish with chopped fresh basil.
Ingredients for Fennel Sausage & Leek Pizza
- 1/2 of 15 oz pkg store bought pre-cooked pizza dough
- 1 medium leek, rinsed and diced (white part only)
- 1 large link or 1/3 lb. spicy or mild Italian sausage (with fennel in it), casing removed
- 1 ½ Tbsp olive oil
- ¼ cup plus 2 Tbsp store bought marinara
- 4-5 slices of pre-sliced fresh Mozzarella
- Salt & Pepper
- Chopped parsley (garnish)
- Crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
Method for Fennel Sausage & Leek Pizza
Sautee Leeks sand Sausage
- Heat a medium skillet over medium heat and add olive oil. Next add the leeks and season lightly with salt and pepper then add in the fennel sausage, making sure to break it down into small pieces. Cook until browned. Remove and set aside.
Assemble & Bake
- Preheat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with parchment and place pre-cooked dough on pan.
- Layer sauce, then fennel sausage and leek mixture on dough. Tear the mozzarella slices into bite sized pieces and distribute over sausage mixture. Bake for 12-14 minutes. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley.
*Note: If baking the two pizzas at the same time alternate which pizza is on the top rack and bottom rack about halfway through. Also, if you want to get the top of the mozzarella pizza really brown and bubbly you can put under the broiler at the end for about 30 seconds.
What to Serve with it:
You really don’t need to serve anything with your gourmet pizzas but if you wanted to round out the meal with a good Fall salad like my Fall Caesar you could. The dressing can be made ahead of time, the croutons as well, and even the roasted and spiced pumpkin seeds are a do-ahead step.
Presentation & Fun Details:
You know I’m all about the presentation. Yes, even for pizza night. I mean it’s just more fun to eat pizza off a wooden tray, right? Or maybe a plank board? Use your imagination but make it fun. Here’s a few ideas I really like and some more pics of my game night setup.
Make it fun with flight pairings:
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