Cuisine Diva

Individual Gourmet Pizzas

Above: Individual, whole wheat pizza crusts by Boboli.

Fun With Cheese

Yesterday I wrote a review of Alouette's Soft Spreadable Cheese. Here is an idea for an easy to prepare, gourmet pizza, featuring the sundried tomato with basil flavor of their spreadable cheese.

Above: A variety of toppings to add to gourmet pizzas.

Gourmet Pizza Ingredients

• Boboli, or other premade, individual pizza crust
• Alouette soft spreadable cheese
• Pizza toppings
• Parmesan cheese
• Fresh basil

Above: I used a perforated, metal pizza pan to make my gourmet pizza.

Gourmet Pizza Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Spread the bottom of the pizza crust with a layer of spreadable cheese. I used Alouette's sundried tomato and basil soft spreadable cheese.
3. Top the pizza with your favorite pizza toppings.
4. Sprinkle a layer of grated Parmesan cheese on top of the toppings.
5. Add a handful of chopped, fresh basil leaves to the top of the pizza.
6. Cook in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes, until the cheese has melted and is lightly brown on top.
7. Cut into 4 pieces using a pizza wheel.
8. Serve immediately.

Above: Spread a layer of cheese spread on top of the pizza crust.

Gourmet Pizza Toppings

Choose from your favorite pizza toppings to top your individual gourmet pizzas. Here are a few suggestions:

• Kalamata olives
• Green olives
• Capers
• Minced garlic
• Marinated mushrooms
• Anchovy fillets
• Sundried tomatoes
• Thin sliced green onions
• Feta cheese
• Crumbled bacon
• Diced Canadian bacon
• Fresh herbs such as basil, parsley, oregano

Above: Sprinkle the toppings of your choice on top of the pizza.

Pizza as Appetizer or Dinner

Serve individual gourmet pizzas as the main course for dinner. You can also cut up a couple of pizzas to serve as an appetizer.

Above: Hot, homemade pizza fresh out of the oven.

Salad Topping

I've seen a few chefs adding fresh greens, such as baby arugula, to the top of their pizzas, after they come out of the oven. I decided to give it a try, kind of a neat way to eat a salad along with your pizza.

• Mixed greens such as baby arugula, spinach and radicchio
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Fresh ground black pepper
• Course sea salt

Above: Salad topping on top of individual gourmet pizza.

Sprinkle the greens on top of the pizza, as soon as you remove it from the oven. Then drizzle on a bit of good quality, extra virgin olive oil and top with a few grinds of black pepper and some course sea salt.

Above: Gourmet pizza, topped with salad greens, ready to eat.

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Cuisine Diva

Quick and Easy Tortilla Pizza

Individual tortilla pizza.

Here is an idea for making a quick and easy pizza. I usually keep a package of Boboli mini pizza crusts in my pantry, but the other day I was craving a pizza and didn't have any Boboli left. I took a quick look around my kitchen and found a package of flour tortillas in the bread drawer. I thought I could use the flour tortillas to make a thin crust, individual pizza.

Package of flour tortillas.

Children's Pizza Party

Tortilla pizzas would make the perfect snack at your son or daughters sleep over or birthday party. Each child can choose the exact ingredients they want to put on their own individual pizza. Kids love helping out in the kitchen and will have a lot of fun picking out and placing their favorite toppings on top of their own tortilla pizza.

Flour tortillas brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with a pizza spice blend.

Tortilla Pizza Ingredients

• Flour tortillas
• Olive oil
• Pizza sauce
• Mozzarella cheese
• Toppings

Spread each tortilla with tomato sauce.

Tortilla Pizza Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Place one to three flour tortillas on a pizza baking sheet.
3. Lightly brush each tortilla with a small amount of olive oil.
4. Spread each tortilla with a bit of the tomato sauce.
5. Sprinkled shredded mozzarella cheese across the top of the tortilla.
6. Add toppings as desired, such as black olive slices, capers and fresh herbs.
7. Place the pizza pan in the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese has completely melted and the tortilla has started to brown.
8. Remove from the oven, let cool, then use a pizza wheel to cut each tortilla pizza into 4 pieces.

Add cheese and toppings to each tortilla pizza.

Pizza Topping Ideas

Cheese

• Mozzarella
• Parmesan
• Cheddar
• Pepper jack
• Provolone
• Mexican cheese blend

Vegetarian Toppings

• Black or green olive slices
• Capers
• Sun dried tomatoes packed in oil - chopped fine
• Thin slices of mushrooms
• Thin slices of onions
• Chopped green onion
• Fresh herbs such as basil, oregano, parsley, chives

Meat Toppings

• Browned ground beef or ground turkey
• Pepperoni
• cooked sweet or hot Italian sausage
• Bacon bits
• Ham steak - cut into small pieces

Platter full of tortilla pizza slices.

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Cuisine Diva

Instant Homemade Pizza

I like making pizza at home. It's less expensive then ordering pizza from a restaurant, and you can control the ingredients used to make the pizza. You can either make a large pizza for the entire family, or let everyone make their own individual pizza. My husband and son are meat eaters, my daughter is a vegetarian and I like interesting topping selections, so it works out better to let everyone at our house make their own, personal size pizza.

 

Perforated pizza pan, helps make a crispy crust. Available at kitchen supply stores and the kitchen department of larger department stores.

 

Individual Boboli pizza crust, spread with olive oil and minced garlic. The olive oil helps create a crispier crust.

Pizza Crust Options

1. Visit your local pizza restaurant and buy pre-made pizza dough from them. I cover a large cutting board with corn meal, and use a rolling pin to roll out the dough before placing it on a pizza pan.
2. Pillsbury pizza dough. Available in the refrigerated section of grocery stores, along with biscuit and cookie dough. This pizza dough unrolls into a rectangular shape. Spread the dough out onto a medium to large rectangular cookie/baking sheet.
3. I can sometimes find fresh, pre-made pizza dough at my local grocery store. Check the bakery department of grocery stores to see if they have pizza dough available.
4. Pre-made pizza crusts such as Boboli. I like Boboli individual pizza crusts, which are available in a package of two, at most grocery stores.

Add your favorite toppings, such as sun-dried tomato paste, sliced green onions and black olives. 

 

Add mozzarella and Parmesan cheese and fresh herbs such as thyme and oregano. I always have fresh herbs growing in my garden, so I can simply run out to the garden and snip a few herbs to add to all my culinary creations.

 

Bake the pizza according to the pizza crust directions. If you are using pizza dough from a local restaurant, ask them for their cooking recommendations. I use a pizza cutter to make quick work of cutting through the pizza.

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Cuisine Diva