Pizza Night

Pizza is my standard meal the night before a long run or a race. Often I travel to races, so I have to make do with whatever pizza place I can find, but the nights before my long training runs, I usually make my own. When I am am feeling ambitious and have actually managed to plan ahead, I like to bake homemade pizza dough. If I’m in the mood for whole wheat, I go with this crust from Clean Eating Magazine, and if I feel like being nice to Cesar and making a white crust, I like Mark Bittman’s recipe. Often times, I just use a store bought crust, usually opting for either Mama Mary’s Ultra Thin or Archer Farms Ultra Thin and Crispy crusts. I love bread, but the best part of eating pizza is enjoying the variety of toppings that go on the crust, so I always choose the thinnest crust possible. Cesar and I have had a lot of fun lately experimenting with different toppings. Here are a few of our recent favorites.

Caramelized Onion, Fig, Prosciutto, and Ricotta Pizza

I used this recipe from A Hint of Honey as a jumping off point, but I never worry too much about following recipes exactly when it comes to pizza toppings. I caramelized some onions in a mixture of butter and basil infused olive oil and added them to the pizza along with prosciutto, sliced figs, fresh mozzarella, shredded mozzarella, fat free ricotta, and fresh basil. This pizza was sweet, salty, and creamy and definitely worth the price of a container of fresh figs.

Southwestern Chicken Pizza

This pizza was inspired by one of the pizzas on the menu of my favorite Tampa pizza place, Gourmet Pizza Company. It was topped with frozen corn that had been roasted in olive oil and lime juice, black beans, red and green peppers, onions, leftover roasted chicken, fresh mozzarella, and shredded jalapeno jack cheese. I went relatively light on the spiciness since I knew I would be running the next day, but when I ate leftovers after my run, I topped it with a lot of crushed red pepper and some spicy salsa. It was even better with those additions.

Ellie Krieger’s Egg, Ham, and Spinach Pizza

I had never considered putting a whole egg on a pizza until I tried this recipe from one of Ellie Krieger’s cookbooks, but ever since I tried it the first time, I’ve been hooked. This pizza makes a fairly regular appearance in the rotation, as it is relatively light as far as pizza goes. Eggs and spinach are usual suspects in my daily healthy diet, and prosciutto and parmesan both score big in the flavor category, so it’s not necessary to use very much of either to come up with a great tasting pizza. My favorite component of this pizza is the slightly runny egg yolk; I always eat everything around it and save the best for last!



Here are a couple of my other favorite pizza recipes from around the web:

Chicken, Red Grape, and Pesto Pizza from Cooking Light
Strawberry, Balsamic, and Bacon Pizza from Annie’s Eats
Summer Veggie Pizza from Cooking Light
Spinach and Chicken Sausage Pizza from Clean Eating Magazine
Three Cheese White Pizza with Spinach from Cooking Light

I am always (seriously, ALWAYS) on the hunt for new pizza inspirations, so if you have a favorite, please share it with me!