PIZZA! Two Unusual Pizzas to Try

Mmmmm. Pizza. If you like the fruit-on-pizza thing, you will love these.

If you don't..... have you tried fruit on pizza? It's pretty good. Except for the pineapple thing. I just can't do the pineapple.

Without further ado:

Apple & Gorgonzola Pizza
(Adapted quite a bit from some non-descript low-fat cookbook on the shelf at home.)

2 bags of ready-made pizza dough
2 onions, thinly sliced
2 apples, peeled and diced
4 oz gorgonzola (I used some ghetto brand of american bleu cheese that was on sale- it worked just fine)
8 oz part-skim mozzarella, shredded
dried oregano
olive oil or non-stick cooking spray

Start with the onions: add to a non-stick pan with some cooking spray or olive oil and saute over medium heat for.... a long time. 10 minutes if you like your onions yellow and soft, 20 minutes for golden brown, 30+ for caramelized. I like mine on the caramelized side, hence the long time frame. Keep an eye on them to avoid burning.

Heat the oven to 450. That probably should have come first, but really, those onions take so darned long, you could turn the oven on whenever and have plenty of time to preheat.

Thoroughly oil one large baking pan or two smaller pans. Spread the dough out and set aside.

Do the dishes, play with the kids, wash the cat.... and wait for the onions to caramelize.

When the onions are fully cooked, spread them over the dough. Top with 1/2 of the mozzarella, the apples and the gorgonzola, then finish with the other half of the mozzarella and a sprinkling of oregano.

Place in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let sit for a few minutes to allow the cheese to re-solidify from the molten, gooey, apple-y mass that it has become. Slice and enjoy.

________________________________________


This next recipe came from, believe it or not, Kraft foods. Hence the brand-name dropping. At first glance, this pizza probably looks pretty ghetto- canned alfredo sauce? Bacon bits? I can't vouch for the bacon bits (my vegetarian fiance didn't buy my attempt to convince him that there wasn't any real bacon in them). But sans bacon bits, this pizza is pretty freakin' good.

Carmelized Pear, Blue Cheese and Bacon Pizza

2 Tbsp. butter
2 medium pears, cored, each cut into 12 lengthwise slices
2 Tbsp. firmly packed brown sugar
1 bag of ready-made pizza dough
1/2 cup DI GIORNO Alfredo Sauce
1 cup POLLY-O All Natural Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese
3/4 cup ATHENOS Crumbled Blue Cheese
3/4 cup OSCAR MAYER Real Bacon Recipe Pieces

MELT butter in medium skillet on medium heat. Add pears; sprinkle evenly with brown sugar. Cook 2 to 3 minutes or until sugar is melted and pears are evenly coated, stirring occasionally. Remove skillet from heat; set aside.

SPREAD each pizza crust with 2 Tbsp. Alfredo sauce; top each with layers of 1/4 cup of the mozzarella cheese, 3 Tbsp. of the blue cheese, 3 Tbsp. of the bacon and 6 pear slices. Place on baking sheet.

BAKE at 425°F for 10-15 minutes or until topping is golden and bubbly.