Patti Wagon: Pizza Pizza

I vividly remember not getting everything I wanted as a child. But when I look back at kitchen appliances, I was spoiled rotten. Here is a short list of appliances I asked for and subsequently received:

Grill Cheese Maker? Check. IT CREASES THE EDGES FOR GOODNESS SAKE.
Waffle Iron? Check.
Ice Cream Maker? Check.
Multiple George Foreman Grills with multifarious functions? Check and Check.
Raclette? Cheque.
Pizza Stone? Check.

Thinking about this makes me really thankful that I grew up with a family who fostered my love of cooking. UPDATE: I was reminded that I asked for a fry daddy (many times over), which I never received. Maybe there's something to be thankful for there too.

Enough with the sap. Back to the pizza stone. I still have one and love to use. (Side note: Another great way to bake a pizza - use a cast iron skillet. Put the pizza in a preheated skillet, then bake it in the oven until the top is done. Then, put the skillet on a hot burner to crisp up the bottom.)

Kale, Sweet Potato, and Red Onion Pizza

When I make my own pizza dough, I usually opt for the recipe in my California Pizza Kitchen cookbook, but decided to try out a new recipe for whole wheat dough. While it doesn't quite capture all that is regular pizza dough, I still recommend it.

I topped the dough with pesto, then loaded up pre-roasted sweet potatoes, red onions, and kale, a sprinkle of pine nuts, and finally mozzarella cheese.

(For the veggie roasting, I sliced a sweet potato and red onion very thinly with a mandolin. I tore the kale into bite-sized pieces, removing all the tough spines. Then I topped everything with a bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper and roasted it in the oven at 350 for about 25 minutes.)

I baked the pizza on a pre-heated pizza stone at 500 for about 12 minutes.