Homemade.

The other night I was craving pizza from a well known Bay Area pizza house, but couldn't make the trek out to Oakland to get a slice.  I decided to attempt my own, which turned out pretty good.  I cheated a little and used a pre-made dough because I am awful with "breads", but the rest of the items I used were fresh from the Concord Farmers Market.  The pizza turned out crunchy on the edges and chewy, gooey on the inside, which if I do say so myself, was quite tasty.  The hubbs loved it and agreed it was actually better on the second day as leftovers...

*Broiled Spinach, Bacon & Gorgonzola Pizza*
1 lb. pre-made pizza dough (I got mine from Trader Joe's)
1 large bushel of baby spinach
1 head of garlic, chopped finely
1 lb. uncured hickory bacon (Kinder's is great)
1/2 lb. fresh Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
1/2 lb. white mushrooms (if preferred)
Olive oil

Take a large non-stick cookie sheet, or a pizza pan if you own one, and coat with olive oil, leaving just a sheen to keep the dough from sticking.  Set your oven to 450 degrees.  Spread the dough evenly across the cookie sheet leaving about a half inch space around the edges for the pizza to expand.  Once your dough has been spread you need to work quickly adding the toppings.  I used the spinach as a foundation, added the garlic, then the Gorgonzola cheese.  I cooked the bacon separately in a skillet until it was almost burnt in order for it to be really crispy.  Once the bacon cooled, I used kitchen shears to cut the bacon into small pieces, the I spread the pieces across the top of the pizza.  I decided to toss in a few mushrooms for good measure, mostly because I love them.  Now that the pizza toppings are resting on the dough, sprinkle olive oil lightly over the entire pie.  Place in oven and bake for 12 minutes.  Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes.

The glory of this pizza is that the garlic roasts into the crust, the Gorgonzola melts over every inch of the spinach and the bacon stays super crunchy on top of it all.  I sliced up a few vine ripe tomatoes to top off my pieces, balancing out the salty, crisp flavors.  The pizza itself is very rich, without sauce, but I suppose if you are a sauce fiend you could add a tomato base under the spinach.

I think there are a couple pieces left in the fridge- they may not be there in about 20 minutes when I decide it's lunch time!

Enjoy,
B