Pizza with Truffle Oil

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to make pizza from scratch, rather than using the trader joe's pre-packed dough. Instead I used Tyler Florence's recipe and it wasn't bad. It made about two thick-crusted pizzas, and I decided to make Garlic Balls with the leftover dough...mmmm. On one of the pizza's I did half pepperoni (for my picky boyfriend Brett) and half potato truffle pizza. The second pizza was covered with sauteed onions, truffle oil, and arugula.

Surprisingly, the potato pizza was more of a hit with my guests than the other. I tried potato pizza for my first time while I was living in Florence. There was a little store by my school that sold it by the slice. It's amazingly delicious. Next time I'll have to make an entire potato pizza, rather than just half, and maybe I'll force Brett to eat it :)

Potato Pizza Ingredients:

prepared pizza dough

1 yukon gold potato

shredded mozzarella cheese

shredded fontina cheese (optional)

olive oil

truffle oil

Turn the oven to 450 degrees and place an empty pizza pan in it to heat up. Meanwhile,

roll out the pizza dough, and then finely slice the potato VERY thin. When the pan has been in the oven to heat, remove from oven, place dough on top and quickly brush dough with olive oil. Sprinkle with a dash of salt, pepper, and garlic granules. Quickly add a layer of the cheese, then a layer of potato slices (kind of fanned out). Drizzle with olive oil and throw it in the oven for 12-15 minutes. Once the pizza is ready, remove it from the oven and lightly drizzle with truffle oil if you have it.

Onion and Truffle Oil Pizza Ingredients:

Prepared pizza dough

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

1 cup sliced mushrooms

shredded mozzarella cheese

shredded parmesean cheese

olive oil

truffle oil

arugula

In a saute pan on medium low heat, add a tablespoon of olive oil, onions, and mushrooms and allow them to carmelize. Stir the onions frequently until they are translucent, then take onions and mushrooms off the heat. Turn oven to 450 degrees and place an empty pizza pan in it to heat it up. Roll out the pizza dough and when the pan is heated, quickly place it on the pan and brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with a dash of salt and garlic granules. Add a layer of sauteed onions and mushrooms, then top with a generous layer of mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle with the parmesean cheese, then throw in the oven to bake for 12-15 minutes. Once the pizza is ready, remove from the oven and add a layer of arugula on top. Drizzle with truffle oil and voila!

Garlic Balls:

prepared pizza dough

freshly chopped garlic

olive oil

salt

Roll out the dough into 1 1/2 inch thick balls. Place on a sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil. Add the chopped garlic and mix, so that each ball is covered in olive oil. Bake in a 450 degree oven until golden brown. Once removed from oven, toss in the remaining olive oil from the sheet pan and serve.