Apples on pizza?!

Well, I did it again and this time with a main course: I served up an original creation! I suppose I just had to start blogging to give myself a much-needed push in that direction and quit cooking like a novice. Actually, to tell you the truth, my thou-shalt-not-depart-from-what-is-written-on-paper mentality generalizes to other domains, and it is something my family and close friends love to make fun of. Take music, for instance. I began learning piano when I was 8 years old and never plunked out anything that deviated even remotely from the score. That is, until I successfully auditioned to play synthesizer for my high school's show choir. Aside from the pianists and me, the band consisted of Geoff the rough-around-the-edges guitarist, Andy the heartthrob drummer, and Dan the mysterious meditating bassist. All three of them were much cooler than my meek 13-year-old self could ever have hoped to be, and all three of them were (apparent) experts in musical improvisation. So you could imagine their amusement when I'd ask them to "teach me how to jam" or simply exclaim with exasperation, "But I don't know how to rock out like you guys do!" Clearly, what I didn't know at the time was that you can never "learn" how to jam... you just buck up and do it. And, although it took me 5 years of adhering religiously to cookbooks to realize this, the same holds true in the kitchen.

My idea for this particular recipe was inspired by a dish I saw on the menu at Spagio, our favorite wine bar/restaurant in the neighborhood. I thought apples and brie on pizza sounded great, but I couldn't convince BFFT to order one with me. So when a week went by without our consuming the wedge of brie we'd bought from Trader Joe's (we meant to eat it with champagne but that didn't end up happening - I guess we were too thirsty!), I decided to put it to good use. After all, BFFT couldn't refuse to eat a pizza I'd made especially for us, could he?


Deep-Dish Style Pizza with Apples and Brie (the dough recipe is from Cuisine at Home; it makes enough for two 9" pizzas)

For the pizza dough:

3/4 c warm water (105-115 degrees)
1 T sugar
1 package (1/4 oz) active dry yeast (2 1/4 t)
2 T oil
2 c all-purpose flour
1/3 c yellow cornmeal
2 t kosher salt

For the filling:

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and sliced
1 wedge (4-5 oz) brie, sliced, rind removed
1/3 c chopped walnuts
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Combine water, sugar, and yeast. Proof (i.e., let sit) until foamy, about 5 minutes, then add oil.

Mix flour, cornmeal, and salt in a bowl. Knead by hand for 10 minutes, or until smooth. Form dough into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about one hour. Punch dough down and re-shape into a ball. Return to oiled bowl, cover, and let rise again, about one hour.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees with the rack on the bottom; coat a 9" cast iron skillet with 1-2 teaspoons oil (I used butter instead because I thought it would better complement the filling).

Divide dough in half; wrap one half in plastic and freeze for later use. Roll out remaining ball, line the prepared skillet, and blind bake for 5-10 minutes (I find that 5 is generally sufficient).

Brush crust with 1 teaspoon of butter, top with brie slices, and top brie with apple slices. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bake for 20-30 minutes, depending on how chewy/crunchy you like your crust. Let pizza stand 5 minutes before slicing.


Voila, my first main-dish culinary "jamming session"! Geoff, Andy, and Dan would be so proud if they could see me now.

And the verdict from BFFT? He gave the recipe a thumbs-up and encouraged me after the fact to post it here (hence no picture). I had thought about brushing the crust with apple butter, which if I remember correctly is what they did at Spagio, but I ultimately decided it would be too sweet for BFFT. Yet another testament to my newfound willingness to depart at least a little from established recipes.