The end of baseball season, marked with coming rain and dropping temperatures, leads us from one sports haven to the next. Monday night football, beers with boys and cheering with the girls. It’s fingers food. It’s rich succulent dishes. It’s Pizza. What better way to enjoy the game, then sharing a victory together over a big pie?
Tomorrow, Saturday the 24th, the Angles take on the Yankees again. So cancel those dinner reservations. Call your friends, get out your pizza stone and let’s get ready to rumble.
Let John Ash’s, From the Earth to the Table, take your pizza party out of the delivery man’s box. His “Potato, Red Onion, Arugula, and Brie Pizza,” will wow your guests. Settle back with a “Double Olive and Pepper Pizza with Prosciutto,” for walk on the satisfyingly salty side. Take your pizza rich and creamy finish with his “Blue Cheese and Caramelized Onion Pizza with Sage.”
Each pizza as with the recipes throughout Ash’s book, is carefully paired to a wines which compliments it. Subtly he takes the fabulous to the extraordinary, as the wine highlights your food’s natural flavors.
Make sure to use a pizza stone, which you can pick up at across the way, to truly develop a crisp crust with just the right bite. By pre-heating your oven and stone together, you will ensure your pizza comes out just as wonderful as the pizzeria down the street.
Blue Cheese and Caramelized Onion Pizza with Sage
Makes enough topping for one 14-inch or two 8 to 10 inch pizzas
1 recipe Pizza Dough with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Herbs (also featured in From the Earth to the Table0
4 TBS extra-virgin olive oil
1 ½ pounds yellow onions, thinly sliced
Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground pepper
12 ounces creamy blue cheese, such as Point Reyes Farmstead Original Blue or an Italian Gorgonzola dolce, crumbled
¼ cup fresh sage
Preheat oven to 500 degrees, preferably with a pizza stone or brick-ove insert in the oven.
In a deep, heavy-bottom pan, heat 3 TBS olive oil and sauté the onions until golden brown, stirring regularly to prevent burning. This may take 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Scatter the onions evenly over the top to the prepared dough. Scatter the blue cheese and sage leaves on top and drizzle with remaining TBS of olive oil. Bake the pizza on the stone for about 15 minutes or until the dough is puffed, golden, and cooked through.
Recommended wine: A rich Petite Sirah or Zinfandel with bright, jammy, berry notes.
