Pizza Party - Part 2 Toppings

Pizza is one of my favorite things to eat so I paid special attention to the pizza toppings for our pizza party.  I brought out the best of what I had in my fridge and the stuff I got at the farmers market.  I wanted to have a good mix of toppings for everyone's pizzas so people could create a great variety of pizzas with a good balance of flavors.  I categorized my toppings so you can see how I did it.  I tried to put in 2 to 3 items in each category.

Pizza base

Slow-roasted tomatoes

Basil pesto

Meat

Proscuitto

Anchovies

Extra goodies for flavor 

Caramelized onions

Roasted garlic

Cheese

Freshly grated Fontina

Fresh mozzarella

Fresh herbs/greens

Fresh basil

Fresh thyme

Fresh arugula

I almost forgot to mention that I had the tomatoes and garlic roasting in the two ovens while Mat was helping me to caramelize the onions.  Our house smelled divine as my brother in law and his girlfriend joined us.

I also made a garlic, red pepper infused olive oil to brush on the pizza dough before putting the toppings on it.  The olive oil creates a nice golden color on the crust of the pizza dough when it bakes.

Recipe

Ingredients

1/4 c extra virgin olive oil

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

Sprinkle of crushed red pepper

Directions

Add olive oil, garlic cloves, and crushed red pepper in a small sauce pan.  Simmer on low for 10 minutes 'til the garlic lightly browns.  Do not burn the garlic.

I am posting part 3 tomorrow so stay tuned!