Pear and Blue Cheese Pizza

I've been meaning to blog this recipe for a while now. My obsession with this pizza began on Christmas Eve when my family went to one of my favorite restaurants for dinner, the Cheesecake Factory, my aunt decided to order the Roasted Pear and Blue Cheese Pizzette from the small dish menu as her entree and let me have a bite. From that bite I was smitten. I knew I had to have more and find a way to make it at home and make it healthier since I know the one at Cheesecake Factory is probably loaded with calories and fat and I could lighten it up quite a bit at home. First things first, we begin with a homemade whole wheat crust. I use my breadmachine to make the pizza dough, I'll include my recipe for that in the case you may have a breadmachine, if you don't any pizza dough will do, but a thin dough seems to be the winner with this pizza or pizzette. I decided to keep it small, using my smallest cookie sheet as the baking pan, the sheet measures 13 1/4" L x 9 1/4" W x .625" D, it's the perfect size for two people or makes two meals for one it seems.

Pear and Blue Cheese Pizza (Hot Housewife Original, adapted from Cheesecake Factory menu item)

Ingredients:
1/2 of 1.5 lb whole wheat pizza dough recipe (see below) or any pizza dough of your choosing that will fit in pan

3/4 cup Italian Style Six Cheese Blend Shredded Cheese, Divided
1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles
1/2 D'anjou pear, peeled, cored, and sliced thin
1 tsp olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, minced

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F
2.Roll out your dough on a lightly floured surface to desired thickness, I prefer it thin and with my dough recipe and this amount to fit in the pan, the dough ends up being fairly thin.
3. Spray cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
4. Shape dough into pan.
5. Drizzle and then brush the EVOO on the dough.
6. Peel and mince garlic and then spread on dough.
7. Sprinkle half the Italian cheese on dough.
8. Arrange sliced pears on pizza.
9. Sprinkle the 1/2 cup of blue cheese crumbles on top of pizza and especially on top of pear slices.
10. Sprinkle remaining half of Italian cheese on top of pizza.
11. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
12. Cut and enjoy.

I cut into 8 slices and each slice is roughly 95 calories, 3.5 g fat, 12.5 g carbs, 1.7 g fiber, and 3.5 g protein using the whole wheat dough recipe below.

Breadmachine 100% Whole Wheat Pizza Dough (1.5 lb):
Add to machine in order listed
1 cup water (80-90 degrees F)
3/4 tsp honey
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 3/4 tsp yeast

Set breadmachine to pizza dough cycle and 1.5 lb loaf size and let it do it's thing. When it's done, for the pizza recipe above you will only need half, so divide the dough in half (I use my food scale to ensure I make my dough balls equal halves by weight) and then use half and tightly wrap the other half in plastic wrap and then place in a freezer Ziploc bag and freeze for another time.

 

Cheddar-Crusted Apple Pie

I love the combination of apples and cheese. I know it's odd, but anyone who's been to Vermont will tell you, the only way to eat apple pie is to finish it off with a slice of cheddar. I also adore the Melting Pot, and what's my favorite thing at MP? If you guessed the cheese fondue and Granny Smith apples, you would be correct! I am just obsessed with the sweet and salty combo. A Vermonter friend of mine mentioned the other day that she was making apple pie with a cheddar crust, intrigued, I decided to Google for recipes and found one from Cooking Light that I decided to try last night in addition to a menu completely comprised of items from this month's issue of the magazine. The taste of the pie was a little different, but still delicious.

Cheddar-Crusted Apple Pie (adapted from Cooking Light)
Yield: 10 servings (serving size: 1 wedge)

Ingredients 

Crust:

2 1/4  cups  all-purpose flour, divided
3/4  cup  (3 ounces) extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (I used Cabot 50% Reduced Fat Cheddar)
1/2  cup  ice water
1/2  teaspoon  salt
1/4  cup  chilled butter, cut into small pieces
 

Filling:
10  cup  very thinly sliced peeled Granny Smith apple (about 2 3/4 pounds) (I used 5 large apples)
2  tablespoons  fresh lemon juice
1/3  cup  packed brown sugar
1/4  cup  granulated sugar
1/4  teaspoon  ground cinnamon
1/4  teaspoon  ground nutmeg
1/4  teaspoon  ground ginger
Dash of salt
Cooking spray
1  large egg white, lightly beaten

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°.
To prepare crust, lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 1 tablespoon flour and cheese in a small bowl; toss well. Place mixture in freezer for 10 minutes.
Combine 1/4 cup flour and 1/2 cup ice water in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk until well blended to form a slurry. Combine 1 3/4 cups flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl; cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in cheese mixture. Add slurry; toss with a fork. Sprinkle surface with up to 1 tablespoon ice water, tossing with a fork until moist and crumbly (do not form a ball). Mixture will seem slightly dry. Dough was very, very dry at this point, I added about 1 TBSP more ice water to at least get the flour to stick to be able to complete the next step.
Divide dough in half. Gently press each half into a 4-inch circle on 2 sheets of overlapping heavy-duty plastic wrap; cover with 2 additional sheets of overlapping plastic wrap. Roll each dough half, still covered, into a 12-inch circle. Chill 30 minutes or until plastic wrap can be easily removed.
To prepare filling, combine apple and lemon juice in a large bowl. Combine 3 tablespoons flour, brown sugar, and next 5 ingredients (brown sugar through dash of salt) in a small bowl. Sprinkle brown sugar mixture over apples; toss well to coat.
To assemble pie, remove top sheets of plastic wrap from 1 dough circle; fit dough, plastic wrap side up, into a 10-inch deep-dish pie plate coated with cooking spray, letting dough extend over edge of plate. Remove remaining plastic wrap. Spoon filling into crust. Brush edges of crust lightly with water. Remove top sheets of plastic wrap from remaining dough circle; place, plastic wrap side up, on apple mixture. Remove remaining plastic wrap. Press edges of dough together; fold edges under, and flute. Cut 3 (1-inch) slits in top of pastry using a sharp knife.
Combine egg white and 1 tablespoon water; brush over top and edges of pie. Place pie on a baking sheet; bake at 400° for 45 minutes or until golden. Cool on a wire rack.