Recipe: Prosciutto arugula pizza with homemade bread machine dough

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. I can’t even remember the last time I was excited about V-Day. Maybe in middle school when carnations and candy-grams were sold, and the more you collected, the more popular you looked. How lame and superficial now that I think back on it. But those were the woeful days of adolescence, I guess.Now that I’m thirty-something and have a permanent Valentine, Valentine’s Day has turned into a consumer-driven joke of a holiday. It’s not even really a holiday. We all still have to go to work on Tuesday. Double-lame.I realize this post is sounding cynical. But in reality, I feel like every day should celebrate those we love. Not just spouses and significant others but parents, cousins, friends, and pets. Why should it be just one day a year that we do something nice for those we love? Indeed, Valentine’s Day exists only to make Americans waste their money on bouquets and stuffed bears and to make the singles feel worse. Bah humbug.People ask me what my husband and I are doing for V-Day. A few years ago, I enjoyed going out to a nice restaurant. Then it would be just going out to any restaurant and engaging in the act of conversation and communion together. This year, I just want to cook a meal at home with my hubby.Last time, I gave you lamb chops. But if you’re not that fancy food kind of person, here’s a less expensive yet just as tasty alternative. What is more romantic than Italian food? Ever since we bought a bread machine, we’ve enjoyed making our own pizza dough at home. The possibilities are endless for pizza—you can virtually top it with anything you see lying around in your fridge. That’s the beauty of it. Lately, my favorite toppings for homemade pizza are prosciutto, arugula, and fresh mozzarella. After our pie at San Francisco’s Pizzeria Delfina, I became a fan of arugula. I used to dislike this leafy green because of its bitterness, but now I find the dry taste a good balance to richer, fattier foods (like prosciutto). Maybe I’m all growns up now. **Tear**If you get the right fresh ingredients, this simple pizza will blow you away. So go ahead, score some points with your Valentine by way of the stomach. Or if you’re single, indulge yourself. If the Blind can Cook it, so can you. Buon appetito! 

: Prosciutto Arugula Pizza

: Uses pizza dough made from a bread machine

 

1. 1 c. flat beer
2. 2 tbsp. butter
3. 2 tbsp. sugar
4. 1 tsp. salt
5. 2.5 c. all-purpose flour
6. 2.25 tsp. yeast
7. dried herbs to taste (oregano, rosemary, thyme)
8. olive oil
9. pizza sauce
10. prosciutto, cut into strips
11. arugula, roughly chopped
12. fresh buffalo mozzarella, thinly sliced
13. parmesan cheese

 

1. Add beer, butter, sugar, salt, flour, yeast, and any herbs if using into bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select DOUGH setting, and press START.
2. Remove dough from machine when cycle is complete. Roll or press dough to cover pizza pans or stones, using dusted flour to prevent dough from sticking. Brush lightly with olive oil. Cover and let stand 15 min.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
4. Bake empty pizza crusts for approx. 10 min.
5. Remove from oven and add sauce and mozzarella. Bake another 10 to 15 min. or until crust is lightly browned and crispy.
6. Remove from oven, top with prosciutto and arugula. Grate parmesan cheese to taste. Serve hot.

 

or a much quicker method, use premade pizza crust like Boboli.

Preparation time: 15 minute(s)Cooking time: 25 minute(s)