pizza party!

I threw my first dinner party in a while last night. Given my studenthood and not-real employment (summer internship) I was looking for something which could feed a crowd cheaply. So...pizza! Given that I had to throw everything together in a few hours after work I decided to the a no-rise homemade thin crust pizza from The Kitchn. It worked pretty well but, as one of my guests pointed out, it had a kind of pretzely quality. The crust was crunchy and great straight out of the oven, but when it cooled a bit it got kind of gummy. I'll definitely keep this recipe on hand for a pinch, but the quest for The Home-Baked Perfect Crust continues...

The real highlight of the evening was the toppings...

Exhibit A: Bartlett pears, caramelized onions, and lots of Stilton. Props go to this talented lady for the idea. :-)

Exhibit B: Caponata Pizza - plain basil-garlic tomato sauce with capers, eggplant, and a few red pepper flakes. This version was made vegan, but it was great with real mozzie too!

Exhibit C: (The biggest hit) Mushrooms sauteed with a bit of garlic and rosemary, topped with smoked cheddar

For dessert I went for "Summer Tiramisu" - really just trifle done horizontal since I didn't have a big enough glass bowl...Based generally on a recipe from Epicurious but with a LOT more booze (Grand Marnier in the syrup and drizzled over the cake layer).

And a side view with thumbs-up from a satisfied diner. Plus wine. Cake is on the bottom, topped by blueberry sauce, lemon curd and finished by whipped cream cheese topping.