New York is a foodie’s paradise, which has proved dangerous for my wallet and my waistline. This weekend a few of my friends and I went to Bogota Bistro, where I ate the best empanadas, plantain chips and spent $12 on a girly mixed drink.

Then, the next day, I started my first boot camp class and was doing push ups in the snow. ugh.

I am trying to eat in as much as possible, which is challenging since our Brooklyn kitchen is one-person wide and there seems to be only one working stove top. I’ve been relying on the oven heavily.

I’m also doing without many of my favorite cooking tools. I appreciate the challenge, it feels oddly rustic and comforting, bringing me back to my cooking roots. We rolled these pizza crusts out with a wine bottle and our hands.

Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in the gadgetry of life, especially with cooking. My food processor is in storage, which means I’m spending more time actually handling the food. There is something very therapeutic about the ritual of preparing food. It’s nice to have habit and purpose during such a hectic time in my life.

goat cheese & pear mini-pizza with balsamic glaze

 

Prep time

25 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

40 mins

 

Make one large pizza or mini pizzas with goat cheese, pear and red onion. This recipe made 7 mini-pizzas that were about 4-5 inches in diameter. This recipe works best with a thin-crust pizza.

Author: heidi

Recipe type: Main

Yields: 3-4

Ingredients

Pizza Dough

• You can use pre-made pizza dough or your favorite recipe. This is my favorite recipe.

Toppings

• 1 cup Balsamic Vinegar
• Olive oil
• Italian herbs: dried basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme
• 1 Pear
• ¼ large red onion
• 4 oz. goat cheese, softened

Instructions

Preheat Oven

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Prepare the Pizza Dough

1. If you are making the dough from scratch, you'll want to be sure to prepare it several hours ahead of time and give it enough time to rise.

Balsamic Reduction

1. Warm 1 cup balsamic vinegar over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Wait until the reduction is about ½ the original amount, or about 20 minutes. It will be thicker and more syrup-y.

Prep the Pizza

1. Thinly slice the pear and red onion.
2. Cover a baking sheet with a layer of aluminum foil.
3. Roll out the pizza dough to make one large pizza or several mini pizzas. Place the dough on the baking sheet.
4. Cover the dough in a thin layer of olive oil and rub in the dried Italian herbs.
5. Spread a lavish layer of goat cheese on the dough.
6. Top with a few slices of pear and red onion.
7. Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
8. Once it's finished, drizzle with the balsamic reduction.

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