Unique and Unusual Pizzas: Create Your Own Gourmet Pizza Shop

Unique Pizzas: Create Your Own Gourmet Pizza Shop

I usually make all of the following using pre-baked pizza crusts that need only warming and browning in the oven. You can adapt them to suit your own needs or make your own crust from scratch if desired.

Greek Pizza: Start with a thin layer of mozzarella cheese and Greek salad dressing. Add black and Kalamata olives, red onions, chopped tomatoes, feta cheese, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Add more mozzarella on top if you wish. Bake until the cheese is melted and beginning to brown. This pizza is also delicious if you leave off the dressing, onions, and tomatoes until after cooking and add them cold.

BLT Pizza: Bake the crust plain. When it is browned, take it out of the oven and top with mayonnaise, shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, and cooked, crumbled bacon. Shredded cheese is optional.

Shrimp Pizza: Prepare a package of frozen, breaded popcorn shrimp. While it is cooking, spread your pizza crust with cocktail sauce. Add the cooked shrimp to the pizza, sprinkle liberally with parmesan cheese, and bake. Add a squirt of lemon if you desire.

Southwestern Chicken Pizza: Spread chipotle barbecue sauce on the crust. Add chunks of cooked chicken, jalapeno peppers, tomatoes, and shredded cheddar and Monterrey jack cheese. The tomatoes can be added after baking, if you prefer.

Taco Pizza: Spread refried beans and taco sauce on the crust. Top with ground beef, jalapeno peppers, and shredded cheddar cheese. Bake until the crust is golden and cheese is melted, remove from the oven, and add shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, and sour cream.

Mexican Pizza: Similar to the taco pizza. Top the crust with shredded cheddar cheese, ground beef or chicken, jalapeno peppers, and onions. Bake until the crust is golden and cheese is melted. Add shredded lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, sour cream, guacamole, and fresh cilantro. Depending on the amount of toppings, this pizza is often too messy to eat without a fork.

Gourmet Mushroom Pizza: Spread a thin layer of pizza sauce on the crust. Add any combination of mushrooms; button, shiitake, morel, portabella, whatever you desire. Top with a blend of mozzarella, provolone, parmesan, Romano, and asiago cheeses. Bake until the crust is browned and cheeses are melted. This is also delicious if you use a drizzle of olive oil sprinkled with red pepper flakes or garlic butter in place of the pizza sauce.

Peanut Butter Pizza: This is the perfect dessert pizza with which to end your meal. Just be careful what type of crust you use! Make sure it isn’t seasoned or flavored in a way that will clash with the sweetness of your concoction. Bake the crust, and while it is still warm spread peanut butter liberally on it. Top with sliced bananas, then drizzle with chocolate sauce. If you prefer more chocolate taste on your pizza, you can add chocolate chips to the topping. Yummy!