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Friday, September 27, 2013

Cheddar Apple Onion Bacon Pizza

Cheddar Apple Onion Bacon Pizza

Two notes!  First, I've installed a print button, with options to remove images and non-recipe verbiage, in case you'd like to print a recipe.  It's down at the bottom of the post, let me know if you like it.
Second, I wrote the CSA Cookoff segment this week on HOMEGROWN.org, since I was merely walking a half marathon while Jennifer was having a blast at Farm Aid.  You can check out my Slow Cooker Sweet Potato and Chicken Curry recipe here!

Cheddar Apple Onion Bacon Pizza | Farm Fresh Feasts

In the pre-braces life, a favorite 'I don't want to cook' supper when it was just me and the kids was popcorn, apple slices, and cheese cubes.  I liked to make it with Gala apples, though my favorite apple is the delicious Larry variety from the Shenandoah valley that I got in a fruit share in our first ever CSA farm share. That easy meal satisfied the sweet, the salty, the need to chew and the desire not to be hungry in an hour.
Until we embark on the post-braces life, I will miss that meal . . . and corn on the cob, and everything bagels with lox, cream cheese, red onion, capers, and summer tomato.  Note to self, sneak out and get a bagel with the fixings before all the tomatoes are gone.  I never was a fan of Laffy Taffy, so I can't say I'm missing it.
Last week my mom brought me a red delicious apple, and since I'm not a fan of eating red delicious plain, I was primed to think of pizza.  When I saw this Apple Harvest Cheddar at Costco (with apple pieces and cinnamon--how cool does that sound?), I thought it would be good on a pizza with apples and something else, so I bought it.  I didn't really think I wanted to try corn on the pizza to recreate my easy supper, but caramelized onions and bacon sounded like good replacements.
Conveniently, I'd caramelized a mess of onions in the crock pot (I used and love Dorothy's method, though I'm going to try Alanna's Sweet, Dark and Dreamy method next time.  For research purposes) and froze them in recipe-size portions, so it was easy to grab what I needed.  I also had bacon baked and frozen.  My freezer can be a magical place.  Is yours?
Cheddar Apple Onion Bacon Pizza | Farm Fresh Feasts
In the interests of full disclosure, in addition to my mom giving me the apple, my neighbor gave me a big bag of onions that I used to make these caramelized onions.  I bought the rest of the stuff.
It's possible I'm becoming a foodie.  The jury is still out, but go ahead and try this pizza (with any type of cheddar cheese, of course, if you're not near a Costco) while the deliberations continue.


Cheddar Apple Onion Bacon Pizza | Farm Fresh Feasts

Cheddar Apple Onion Bacon Pizza

1 pound pizza dough (see my Pizza Primer for hints, tips, collages on pizza-making at home)
olive oil for brushing the crust
1/2 cup caramelized onions (recipe links above)
1 small apple, cored and sliced (core to Crystal the Composting Guinea Pig, or the worms, or compost)
1 slice bacon, crisply cooked and chopped into small bits (yes, only 1)
1 to 11/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I used Apple Harvest Cheddar cheese)

Preheat oven (and a baking stone if you have one) to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.  On an oiled piece of parchment paper, stretch out dough into an apple shape--or whatever tickles your fancy like a wiener dog spotting a squirrel.  Brush dough with olive oil, then spread caramelized onions across it.  Top with apple slices in a pleasing pattern (you may not use the whole apple, and can eat it or give it to Crystal, she's still grieving over Quartz).  Top with bacon and cheese.  Slide the parchment and pizza onto the preheated baking stone (or onto a cookie sheet if that's what you've got) and bake for about 5 to 8 minutes.  Shimmy the crust off the parchment, and continue baking directly on the stone or cookie sheet another 3-5 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly.  Cool on a rack, then slice and serve.

This post is shared on the From The Farm Blog HopClever Chicks Blog HopTasty TuesdaysWednesday Fresh Foods Link Up, What's Cookin' WednesdayWhat's In The BoxFood on Friday
Cheddar Apple Onion Bacon Pizza | Farm Fresh Feasts

19 comments:

  1. You are the pizza queen! And the combination of apples and cheddar is so New England -- we like to top our apple pie with cheddar cheese, which sounds weird, but it's really good.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lydia,
      Even though I grew up on the East coast with Midwestern parents, I know to eat my apple pie topped with a slice of cheddar cheese. The one I learned as an adult, from my spouse, was to eat my pasty (Cornish meat pie) with a hunk of cheddar cheese. And a beer.
      Apple pie and cheese doesn't sound weird at all--just very good. Thanks!

      Delete
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    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh wow. This looks amazing. Such a classic combination of ingredients. I'm going apple picking upstate tomorrow, so there will be tons and tons of apple recipes on my blog. Might have to try this one, too. Thanks!

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    Replies
    1. Julie,
      I don't know--your Ultimate Pepperoni Pizza really is the ultimate. I mean, where can you go from there? It looks so good!

      Delete
  4. The crock pot caramelized onions sound like a game-changer! I don't have a crock pot, and after looking into it I doubt my rice cooker would work for this use. But I might try slowly roasting the onions in the oven instead of the usual stovetop method, and then freezing them. The idea of having caramelized onions on hand in the freezer is such a good one.

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    Replies
    1. Mary,
      I too doubt that your rice cooker would work. I don't know what kind you have, but mine has an automatic shut off, and I don't think the Keep Warm function would be hot enough. Plus I can hear my Japanese coworkers telling me not to use my rice cooker for anything other than rice, to maintain it's purity (so I've never tried to do anything else with it).
      Please let me know how the slow roasting works, if you try it. I know it's great for tomatoes. Thanks!

      Delete
  5. I love this combination of ingredients, even the bacon. I used to put this on a panini sandwich sans caramelized onions. I can't wait to try this one. I'll be on the lookout for the perfect cheddar now. Oh hell, I'm always on the lookout for the perfect cheddar.
    P.S. I'm glad to see the Weiner dogs making an appearance (verbally anyway) and you tell Crystal to hang in there. Poor little pig misses her buddy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That panini sounds good. I was thinking about your amazing grilled cheese and plotting out my own grilled cheese post for early April since that's grilled cheese month/day/whatever.
      The wiener dogs are ridiculously photogenic--and the tinier one, Oliver, will be making his debut soon. He's already debuted on the FB page "helping" to photograph the CSA Cookoff farm share photo, but yesterday he was standing on 2 legs to get a sniff of a deconstructed cabbage roll skillet in my dad's lap. Just adorable. Crystal is starting to make more pig noises (she was quite quiet for about a week), and we're giving her extra love--thank you for thinking of her.

      Delete
  6. This looks really yummy! I would eat it just as is, but I have a picky eater aka my husband. So I'll probably just take the apples out. Can't wait to try it out! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Katrina,
      Good luck with your picky eater! Have patience, my picky eaters have really reformed over the years.
      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  7. This is so awesome! I just started a little party called Mystery Dish (think Mystery Box challenge on Masterchef) and cheddar cheese, bacon, and apples were ingredients that could be used. You just made a Mystery Dish without knowing it! I dub this pizza, awesome. :-D

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    Replies
    1. Joshua,
      I'm a poet, and I . . . . wasn't aware. :) I tend to think of my weekly CSA farm share crate as my own personal Iron Chef competition. It's fun, isn't it?
      Thanks!

      Delete
  8. I want this pizza!! Thanks for linking up with What's Cookin' Wednesday!!

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    Replies
    1. Karly,
      I want Salsa Verde Pulled Pork.
      Trade ya!

      Delete
  9. yum! I love the combination of apples and cheese...especially when they are cooked.

    thanks for sharing and linking up!

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    Replies
    1. Heather,
      I'm thinking up a muffin as I type. And I owe it to you for the phrase 'when they are cooked' because that tripped the trigger in my brain.
      Thanks!

      Delete
  10. Never tried a fruit pizza before, this recipe looks easy to make, so I think it is a great opportunity to experience something new.

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