Friday, April 10, 2015

Meatball Marinara Mascarpone Pizza

Meatball Marinara Mascarpone Pizza

Meatballs, marinara sauce, and mozzarella on top of a mascarpone-spread pizza crust.

http://www.farmfreshfeasts.com/2015/04/meatball-marinara-mascarpone-pizza.html

My nephew is a typical teen who has an after school job working at a pizza joint. Except he spends his wages on truffle oil, because one of his favorite pizzas from work has truffle oil as a finish. Can you tell it's not a typical pizza joint?

Over Christmas we were fortunate to host my family of origin. My brother and his family came from Denmark, my brother flew up from Florida, and my folks made the trek from Washington, DC. We crammed a lot of food into a few days people into the kitchen and had fun. During a quiet moment I was able to sit down and page through a pizza cookbook my nephew gave to his mom. It's from his pizza joint, Gorms. Although the book is in Danish I was able to glean the gist of some of the recipes.

http://www.farmfreshfeasts.com/2015/04/meatball-marinara-mascarpone-pizza.html

One ingredient I saw used struck me--mascarpone cheese. Now, I am decidedly NOT a foodie and one way that proves it is that I get mascarpone and marzipan mixed up. They are both used in things I don't typically make--desserts--and I'm not crazy about the taste of the marzipan. I did not realize that mascarpone could be used in a savory application, but after reading that cookbook I decided to get a tub and play.

Laura is more worldly about ingredients than I am, and she tells me that mascarpone is just Italian cream cheese. Well, just like crème fraîche [by the way I am copying and pasting this out of wikipedia each time I talk about crème fraîche since I don't know how to make all those characters--where was I?] Oh! Just like crème fraîche elevates a simple potato sauce better than sour cream, mascarpone gives this pizza a delightfully creamy base. Leftovers even reheat well. Try this next time you've got a hankering for a meatball pizza!

http://www.farmfreshfeasts.com/2015/04/meatball-marinara-mascarpone-pizza.html

For other pizza ideas, please see my Visual Pizza Recipe Index. It's broken down into doughs, vegetarian pizzas, savory pizzas using fruit, and meat-centric pizzas like this one. I also pin pizzas from around the web to my Friday Night Pizza Night Pinterest board, and often share the raw footage of that night's pizza most Fridays on my FB page.

If you've never made pizza at home before, I recommend you take a peek at my Pizza Primer. It's a brain dump of everything I could think of related to enjoying homemade pizza without cursing too much in front of your children or ripping your hair out. For a photo album of pizza dough troubleshooting tips, please see my FB page. You can find my Pizza Primer here.


Meatball Marinara Mascarpone Pizza 

1 pound pizza dough (please refer to my Pizza Primer for dough recipes)
¼ cup mascarpone cheese
½ cup prepared marinara sauce
8 large Italian style meatballs, cooked, cut in half
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning blend (I use Penzey's Pasta Sprinkle)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. If you've got a pizza stone just leave it in the oven all the time like I do. If not, consider asking for one and use a cookie sheet in the meantime. On an oiled piece of parchment paper, stretch the dough out into a vague circle or whatever shape is working for it today. Spread with mascarpone cheese, then with marinara sauce. Gently place meatballs, cut side down evenly across the dough. Top with shredded cheese and shake the Italian seasoning over top.
Slide the whole thing, parchment paper and all, onto the hot stone. Bake for 5 to 8 minutes, then shimmy the paper out from underneath the dough and bake, directly on the stone or cookie sheet, for another 3 to 5 minutes until cheese is bubbly. Cool a few minutes, then slice and serve. 

http://www.farmfreshfeasts.com/2015/04/meatball-marinara-mascarpone-pizza.html

18 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Pam,
      I was pretty pleased with how this turned out.
      Thanks!

      Delete
  2. Perfect for Friday night pizza night and just my luck, I made 3 dozen meatballs yesterday!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kristen,
      Now that is luck. I've got another round of meatballs in my freezer--after making them I tried out my snazzy new vacuum sealer (my brother gave it to me for Christmas) and I have no idea how well they will thaw.
      I suppose we'll find out!
      Thanks!

      Delete
  3. wowza, my husband would die for this pizza. I mean I'd love it too, but he'd absolutely kill for it. looks so good!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Amber,
      Easy now, let's not break any laws over pizza. There's plenty for everyone.
      (Actually my son polished off the leftovers of this pizza, but still).
      Thanks!

      Delete
  4. I love mascarpone but never thought to use it on a pizza! Looks wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Valerie,
      You can see why mascarpone stuck out at me while 'reading' the Danish pizza cookbook. That, and the fact that I could read mascarpone without translating it in my head or via Google Translate!
      Thanks!

      Delete
  5. That totally sounds like my kind of pizza joint! And yeah, I am so making a pizza I can finish with truffle oil soon. Your meatball mascarpone looks amazing, too - I'm hungry all over again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Heather,
      My folks and brother will be visiting this week and have promised to eat pizza at their grandson/nephew's work, so I'll need to visit this joint vicariously through them. And then get my passport renewed!
      Thanks!

      Delete
  6. I actually cook my pizzas directly on the stone sans parchment paper. Would the latter make my life easier?

    Also I had pizza last night using Tomato Pesto from last September, and it was divine. I have you to thank for that. I appreciate it and YOU.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Meghan,
      Question--are you preheating your stone or just putting the dough on the cool stone and then putting the toppings on the dough and then sticking the whole thing in the oven?
      If you are doing the former, then you are a rock star. I really suck at transferring an uncooked-yet-topped pizza onto a hot stone. Like, screaming and cursing in front of my wee little darlings type suck while the previously beautiful pizza lies in a heap dripping down the back of the oven . . . .
      If you are doing the latter--then you're missing out on what a hot stone does to a pizza crust (and not reading the first sentence of the instructions!).
      Parchment paper makes my transition, getting my topped uncooked crust onto the hot stone in the oven, easier on my kids' ears and my conscience.
      And thank you--that tomato pesto rocks! It's my most popular recipe and I was so delighted to try my versions when Heather posted it.

      Delete
  7. The picture tells the story. I wish I could reach through the screen and grab a slice. :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Susan,
      The picture is too blue because the sun was going down, and then my son at the pieces I'd saved for a reshoot. I'm not making enough $ to justify redoing and redoing until the photos are amazing, but the recipe is worth making so we go to post with the photos at hand. Thank you, Donald Rumsfeld, for that quote that I paraphrase often.
      But if you wanna eat the pizza despite the blue photos--thank you!

      Delete
  8. I wasn't going to have pizza for dinner, but then I found your post...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lily,
      Around here, pizza on a Friday night is a given (unless it's football season and in that case more like Sunday night) but I've been known to try a few things for Saturday lunch or just because. I'm delighted my family is always up for a pizza.
      Thanks!

      Delete
  9. oh my. I always want meatballs on pizza and I never get around to making them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kristy,
      Buy some meatballs. I'm not the meatball police! Just use big balls so you can cut them in half. I resisted typing any comments but do know I made some in my head ;)
      Thanks!

      Delete