{Guest Post Friday} Apple, Goat Cheese and Pecan Pizza

It's that time again {FRIDAY!!} and I couldn't be more excited!  The weather is supposed to be sunny and in the mid-70's, multiple wineries are screaming calling my name and I'm headed to the Skins game on Sunday with my cousins who are visiting from college.  Life is pretty effin good right now.

And you know else is really good??  Well this amazing guest post of course!  Christiane aka The Mom Chef needs absolutely no introduction.  Her blog Taking On Magazines One Recipe At a Time was one of the first blogs I ever came across and has always been one of my favorites, as well as an inspiration, especially because most of the recipes I make come from countless magazines I pick up from the store!

(Seriously you should see my magazine collection, my friends think I have a problem)

Not only is Christiane a mommy and a fabulous cook, she's a world traveler as well!  Being born in France, living in Lebanon and having Armenian and Belgium parents, she has a VAST range of culinary inspiration and it absolutely shows in the food she cooks.  Head on over to her blog now to check them out and please welcome The Mom Chef as my guest blogger!

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Normally if someone who had a blog with the word "skinny" in the title would ask if I'd like to do a guest post, I'd run in the other direction.  Quickly.  Not this time though.  I jumped at the chance when Kelly asked because I'm going through Cooking Light this month.  What a match made in heaven.

Since it's Friday and Friday is pizza day at every school in the U.S., I thought I'd treat Hubby and me to a slice or two along with every child sitting in a cafeteria today.  I'll bet they're not having an Apple, Goat Cheese and Pecan Pizza though.  Care to join us??

 

The Process

This recipe comes from the Super Fast section of Cooking Light.  Because it's there, there's a good chance it will take longer for your oven to heat than for this pizza to be prepared.  In fact, I'm sure of it.

Start with a pre-made pizza crust.  I really do try to make a recipe exactly as it's written, but in this case I was unable to find a six-grain crust so I had to settle with as thin a white flour crust as I could get.  Just pretend the pizza looks like it's whole grain, please.

Once the crust is on the pizza stone or baking sheet, cover it with about three thinly sliced, cored Fuji apples, then a cup of crumbled goat cheese.  Sprinkle fresh thyme over that and put it in the oven.  Cooking will take around 8-12 minutes (mine was closer to 12).  The cheese won't ooze like Mozzarella does, but it will soften up and start browning.  That's when you know it's done.

In the few minutes the pizza bakes, combine olive oil, Dijon mustard, lemon juice and honey in a bowl.  Add arugula and toss.  Toast up some almonds on the stove.  All at the same time.  We're women; we can multi-task.

When the pizza is ready, take it out of the oven, let it sit for a minute or two.  Sprinkle on toasted, chopped pecans, top with the arugula and serve.

The Verdict

If you like goat cheese, you will love this.  I hang my head as I admit that I'm not a huge goat cheese fan.  Hubby even less so.  He said a couple of bad words when he saw me sprinkling the cheese on the apple slices.  Up to that point he'd been excited at the prospect of having a pizza with apples as the base.  Still, we both kept our minds open and took a slice.  And then another.  We really liked this.  Both of us did.  I'll be honest; the arugula salad on top makes this pizza.  The honey and Dijon are perfect with the apples and goat cheese.  Wow, what a combination.

We still aren't huge goat cheese fans, but I definitely will make this again.

What I'd Do Different Next Time

I don't think there's a single thing that can be done to keep this recipe in the Super Fast realm that would improve it.  If you wanted to take it out of that timeframe, I think adding caramelized onions before baking would be outstanding.  As it is and for what it's supposed to do though, it's perfect.

Apple, Goat Cheese, and Pecan Pizza

Recipe adapted from Cooking Light Magazine, October 2011

1 (1 pound) six-grain pizza crust

Cooking spray

3 cups thinly sliced Fuji apple (about 8 oz)

1 cup (4 oz) crumbled goat cheese

2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme

1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 tsp. honey

2 cups baby arugula

3 Tbsp chopped pecans, toasted

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Place pizza crust on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.  Arrange apple slices evenly over pizza crust; top with cheese.  Sprinkle thyme evenly over cheese.  Bake 450 degrees F for 8 minutes or until cheese melts and begins to brown.

Combine oil and next 3 ingredients (through honey) in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk.  Add arugula; toss gently to coat.  Sprinkle pecans evenly over pizza; top with arugula mixture.  Cut pizza into 6 wedges.    

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Thanks again Christiane for guest posting today!!  She's definitely the pizza-making QUEEN and if this doesn't interest you then I know some of her other pizza recipes will!  Check 'em out ASAP!

Well I hope everyone has a fun weekend planned.  If you're in the northern Virginia area you might catch me sipping wine all day tomorrow at the gorgeous wineries all around :)

Cheers loves!