Pan Pizza

Now that summer is unofficially here, I've had to vow to NOT turn on my oven until the temperatures drop to 60, and by the time that happens, I won't be in my current apartment [if I speak it, it will happen]. Which means I've had to get a little creative when it comes to making one of my favorite foods, pizza. I honestly could eat pizza every week of my life and be quite happy.  I've been having a grand time experimenting with pizza varieties during the last week.

Basic Building Blocks
to make an awesome pan pizza at home, I recommend the following ingredients, always

Pita bread--I found these giant pita's at Wegman's, which I like because half a pita is the perfect serving size for me, and a whole pita feeds two
Mozzarella-- its a must have for pizza because its melts so well
Any variety of cheddar--mozzarella is pretty bland by alone, cheddar adds great flavor, and the more cheese, the merrier
Parmesan--I just personally love fresh parm, but it is expensive so its negotiable
Olive Oil--because it has great flavor and its good for you
Tomatoes--not tomato sauce, just sliced tomatoes. Trust me on this
[sea] Salt and [fresh cracked] Black Pepper--the basic seasoning for ANY dish
Heavy frying pan--not non-stick.

pardon me looking a hot mess

Margherita Pizza
It's one of my favorite pizza varieties, its pretty hard to mess up.
Just add fresh basil* to the base ingredients and this is the one instance where mozzarella alone is all you need.
*I bought a fresh basil plant last Tuesday. I threw away its withered remains yesterday. Dead in less than 7 days...I think I've set a new record

3 Cheese Pesto with Caramelized Onions
This was really REALLY good. I kinda threw everything was in my fridge that sounded pizza friendly onto one pita, and what I ended up with was awesomeness.
Start with your base ingredients, all three cheeses included. Add caramelized onions [which I forgot to blog about, my bad, recipe found here], jarred pesto sauce [which I will discuss in further detail soon], and baby arugula.

 The Process
Hey mambo, mambo Italiano! Actually it's so easy, a caveman could do it...

Coat your pan with a layer of olive oil, turn on heat (medium-high), place pita in pan and swirl it around the bottom of pan to ensure the bottom is fully coated [not saturated] with oil . While bottom of pita is browning, drizzle olive oil on top side of pita, spread around with a (spoon, food brush, whatever you got), crack some pepper and a little bit of salt on top side. Flip pita over when bottom is browned and slightly crisp, and reduce heat to low-medium. Arrange all your pizza toppings on pita. Place lid over pan.  Because pitas aren't completely flat, occasionally rotate your pita in pan, to avoid burning in spots.  When cheese is melted and pita crust is crisp, remove from heat.

Cut, serve, and enjoy. I sure did, about 4 times in the last week, yum!

So tell me, what's your favorite type of pizza? What would you eat as often as possible and never tire of?