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If you read this blog regularly you'll know I'm a huge pizza fan - if not a fanatic. To me, the toppings make the pizza and I have particular toppings I enjoy. Now I must admit, my favorites constantly evolve and as you'll see some toppings are very new additions but for what it is worth here are current my favorite pizza toppings: 1. Caramelized Onions. I love the flavor of caramelized onions mixed with a strong blue cheese such as Gorgonzola. In fact one of my favorite pizza's uses the caramelized onions in place of the sauce topped with a bit of Gorgonzola, some Arugula and some walnuts. At the beginning of summer when my home grown sweet onions are available this pizza is pure heaven. 2. Mushroom, Red bell pepper and onion. This is a very standard pizza but when homemade with fresh vegetables and a mixture of mozzarella and cheddar cheeses it's great and no comparison to that available in pizzerias. 3. Portobello mushrooms. This is small variation on a the standard pizza of mushrooms, red bell peppers, and sautéed onions. The Portobello’s add a very strong flavor so only a few are needed. 4. Fresh Mozzarella. Here you have to be careful to let the excess moisture drain from the cheese or you can get a very watery pizza but whenever we use fresh mozzarella the pizza is much better than when we use regular mozzarella. 5. Grapes, Gorgonzola, and Port. Certainly not standard but absolutely delicious! This recipe is from a recent issue of Gourmet Magazine as I talk about here. 6. Fresh tomato slices. Add slices of fresh tomato on the very top of a pizza for a pretty and tasty presentation. Since they are on the top the tomatoes roast very nicely while the pizza cooks. 7. Cherry tomatoes. Quarter fresh small tomatoes such as cherry tomatoes, mix with some Italian spices and put on your pizza crust without cooking in place of a pizza sauce. At their peak, these tomatoes add much more flavor and variety to the pizza than a standard pizza sauce. 8. Spinach and Ricotta. This works really well as a calzone but also as a pizza. Chopped fresh spinach mixed with Ricotta cheese and pizza sauce cook into a wonderful calzone filling. Mushrooms and Red bell peppers work great here to. 9. Almonds and Apricots. Together or separate either of these items add a bit of surprise and great flavor to pizza. These go particularly well with a Spinach and Ricotta pizza. 10. Pepperoni. Yes I like pepperoni’s on my pizza but I don't actually put them on pizza when I make it - just so many other things that I can put on. But when in a pizza restaurant they are a definite choice for me to consider. And as you can see gherkin pickles are not on the list!
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