The Academy Awards Pizza Recipe

When it comes to food pairings, pizza has quite the potential. Pizza and breadsticks, pizza with salad, and pizza with beer are all classic combos that make for an amazing lunch or dinner. There are so many other types of foods and drinks that beg to be paired with pizza, but I’d like to take a moment to bring something to your attention that you can’t eat – movies! Movie night begs for a good pizza, and vice-versa, pizza night is always better with a good movie. The Academy Awards are Sunday February 26th and one of the biggest nights of the year when it comes to pizza, so naturally we thought we’d give you a few Hollywood inspired recipes to make the award show a tasty dinner affair.

His and Hers La La Land Pizza

La La Land is a laugh-infused musical drama about a struggling aspiring actress (Emma Stone) who falls in love with a jazz pianist (Ryan Gosling). Being that the movie is a bit of a romantic comedy, we decided to create a recipe for a his-and-hers, half and half pizza. Most guys I know love a good meat pizza, so our “his” half is a four meat behemoth stacked with salami, pepperoni, sausage and bacon. I’ve met more than a few gals who prefer a more delicate pizza with sophisticated flavor, so our “hers” half is a gourmet vegetarian pizza laden with mushrooms, artichokes, tomatoes and zucchini on a creamy garlic white sauce. Each half is great on it’s own, but (much like Ryan and Emma) they’re better together.

Let’s take a look at the recipe:

Ingredients:

8-10oz fresh pizza dough
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

His Half:

2 tbsp pizza sauce
5 slices salami
12 slices pepperoni
1 Italian sausage link, casing removed
2 slices bacon, cooked and chopped

Her Half:

3 tbsp ranch dressing
1 tsp minced garlic
½ cup mushrooms, sliced
¼ cup artichokes
12 slices zucchini, thin
1 small Roma tomato, chopped

Method:

1. Proof pizza dough by allowing to rest 1-3 hours at room temperature and preheat a pizza stone to 500° F. 
2. Meanwhile, slice mushrooms, zucchini, and artichokes thinly, then chop tomatoes into small cubes. Mince garlic and mix with ranch dressing, set aside.
3. Render bacon in a sturdy bottomed pan until crispy, then chop into ¼ inch pieces. Break sausage into small ½ inch pieces and cook until browned and almost cooked through.
4. Once the dough has proofed, dust with flour and stretch to 12-13 inches. With a spatula, draw a line down the center of the stretched dough. Place red sauce on half of the pizza, and white sauce on the other half of the pizza and spread to cover the dough. Be carful not to over sauce either side.
5. Add cheese and toppings to pizza, then bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown. Just Like Ryan's hair.

Hail Caesar Salad Dressing

In Hail Caesar, George Clooney plays an actor named Baird Whitlock who’s kidnapped from the set of a movie about Rome. To round out our movie night themed dinner, we’ve prepared a Hail Caesar Salad Dressing recipe to compliment our La La Land pizza. Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

3 egg yolks
Olive oil (1+ cup)
1 large clove garlic
2 lemons, juiced
½ cup cream
1 tsp. worcestershire
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
4-6 anchovies
2 tsp white vinegar
1 cup parmesan
½ tsp kosher salt

Method:

1. Mince garlic and combine with egg yolk and mustard.
2. Finely chop anchovies then smash into a paste. Place egg yolk mixture into a food processor or blender.
3. Turn on the food processor and very slowly add oil to the yolk/mustard mixture until thickened. If mixture becomes too thick, add 1 tsp. water.
4. Add blended anchovies, vinegar, lemon juice, and worchestershire sauce. Turn on the food processor and add cream to food processor slowly while blending until fully incorporated.
5. Pour dressing into a medium sized bowl and add the parmesan, whisk to incorporate.

Product in photo: Square Glazed Pizza Stone with Built in Handles.