garlic, tomato, and balsamic onion pizza

go ahead. try and tell me you don't like this pizza. it's impossible. it's probably the best pizza ever. i can't take full credit for the idea - my friend blair made a similar pizza last fall and i recently recreated it with some modifications. it's pretty easy to make and downright delicious. i seriously can't stop eating it. i don't often cook with concrete recipes so feel free to tweak until your heart's content, but here's the gist.

dough:

1 package of active dry yeast

1 cup of warm water

1 tablespoon of sugar

1 teaspoon of salt

2 1/2 cups flour

dissolve yeast in water. add remaining ingredients and mix. cover and let rise for 25 minutes  to 1 hour. when complete, this recipe makes one large pizza, two medium pizzas (which, i'm afraid i can eat all by myself), or four small personal pizzas. pictured below is a pizza made with 1/2 this dough recipe. 

while the dough is rising, prep the onions.

balsamic onions:

1/4 white, yellow, or sweet vidalia onion (i've tried all three - they all work)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon sugar

slice onions, add to olive oil in skillet. cook for approximately 5 minutes. add balsamic vinegar and sugar and cook, stirring often, until sugar and vinegar begin to thicken (about 8-10 minutes). 

grease pizza pan (or in my case, cookie sheet) and roll out dough. i also don't really roll. i flour up my hands and press it out in to a roundish shape. clearly, i'm lazy. 

instead of a tomato sauce base, this has a garlic and olive oil base. i didn't think i'd like it, but i love it. chop about 3-4 cloves of fresh garlic, add to about 1/3 cup of olive oil. grind about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of fresh black pepper and mix. spread on pizza crust. (be aware - don't soup it up too much - it will run over the edge in the oven and set off your smoke alarm. just saying.) cover with shredded mozzarella or italian blend cheese, balsamic onions and diced canned tomatoes (fresh ones are out of season, so i opted for organic muir glen ones and they were great). note: i also add more toppings now since i made this first pizza photographed here. i highly recommend as many onions and tomatoes as possible. yum. 

bake for 15 minutes or so (depends on your size) at 450 degrees. cool, cut, and enjoy. you will not be disappointed. in fact, i'm about to make one for dinner right now!