fig and balsamic onion pizza with blue cheese

i can't believe i haven't

told you about this recipe yet.

it's not that i make it a lot -

maybe just twice a year.

but still, it's one of the few

dishes set to repeat in

our kitchen.

it started about five years ago

when - and, i still am embarrassed

to admit this - i learned

that i could just go to the

supermarket or the local pizza place

and buy fresh dough.

how did i not know this?

i have no idea.

i told lauren, who said,

yes, i love it, i use it to

make strombolis and calzones.

hmmm, i had definitely missed

something important.

so i bought dough.

i found this recipe and together,

larry and i roasted squash,

made garlic oil

and decorated the prized dough.

the night felt like a victory -

i was proud

(better than clueless, right?).

so proud,

that i haven't made the recipe

since, but i remember most

of the moments that went down

in the kitchen of my

studio apartment that evening.

after that, i was hooked,

throwing every veggie

i had onto pieces of dough

that were so unevenly rolled

out, a circle wouldn't even

recognize them as its cousin.

i experimented with

chicken apple sausage and rosemary,

feta, spinach and tomatoes,

mixed mushrooms with goat cheese

and so many more.

but one of the only pizzas

to stick was the one i made with

fresh figs

caramelized onions

and blue cheese.

however, i'm not going to lie to you:

i have no idea how it

came to be.

for all my remembering, i cannot

think back to why i first made it,

if any mistakes were made

or what pushed me to make this

particular pizza again.

but i do know that the recipe was mine,

created by what was in my kitchen,

because the second

time around, it did not occur to

me to check my recipe book.

and, i do remember that after

i had made it a few times,

i told a friend

who texted me late one night

to say that she had made the

pizza and loved it (and i remember

that i was jealous because we had

spent the night hanging pictures

in our new apartment

and eating peanut butter

sandwiches for dinner - i knew

i was missing something good

at her house). but, i still don't

remember the beginning.

so, instead of dwelling on

the past, let me tell you about

this pizza. i've made it many

times on store bought fresh

pizza dough - i love it with

multi-grain - and a couple times

on dough that i've attempted

to make myself.

but until recently, i've never

had success making my own dough.

they were always too bready,

or not willing to stretch or roll

or so wet that i got fed up.

a recipe by giada in bon appetit

changed all that. her dough is simple

and its springy and beautiful.

so easy to roll that mine was actually round

and so easy to transport that on the

pizza pan, it was still beautiful.

her recipe called for mixing flour with

sugar and salt before adding the

yeast mixture, but i've opted to add honey

to the yeast instead. also, because

the final product is reminiscent of

focaccia, i love to add

chopped rosemary to the dough.

on top,

well, the star is the figs,

which i sometimes layer on fresh,

and other times saute very lightly first.

but a star needs its supporting characters

and this pizza is bursting with them:

onions that are caramelized until golden

and then coated with balsamic vinegar,

crumbled blue cheese to cut

through the sweetness and recently,

a light sprinkling of fontina cheese,

helping glue the whole thing down.

i've made the pizza a couple times

without the bottom cheese, but it's always

lacking and the toppings tend to

topple off the crust.

all together, it's a pizza that i'm

proud of, that gets me excited

for fig season and that makes

me happy to cut into slices

and serve. it's slightly sweet and

soft, yet tangy and crisp.

and even though its beginning

eludes me, its future on our

dinner menus is very, very clear.

fresh fig and balsamic onion pizza with blue cheese

i do not have a baking stone and therefore, have never made this pizza with one. if you do, adjust accordingly. because i make this pizza on a regular round baking pan, i like to slide it right onto the rack when it's firm enough and let the pie continue to cook until crispy. if that method does not sound good to you, just leave it on the pan. it may not get as crispy, but it will still be lovely. i like the creaminess of danish blue and the mild meltiness of the fontina, but playing around until you find your favorite is always a good idea.

rosemary pizza dough

adapted from bon appetit magazine

3/4 cup warm water (between 110˚-115˚)

1 envelope dry active yeast

1 teaspoon honey

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary

3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for the bowl

place warm water in bowl; sprinkle yeast over water. add honey; stir. let stand 5 minutes, or until yeast dissolves. very lightly oil large bowl; set aside. in food processor, combine flour, salt and rosemary. add remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil and yeast mixture; process just until dough forms.

transfer to a floured surface and knead 1 minute, or until smooth, adding additional flour, if necessary. place dough in bowl, rotating to coat with oil.

cover with clean tea or kitchen towel and place in a warm spot, free of drafts. let sit 1 hour, or until doubled in volume. punch down. using a floured rolling pin, roll into 14" round on floured surface. transfer to pizza pan.

fig and onion pizza

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, divided

1 large sweet onion, peeled, halved and sliced

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

4-6 large fresh black mission figs, trimmed and sliced

1 recipe rosemary pizza dough, above

5 ounces fontina cheese, shredded

2 ounces blue cheese, crumbled

• 
  
• heat oven to 425˚f. while the dough is rising, heat olive oil and half of butter in large skillet over medium heat until oil is hot and butter is melted. add onions; season with kosher salt. cook 25 minutes, or until almost golden brown, reducing heat if onions begin to burn. drizzle balsamic vinegar over onions and stir to combine. cook 1 minute more, or until the vinegar has formed a glaze; transfer onions to plate. let cool.
• 
  
• in same skillet over medium heat, melt remaining butter; add slices of figs. as soon as the last one is in the skillet, flip slices over in the order they were placed in the pan. once they're all flipped, remove and transfer to plate in the same order.
• 
  
• sprinkle shredded fontina cheese over dough, leaving a 3/4" border for the crust. arrange first the onions, then the figs, over the cheese. Top with crumbled blue cheese.
• 
  
• bake the pizza 12-14 minutes, or until the cheese is melted, the crust is beginning to brown and the whole thing is stable. Slide the pizza off the pan and cook on the middle rack 3-4 minutes more, or until the crust has some crunch to it. to remove from oven, carefully slide back onto pan.

it's tempting to resent the rain. i'm trying to embrace it. sort of.

as much as we should cook

for the seasons -

buy tomatoes in august,

oranges in january,

asparagus in april -

it's often so much more

tempting to cook for

the weather.

because you can toss

peas with favas and artichokes

as much as you want -

and you may even

like it -

but it won't help anyone

forget that it's been

raining in new jersey

for three weeks, easy.

it won't make you pass over

the details, like

everyday, you come home with

your shoes looking a little

worse for the wear and

the hem of your pants,

wet again.

it will be hard to recognize

that even though it seems

like salad season,

you really just want

a bowl of soup.

or this polenta,

which i was recently reminded of.

the first time i made this,

years ago, it was hot outside

(august, hot) and by the time

i had finished stirring the pot

over a high flame and a

piping hot oven, the last

thing i wanted to do was

actually eat a slice.

so since, i have saved it for

fall

winter

and, now, apparently,

gloomy junes.

vegetarian, very fast and easy,

the only thing required is a little

forethought,

or more appropriately,

proper mise en place -

very important because

almost all of your time will

be spent, stirring the polenta

nonstop, waiting for it to come to

a boil, and after,

making sure it doesn't scorch on

the bottom.

then once this quick cooking

polenta is thick, creamy and smooth,

you quickly stir in

garlic

basil

blue cheese

salt and pepper,

before spreading it evenly into

a skillet or deep pan.

once everything is level,

take the opportunity

to slow down, because the polenta

isn't going anywhere.

this is when you can add toppings,

in an orderly fashion,

or haphazardly, depending on

which style suits you best.

tomatoes,

garlic,

mozzarella

and

more blue.

slide the skillet into

the oven and then you have

18 minutes

to make a salad.

polenta as a meal, is

a wonderful, delicious

idea, but i always feel

like we need some greens

to balance out the wedge

on the plate.

when the table's set,

the salads are out

and everything smells

so good, you can

just picture the cheese

browning and bubbling

around the edges,

pull it from the oven,

and then - and i'll warn

you, this is the hardest part -

wait.

this waiting step,

in addition to upping the original

cooking time by two minutes,

took me sadly too long

to figure out, but thank goodness

i finally did. now, i can pass

this recipe onto you without

an asterick, that would let

you know that this dish

tastes amazing, but will not

cut into a proper wedge

warm and will look

an absolute mess on

the plate.

the polenta comes out

very hot and the last thing

it wants to do is conform

into whatever cut shape

you desire. no, it is very

content to be scooped

out, looking more like

mush, or maybe to be polite

and fair to our main meal,

soft polenta.

but...like all things great,

this polenta shouldn't be rushed.

give the skillet a few extra

minutes in the oven.

once on the table,

let it hang out, get used to

its surroundings while

you enjoy your salad.

then.

and only then.

you can slice past the

(semi-seasonal!)

juicy tomatoes and

fragrant basil,

though the two cheeses -

one for melting and one

for flavor -

into the creamy, but firm,

cornmeal,

and it will be ready to

comply and come much

closer to resembling

the triangular wedge

you intended.

once on the plate,

cozy up to it. settle

in. pretend it's winter

and not a march day in

june. remember that yes,

it's raining, yes it's gross outside

and yes, it's unbelievably

annoying. but if it wasn't,

you'd probably be eating

something else.

baked blue cheese polenta with tomatoes and basil

adapted from bon appetit magazine

a big plus for this recipe is that once you've stirred the cornmeal into a creamy base and added the ingredients, you can taste the mixture (swiftly) and decide what else it needs. it was this grace period that made me decide to up the basil and add both garlic and blue cheese to the polenta - not just sprinkle it on top. i also use grape tomatoes instead of cherry, toss in more garlic and extra grated mozzarella. i use whatever blue i happen to have, but if you're in the store shopping, look for one that melts well, like buttermilk, point reyes or danish. feel free to increase or decrease the amounts, depending on what you love.

also, i usually prepare everything - halve the tomatoes, chop the garlic, grate and crumble the cheeses - ahead of time. except for the basil, because i don't want it to brown. so instead, i pluck 20 to 30 leaves, lay them into two piles and once the polenta is done, very quickly, roll them into a cigar and slice thinly.

4 cups water

1 1/3 cups cornmeal

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 cloves garlic, peeled, chopped and divided

30 large basil leaves, or more

6 ounces blue cheese, crumbled and divided

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved

1 1/4 cups grated part-skim mozzarella cheese

heat oven to 450˚f. coat 12" skillet with a heatproof handle with cooking spray; set aside. (if your skillet's handle is not heatproof, or you're not sure, just wrap it twice with aluminum foil - like i do - to ensure that nothing but the cheese melts in the oven. warning: regardless of if it's wrapped or not, you'll still need an oven mitt to remove the pan from the oven.)

in large saucepot, combine water, cornmeal and salt. bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking constantly. reduce heat to medium-low and cook 3 minutes more, or until polenta becomes very thick and pulls away from the pan, whisking constantly. remove from heat; whisk in olive oil and half chopped garlic. quickly roll basil into cigar shape and thinly slice; sprinkle half on top of polenta. add 2 ounces blue cheese; whisk to combine. season with kosher salt and black pepper, to taste.

transfer polenta to prepared skillet, patting evenly. sprinkle with remaining garlic and grape tomatoes; press tomatoes slightly into polenta. sprinkle with mozzarella cheese, remaining blue cheese and remaining basil, slicing more basil, if necessary.

bake 18 minutes, or until cheese is browned around the edges and bubbling. remove from oven and let sit 10 to 15 minutes. cut into wedges to serve.