Happy Easter everyone! I know this Easter is definitely not the norm, and some of you might be struggling with that. Easter for me is typically spent with family, either having dinner at someone's house or grabbing brunch out. Last year we did M, and it was amazing! I'll link the post below for a meal out to look forward to when this is all over. Some years Easter falls on my birthday which is extra fun. My birthday is actually this Saturday (18th) which will also be very different. We planned on doing the Bourbon Trail. and obviously that's no longer happening. I am thankful to have my husband and cats to hang at home with though! For those of you alone you can always reach out to me if you need someone to talk to! This is also a great time to adopt a pet!
I find food and cooking to be something that really grounds me. A friend of mine once said, when you feel like life is out of your control cooking can help as it's a small thing you can control. For Easter we always make deviled eggs. I swear my husband's are the best I've ever had. (Recipe linked below.) We also always drink mimosas or Bloody Mary's. So even something as simple as making those usual recipes helps. A lot of people typically eat ham for dinner on Easter, and we toyed with the idea of making one (my parents are and they offered curbside pickup LOL). However, after spending some time getting my hands dirty in the kitchen making this delicious, cheesy, garlicky pizza from scratch, I might have another "from scratch" recipe coming your way!
You'll want to start by making the dough (recipe above). You can use a store-bought dough if you want, but for those of you who have some extra time on your hands, creating something from scratch, feeling the dough between your fingers as you knead it on a floury surface, is somewhat therapeutic. For me at least. 🙂
A fun date night idea might be to create several mini pizzas with different toppings. Recreate favorites you've had out that you might not be able to get right now. I love white pizzas. The oozy cheese and garlic mmmm. I used three different white cheeses for this recipe, because why not. For this version I also decided to add mushrooms and lots of herbs giving it a very fresh, earthy kick. And red pepper flakes, because you can't have pizza without red pepper flakes!
After you've rolled out your dough into your desired shape, place it on a greased pizza pan and place it somewhere warm for 10 minutes. Next, brush the entire surface with olive oil.
Saute garlic in butter and olive oil.
Add your mushrooms, oregano and thyme. Also some salt and pepper. Cook for about 5-6 minutes.
Add shredded fresh mozzarella cheese. I also like to put some bigger chunks fanned around like so.
Add dollops of ricotta cheese in between the larger pieces of mozzarella and directly in the center. Then top with your mushroom mixture.
Top with a layer of fresh Parmesan.
You're also going to want to saute in some olive oil some large slices of garlic. After a couple minutes, strain them out and place them over the Parmesan. Bake pizza at 450 for 15-20 minutes or until crust is crispy brown and the cheese has melted.
Once you remove it from the oven, allow to cool slightly then top with fresh basil leaves and thyme sprigs.
The basil might turn slightly brown from the heat of the pizza. No worries! Also add red pepper flakes now or let each person do so on their own.
Slice and serve! Enjoy and stay safe/healthy!
Deviled Eggs for Easter:
M Brunch last year for Easter. Look forward to these in the near future!
https://www.cuisineandcocktails.com/m-at-miranovas-easter-brunch/
If you liked this pizza recipe, might I recommend:
- Pizza dough (homemade recipe linked in post or store-bought)
- olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 5 cloves of garlic, 3 minced, 2 sliced in thick pieces
- 1 tablespoon fresh oregano
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme (as well as additional sprigs)
- 12 oz Hen-of-the-Woods mushrooms (or similar)
- salt & pepper
- 8 oz freshly grated mozzarella
- 1 cup of ricotta
- ⅔ cup of freshly grated Parmesan
- fresh basil
- red pepper flakes
- After preparing dough, roll out into desired shape and sit in a warm place for 10 mins on a greased pizza pan.
- Preheat oven to 450.
- Brush surface of dough with olive oil.
- In a medium skillet, add butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil and warm over medium heat.
- Add minced garlic and saute for a couple minutes.
- Add mushrooms, oregano and thyme.
- Cook for 5-6 minutes stirring frequently. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Top pizza crust with mozzarella.
- Add dollops of ricotta across surface.
- Top with mushroom mix.
- Then Parmesan.
- Saute large pieces of garlic in a little olive oil just for a couple minutes then place on top of Parm.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until crust crispy and cheese melted.
- Let cool then top with basil leaves, thyme sprigs and red pepper flakes.
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