Florentine Frying Pan Pizza

So I promised you the baked apple recipe tonight, but The Husband and Nicholas are out at a Halloween party with my camera … with the pictures of the apples.  So tomorrow, k?  Will some delicious homemade pizza do instead?

When planning the munchie-laden menu for Saturday night, I kept an eye on including meat-free items since one of the guests is vegetarian.  (Unfortunately that “eye” worked overtime and I had to scramble at the last minute to make sure that the men had enough food.  Once you go low on the meat, a lot of vegetables quickly appear … and you know how well men and vegetables get along!  Wait, is that just here?)

When I saw this new recipe for Florentine Frying Pan Pizza, it quickly got added to the menu … it gave me a chance to have spinach and mushrooms, which the boys loathe so I don’t make as often as I’d like, yet still provide a munchie that was somewhat filling.

The recipe comes from an episode of Rachael Ray’s talk show last week.  She actually made it as an individual pizza in a frying pan, but I blew it up and made enough for everyone (well, thems that eat spinach and mushrooms) and baked it in a baking sheet.  Like most of Rachael’s recipes, it was fast and easy and didn’t require that you hunt down anything exotic at the grocery store.

Hungry for more pizza recipes?

My favorite farmgirl makes Three Onion and Three Cheese Pizza.
A Year in Bread tells you everything you need to know about pizza dough … and then some.
Culinary in the Country celebrates a Friday night with Peking Chicken Pizza.
And Cookography serves up a Neapolitan Pepperoni Pizza.
And if that’s not enough, we have an entire recipe section devoted to Pizza right here.

A year ago today … nothing.
Two years ago today … a scrumptious Gala Midnight Buffet.
Three years ago today … just ramblings.

Writing here, there and everywhere … The Deen Brothers serve up chicken over at delish.com, a yummy Broccoli Gratin at Mad About Martha, a review of an adorable baby t-shirt on The Voice of Mom, and lastly, one of my favorite fruity concoctions over at MyRecipes.

Florentine Frying Pan Pizza
Recipe courtesy of Rachael Ray

• 4 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced (I used button)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 2 cloves garlic, grated
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
• A pinch of nutmeg (I skipped)
• 1 box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 1 store-bought pizza dough from your favorite pizzeria
• 1-1/2 cups fontina cheese, shredded (I used Jack since I had on hand)

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Preheat a large, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons EVOO. Add the mushrooms and sauté until golden brown. Season them with salt and pepper then remove them to a plate.

In the same skillet the mushrooms where cooked in, melt the butter. Add the flour and garlic, and cook 1-2 minutes then whisk in the milk and cook until slightly thickened.

Add the mushrooms back to the skillet along with the cheese, nutmeg and spinach. Remove the Florentine mixture and let cool.

Cut the dough into quarters, reserving one for this recipe. Wrap up the rest in plastic wrap and freeze it for another time. Roll out the dough so it fits into a 6-inch skillet (use one that’s oven-safe).

Before placing the dough into the skillet, drizzle about 1 to 2 tablespoons EVOO on the bottom of the skillet. Lay the dough into the skillet, pressing gently as you work the dough up the sides so it reaches the edge of the skillet. Fill the with the filling and sprinkle with fontina cheese. Pop in the oven and bake for 35-45 minutes, until the edges and bottom of the crust are golden brown.