Happy Birthday America! We celebrated the best way we knew how to as budding Washingtonians (does it still count as budding if we’ve been here over a decade?)- by avoiding the city at all costs.
So instead of trekking into town and standing in the heat with a couple thousand of our compatriots, we had friends over for an evening cookout. To start, we served pizza. With caramelized onions, gorgonzola and arugula. The combination of a sweet base with a peppery finish was a light way to start a summer meal, if not the most traditional summer dish.
SUMMER CARAMELIZED ONION PIZZA
Ingredients: 3 large onions, crumbled gorgonzola cheese, arugula, pizza dough, brown sugar (1 tablespoon)
Directions:
First caramelize the onions by simmering them over medium heat with some olive oil and the brown sugar. This *should* take 40 minutes. Unless you have a stove like mine, then it can take up to an hour (Note: I can not wait for the new stove!). When the onions are all brown and caramelized, salt and pepper to taste.
Meanwhile preheat your stove and pizza stone, if you are using one, to 500 degrees.
Roll out your dough on a floured surface and brush it with olive oil. Just a note about the dough- I suppose you can make this, but store bought works just fine if you can find it in the refrigerator case. We usually use the dough from Trader Joe’s, but this time we used Whole Foods. I have yet to find frozen dough that’s really great.
Bake the pizza for 10 minutes with just the caramelized onions, then sprinkle the cheese on top and put back into the oven for another 5 minutes until the cheese has melted and the crust is beginning to brown.
After you take the pizza out of the oven, immediately cover it with arugula, slice, and enjoy!
Bonus: Lest you think we are completely non-traditional and unpatriotic, our friends Howard and Lauren brought over a fantastic and festive cake to enjoy! Happy July 4th everyone!
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