Garlic Bread Pepperoni Pizza

 

I started cooking with my grandmother, Goldie, when I was 5 years old. So that gives me 66 years of cooking under my belt. During that time I have managed to accumulate every single cooking appliance known to modern man....save for one.

We've got charcoal grills, smokers, air fryers, sous vide, Dutch ovens, steamers, rice maker, slow cooker...even a fait tout and a chinois! As circumstances would have it, Becky and I arrived at our 8th wedding anniversary in February without any gifting decisions being made. That left the door wide open for the one appliance we did not have.

Say hello to the Ooni Pizza Oven. It is a gas-fueled pizza oven that reaches 950º F and will cook a pizza in just 2 minutes. We're hoping to use Becky's baking skills to create a magical crust and my skills of cooking with fire to create the finished pie. Watch this space for our continuing adventures.

This Garlic Bread Pepperoni Pizza recipe was designed to be leisurely assembled and cooked in a conventional oven. You could use a pizza oven, but you would likely need to cut the cooking time in half and watch it so carefully to avoid burning it.

You can substitute plain garlic butter for the Confit Garlic Butter, but I would discourage that. The Confit Garlic Butter is nothing short of extraordinary and really takes this pizza up several notches. My sincere thanks to "Sam the Cooking Guy" for this recipe.

INGREDIENTS

For the Confit Garlic Butter

3 heads garlic, cloves peeled

Olive oil

1 stick softened butter

For the No Cook Sauce

15-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar 

2 cloves garlic, pressed

1 tablespoon olive oil

For the French Bread

One, 12" baguette

2 cups shredded mozarella

6 ounces pepperoni slices

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

 DIRECTIONS

For the Confit Garlic Butter

1. Put cloves into a small pot and add enough oil to cover, bring to a low simmer and leave until cloves turn golden brown, about 20-30 minutes.
2. Removes cloves from oil and put into a bowl with the butter. Mash and mix together, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

For the No Cook Sauce

1. Add all 8 sauce ingredients to a large bowl. Break up tomatoes, squishing well. Mix all ingredients well and set aside.

For the Baguette

1. Preheat oven to 400º.
2. Slice baguette horizontally and spread garlic butter generously on each interior cut side.
3. Bake for 2-3 minutes until butter gets brown and bubbly.
4. Remove halves and spread sauce sparingly on both interior cut sides (use remaining sauce for your next pasta dish). Then add mozzarella cheese and finally the pepperoni slices.
5. Bake another 3-4 minutes until, bubbly, crisp and gorgeous.
6. Slice. Serve and pass with parmesan for topping.

Wine Pairing: Chianti

Grogs and Goldie, 1955