pizza with mushrooms Archives - Kimbesa's Homemade Pizza

Tips to Cook Mushrooms for Pizza

Posted on September 8, 2013September 26, 2013 by kimbesa

I love mushrooms on my pizza. I’m one of those double mushrooms lovers. I’ll go with canned or fresh. And I’ve also made pizza with both canned and fresh mushrooms, to enjoy the goodness of both.

When it comes to mushroom pizza, bring it!

Now I’m testing sautéed fresh mushrooms, vs. plain raw ones. While it is an extra step in pizza making, I want to know whether it’s worth the effort.

The reason for sautéing the mushrooms ahead of time is to concentrate the mushroom flavor and get rid of the excess water that they bring to the pizza

I found that the details are important, when pre-cooking my mushrooms. Here’s what I know for now:

Choose clean and firm mushrooms from the market, with no dark spots, and plan to cook them within a few days. When you’re ready to use them, brush them well and slice evenly.

Use olive oil to sauté mushrooms that will be a pizza topping. Have it hot enough for the mushrooms to sizzle, but in the middle range, so they can cook for about 10 minutes, and get golden brown on both sides.

Add some salt at the start of cooking. I didn’t add enough, so don’t be shy, but season according to your taste, too.

Sauté one layer of mushrooms at a time, and turn as needed for even cooking. You want them to brown and caramelize, and if you pile them up, they’ll just steam. Do them in batches if needed.

Let them drain and cool on paper towels, while you get the rest of the pizza ready for topping.

I found that you can do the mushrooms ahead – a day or two – and keep them in the fridge until you’re ready to add them to your next homemade pizza masterpiece.

When your pizza comes out of the oven, hot and ready to eat, you’ll enjoy the rich, earthy mushroom flavor even more.

I’m sure I’ll still make pizza with my “other” mushroom ways from time to time, but I’m a fan of sauteed mushrooms now, and we’ll be enjoying our pizzas this way, too.

More sausage pizza – a savory supper

Posted on January 28, 2010October 11, 2010 by kimbesa

Another great sausage pizza

I’ve been baking my sausage ahead of making my pizzas. I’ve been using the oven for roast pork and other things, so it has been easy to add an extra ovenware dish with some sausage in it.

This is very convenient when it comes time to make a pizza and has been working out well.

My favorite Hollywood Markets pizza sausage comes in the large links, and five of them is enough for three pizzas, each with a generous helping of sausage, and room for mushrooms, too.

Again this time I baked the sausages in their casings, and put them in the refrigerator to get cold, so they would be easier to work with.

Instead of slicing the them, however, I just cut chunks off in somewhat smaller pieces than last time. I really like this, because it helps the sausage get a little browner in the oven, and makes it even more tasty for that.

So handy to pull out some sausage from the fridge and cut it while the dough is rising, ready to add to my pizza right after the mushrooms.

This is my third pizza in a week, and it went down very well. I could make thinner round slices of sausage, but this method is less fussy and full of flavor.

Good thing I got 10 pounds of pizza sausage, to last me until my next special order!

Pizza – an easy Sunday night supper

Posted on September 20, 2009September 20, 2009 by kimbesa

I’ve found it’s so easy to have pizza for a Sunday night meal, having made it often for so many years.

Homemade pizza

You can make the pizza crust late in the afternoon, and let it rise on the back of the stove, with a clean dish towel or cloth over the bowl to keep down the drafts. Then go off to finish the laundry, do homework, or any of those other tasks that will get your week off to a good start.

Pizza’s flexible that way. It fits around the rest of your life.

Or, if you make the dough further in advance, such as in the morning, put it in the refrigerator and let it rise more slowly. If you make an extra batch or two, you can even freeze some ahead. Wrap them well and date them. Just take them out of the freezer to thaw for a few hours before you’re ready to use them.

The other pizza components, such as sauce and toppings, keep well and you can have them as pantry staples. This is one reason we like canned mushrooms, though fresh mushrooms are great on pizza, too.

The cheeses, such as mozzarella and parmesan, are great to have on hand as refrigerator staples. The extra richness of flavor that you get from fresh grated parmesan and fresh mozzarella make up for their shorter shelf life.

When you’re ready to make the pizza, just preheat the oven, prepare your baking stone if it needs that, stretch out the dough, top it and bake.

Then you’re ready to pour your favorite drink and settle in with your favorite Sunday night TV shows. Or, just relax and enjoy a hot fresh pizza as you get ready for another week of activity.