Pizza, Pizza and More Pizza.

As I was walking through the grocery store last week, I was struck by an inescapable desire to EXPERIMENT. I called my husband and told him that tonight I would be experimenting with our dinner. I could hear the catch in his voice. He doesn't have a really long memory for most things, but it hadn't been that long since the Mini-Meatloaf-in-a-Muffin-Tin EXPERIMENT. Believe me, that's a story for another time. I quickly squelched his fears by telling him that I was going to try out some new ideas about pizza.

As he relaxed, I started to get nervous......I was going to serve experimental pizza to someone who had lived in Chicago - Home of Deep-Dish Pizza.

Was I nuts? Just any old pizza wouldn't do. It didn't have to be Giordanno's or Gino's East, but it had to be better than that "Pizza Pizza" place's pizza.

As I walked down the aisles, I started to have second thoughts. But wait, everyone has always loved my pizzas. In high school, I won a county prize for my English muffin pizza. My dormmates in college begged for my garbage pizza (box mix pizza with whatever we found in the refrigerator that was NOT green or smelly). And besides, we haven't lived in Chicago for over 10 years.....his memory must have dimmed.

With renewed confidence, I began to "create". What if I make crust out of buttermilk biscuit dough? What if I use pesto sauce instead of tomato sauce? What if I squeeze the Italian sausage out of the casing and brown it loose? The possibilities seemed endless.

That night we had individual pizzas made out of Pillsbury Grand biscuits. I used tomato paste with a touch of oregano, fresh ground pepper and crushed garlic for the sauce. I squeezed the Italian sausage out of the casing and browned it loose. I added the essentials - mushrooms, red onion, bell pepper (red in this case) and lots and lots of cheese. It was GREAT! But, best of all, it was easy and quick with minimal clean-up.

If you learn anything from this column (besides that we used to live in Chicago), it's that pizza is easy and can be made from just about anything. For those of you not yet ready to EXPERIMENT inside your refrigerator, here are some of my favorite recipes:

Mini Sausage Pizzas
Serves 6.

1 package biscuit dough
1 can tomato paste
1 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 clove garlic -- crushed
1 pound Italian sausage
3 small mushroom -- sliced
1/2 small red onion -- sliced
1/4 medium bell pepper -- sliced
1 cup cheddar cheese -- shredded
1 cup Monterey jack cheese -- shredded

Use the large biscuits found in the refrigerator section of the grocery store. On a greased baking sheet, press out individual biscuits until about 1/4 inch thick. Mix tomato paste, oregano, nutmeg and garlic together. Spread tomato mixture on biscuits. Squeeze sausage out of casings, brown and drain. Sprinkle sausage onto biscuits. Add sliced mushrooms, onions, bell peppers and cheeses evenly to each biscuit. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes. Bottom of biscuits should be brown and the cheese should be melted.

Chicken Pesto Pizza
Serves 4.

3 cups fresh basil -- washed and dried
8 cloves garlic
3 teaspoons pine nuts
2/3 cup parmesan cheese
1/3 cup olive oil
2 chicken breast halves without skin
10 whole mushrooms -- thickly sliced
1/2 small red onion -- sliced 1/8" thick
1 pizza crust

Place chicken breasts in the broiler and cook until almost done. Chicken will NOT be pink, but will be juicy when done. While chicken is broiling make pesto sauce by placing fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese and olive oil in food processor . Blend until well chopped, but not liquefied. Spread pesto mixture evenly over pizza crust. (Thickness of pesto sauce on pizza crust is determined by taste.) Cover pesto sauce with a thin layer of onion and mushrooms. Cut chicken into 1/4 inch slices and place over onions and mushrooms. Sprinkle with remaining parmesan cheese. Place pizza in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 8 to 10 minutes for precooked pizza crust. If you are using a fresh pizza crust, bake according to pizza crust directions.

Veggie Delight Pizza
Serves 4.

1 pizza crust
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup mozzarella cheese -- grated
1 clove garlic -- crushed
1 medium zucchini -- sliced 1/4" thick
1 small onion -- sliced 1/8" thick
10 whole mushroom -- sliced 1/4" thick
1 small red bell pepper -- sliced 1/4" thick
4 small artichoke hearts -- chopped

Mix crushed garlic and olive oil. Brush garlic/olive oil mixture over pizza crust. Spread cheese over pizza crust. Cover with sliced zucchini, onion, mushrooms and chopped artichoke hearts. Place pizza in a preheated 350 degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes for a prepared pizza crust. If using a fresh pizza crust, follow baking directions for crust.