Holiday Side-Dish Inspired Pizza

We all have our favorite holiday foods. Some of my favorite holiday side dishes are green bean casserole and brussels sprouts with apple and bacon.What are yours? Why not have those holiday dishes on a pizza? Using the skillet-broiler method for making pizza, that’s what I did recently and had some fun with holiday side-dish inspired pizza.

The skillet-broiler method is my favorite way to make pizza in a home oven because you don’t have to preheat the oven (you use a cast-iron pan instead of a pizza stone) so it is a quicker method of cooking pizza and the result is close to a traditional Neapolitan pizza cooked in a wood-burning stove (let me know if you know of any other home methods of getting close to the Neapolitan style). Try it some time and see how you like it. Serious Eats has a great article on it:  skillet-broiler method.

Feel free to experiment with your favorite side dishes and let me know what you have tried or want to try. Here are two of my favorite holiday dishes on a pizza: green bean casserole pizza and brussels sprouts, apple, and bacon pizza.

The brussels sprouts, apple, and bacon pizza. I used Martha Stewart‘s brussels sprouts recipe. With the skillet-broiler method, the cornicione (edge crust) puffs up and  browns beautifully.

Here’s the green bean casserole pizza. Got some char on the cornicione reminiscent of the result you get from wood-burning or coal ovens. Actually, I was cleaning some dishes and almost forgot about the pizza. I like the crust a bit lighter, but it was still finger-licking good 🙂

A slice of festive pizza pie. Complete with the crunchy bits you get in casseroles too! lol I guess it tasted better than it looks.

Side shot…The green bean casserole recipe is courtesy of Alton Brown. His recipe is all from scratch, including the cream of mushroom soup and French fried onions. It is pretty darn good.

Brussels Sprouts, Apple, and Bacon Pizza

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Green Bean Casserole Pizza

Number of servings will vary according to pizza size

Ingredients

• Pizza dough (feel free to use your favorite kind-I have a several pizza doughs in rotation and here I’ve used the whole grain version in Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day)
• Shredded cheddar cheese (my favorite cheddar is raw-milk cheddar)
• Shredded or thinly sliced mozzarella
• Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
• Béchamel sauce (here’s a great all around recipe: Mario Batali’s Béchamel Sauce)

Side Dishes 

• Prepared Green bean casserole (follow Alton Brown’s recipe, or your own)
• Prepared Brussels sprouts with apple and bacon (follow Martha Stewart’s recipe, or your own

1. Get your pizza dough ready. Roll it out or hand shape it (like I like to do) it to your desired size that will fit your cast-iron skillet. Make sure the bottom of the dough has enough flour that it can be easily picked up.
2. Preheat your cast-iron skillet on medium-high heat on the stove. When you are ready to put the pizza on the skillet, you can sprinkle some flour or semolina on the skillet to prevent sticking, but it doesn’t normally need it.
3. Place your pizza dough round on the hot skillet and start building your pizza.
4. For the brussels sprouts pizza, spread some béchamel sauce to make a thin layer (don’t add too much or the pizza will be soggy). Then sprinkle a little cheese on top. After that, arrange the cooked brussels sprouts, apples, and bacon evenly. Sprinkle more cheese on top. Let the pizza cook in the pan for 3-4 minutes, until the bottom has browned to your desired darkness (watch it carefully so it doesn’t get too dark).
5. While the pizza is cooking in the pan, set your oven to broil. The idea is that when the pizza bottom is ready, your oven will also be ready to broil. The top of the pizza will be raw while your bottom is cooked.
6. When your pizza bottom is done, place the skillet into the oven to broil for about 3 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the crust has browned. You’ll get some lovely charred spots.
7. For the green bean casserole pizza, repeat steps 1, 2, and 3. Sprinkle on a little cheese. Then, spread some green bean & mushroom sauce mix in an even layer. Top with a little more cheese. Let the pizza cook on the bottom for 3-4 minutes until bottom is browned.
8. Broil the pizza for about 3 minutes until cheese is melted and crust has browned. Top with the crispy onions. Serve!

Some nice bread hole structure. Air pockets in bread is a good thing.

Related articles

• The BEST Thanksgiving Side Dishes! (pbenjay.wordpress.com)
• Green Bean Casserole Recipe: Stuffed Mushrooms (formulamom.com)
• Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Cranberries and Almonds (transformingflabtofab.wordpress.com)
• Seared Brussels Sprouts with Vietnamese Dipping Sauce (thegarumfactory.net)
• Roasted Brussels Sprouts (lizthechef.com)