Cake, Batter, and Bowl

White Pizza with Sausage, Pancetta, Leeks, and Parmesan

Main Dishes

Apolinaras and I recently celebrated our eighth wedding anniversary with a trip to Martha’s Vineyard over Memorial Day weekend! I really can’t believe it’s already been eight years. It was our last vacation before the baby arrives, so there was nothing on our agenda except relaxing.

We spent most of our time wandering around Edgartown and enjoying the gorgeous scenery.

We climbed to the top of the Edgartown lighthouse,

and visited a couple different beaches, including South Beach. The water was actually warm enough that I got in, but the waves were so strong that one knocked me over! So, I spent the rest of the time reading on the beach and watching Apolinaras splash around instead.

He also had fun collecting shells and building me this little present, which was super cute (look carefully at what the shells spell out!). I really can’t wait to see him play with our daughter in the sand!

Our hotel, the Vineyard Square Hotel and Suites, was in a fabulous location within walking distance of everywhere you’d like to stroll in Edgartown. I also loved their large front porch, where we enjoyed treats almost every afternoon – yay for iced chai and carrot cake!

We also had a couple of lovely causal meals, and one of our favorites was at Offshore Ale Company in Ocean Bluffs, which we just visited for the afternoon. We split clam chowder and a pizza topped with duck, leeks, and pancetta. I’m always ready for pizza, but Apolinaras is a bit of a pizza snob and really only enjoys gourmet pies with unique flavor combos. This one hit the spot so much that I was recently inspired to whip up a similar version at home.

I spread the crust with a white sauce featuring asiago cheese and then topped it with spicy Andouille chicken sausage, pancetta, leeks, and freshly shaved parmesan. This pie was incredibly tasty and filling – I can’t wait to make it again.

White Pizza with Sausage, Pancetta, Leeks, and Parmesan
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Toppings:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound Andouille chicken sausage, sliced
4 ounces pancetta
1 large leek, white and light green parts only, chopped

White Sauce:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2/3 cup milk (I used 2%)
1 1/2 cups shredded asiago cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt

For pizza assembly:
1 pound of your favorite pizza dough (I used whole wheat from Trader Joe’s)
1/2 cup freshly shaved parmesan cheese

Directions:
To prepare the toppings, heat olive oil in nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add sausages, pancetta, and leeks and sauté 12 to 15 minutes or sausages are browned and leeks are tender.

To make the sauce, melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth and cook one more minute or until mixture starts to brown. Whisk in milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and mix in asiago cheese and salt. Heat 3 to 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and mixture is smooth, whisking occasionally.

To make the pizza, heat oven and a pizza stone to 500˚F. Place pizza dough onto a surface spread with semolina flour and spread dough into desired shape. Place shaped dough onto a greased peel or pizza pan and evenly spread sauce on top; sprinkle evenly with toppings. Either place pizza directly onto the pizza stone if using a peel or place the pizza pan on top of the pizza stone and bake at 500°F for 8 to 10 minutes or until crust is golden brown; sprinkle parmesan cheese on top. Cool for 5 minutes and cut into slices. Makes 8 slices.

Nutrition: 423 calories, 24.2g fat, 3.2g fiber, 28.8g protein per slice
Cost: $1.33 per slice

Christmas Mac & Cheese (aka Three Cheese Mac & Cheese with Roasted Broccoli and Sun Dried Tomatoes)

Happy Hanukah! Merry Almost Christmas! We’re on a bus right now headed to New York City, where we’ll be spending the holidays with my family. I’m really looking forward to eating our way through the city, and I’m especially excited about heading over to The...

Cheesy Caramelized Onion Tart with a Mashed Potato Crust

When I posted the recipe for my Fiesta Potato Pie a little over a year ago, I got a lot of comments about the fact that I used instant mashed potatoes to make the crust. I know, I know, I don’t normally buy instant mashed potatoes either, but I actually developed...

Toasted Almond and Roasted Red Pepper Pesto Pasta

Please don’t judge this recipe by the picture. It’s not the best looking pasta dish to begin with and my hopeless photography skills definitely don’t help do it any justice, but I can guarantee you that it’s worth making! I was recently asked whether I usually end up...

Mediterranean Lamb with Gnocchi

Kia ora! I’m finally gone through all our New Zealand pictures, so my next several posts will be recaps from our trip! New Zealand is just a breathtaking country and has something for everyone – mountains, beaches, wine country, even glaciers, volcanoes, and...

Maple Pecan Salmon over Roasted Potato, Apple, and Bacon Hash

I don’t usually buy a lot of produce at Costco, since it’s tough for just the two of us to eat our way through their large packages of fruits and veggies before it all spoils (although I do regularly make an exception of their Brussels sprouts and berries because we...

Orange Roasted Chicken

Time for part 2 of our New Zealand adventure (you can check out part 1 here)! After visiting Rotorua, we drove down to see Lake Taupo, the largest lake in New Zealand, which fills a caldera created by a huge volcanic eruption, and the Huka Waterfalls. Taupo is a...

Thai Burgers with Plum Sauce and Spicy Slaw

I’ve slowly been working on a few recipes to go with my recap posts about our amazing trip to New Zealand, but I haven’t even started to go through all our pictures. The task just seems too overwhelming...but today I have a little teaser post – Thai turkey burgers...

Roasted Butternut Squash and Spinach Penne Pasta

I’ve been looking forward to this week for awhile now, because I get to see my good friend Susie not once, but twice, in two different cities! Susie is one of my best friends from college. We initially bonded as partners in organic chemistry lab, where we amused...