Hello everyone! What better way to start my recipe blog than with a great pizza recipe. Everyone loves pizza, right? It was really the first food category that I gravitated to and started experimenting with (and pizza is great for experimentation). This recipe was one of the early successes. My wife and I used to throw Super Bowl parties every year and more often than not, I’d spend the entire first half in the kitchen rolling out pie after pie, with all different toppings, to varying levels of appreciation from our friends. This one never seemed to disappoint.

Now we tend to make individual size pizzas with different crusts, sauces, and cheeses to satisfy everyone in the house. I hope to show a good handful of different pizza ideas as this blog moves along. For now, let’s dig into one of my favorites.

Ham and Swiss Pizza serves 3-4

Ingredients

• 1 lb. pizza dough or 1 large pre-made pizza crust (I used whole wheat)
• 1/3 cup Dijon mustard
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• Garlic powder
• Black pepper
• 1 – 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 6 oz deli ham
• 6 oz deli Swiss cheese
• 1/2 cup red onion, finely diced
• Cornmeal

Preparation

For making pizza from a dough, you will need a pizza stone and a pizza peel (see the Resources tab). Coat the stone with cornmeal and pop it in the oven. The cornmeal will keep the pizza from sticking to the stone. Let the dough sit out while you preheat and prep the other ingredients. It will be easier to work with as it gets closer to room temperature.

If using pre-made crusts, these can generally go right on the oven rack or a baking sheet (depending on how crisp you want things to get) in the upper part of the oven, or directly on a pizza stone (no cornmeal required).

Preheat the oven to 450.

In a small bowl, combine the mustard and the olive oil with a small whisk. Add pepper and garlic powder to taste, then add the thyme. Whisk to combine.

For the ham and the cheese, for some reason I like to slice them in long strips for this recipe, but you could dice them, too. You could even use cookie cutters if you really wanted to…

If using pre-made crusts, skip to the next paragraph. If using dough, roll it out on a floured surface to your desired thickness. A pound of dough should make about a 12-14″ pizza. Remove as many air bubbles as you can either by hand or by poking with a fork. Coat your pizza peel with cornmeal and place the dough on it. Give it a little shake to make sure it slides on the peel. Add more cornmeal if necessary.

Spread the mustard mixture on your dough or crust, leaving a bit of an edge. Top with the Swiss, then the ham, then the red onion. Pop it in the oven, and bake 6-10 minutes, but keep an eye on it for your desired doneness.

Let it cool for a couple minutes before slicing. As you can see, I like a salad with pizza. For drinks, I know most people like beer with pizza, but if you’re more of wine person, for reds go with a Beaujolais or a non-oaked Chardonnay if you prefer whites.

Thanks for reading! I hope you try this and enjoy it!