As some of you may be aware I host a pizza gathering each year in February. This year the blessed event will be February 20. If any of you are in the Seattle,Wa USA area on that day I would like to extend an invitation to attend. If you pm me your intent I will send you the event particulars.

Gene, what a great idea! Maybe I will bake along with you here in Wisconsin. Haven’t had home-made pizza in far too long!

Sadly, I’m on the other coast… 

Have fun, and maybe post some pics after?  I’d love to see your famous pizza crust.

Thanks. This event grows each year. I have one attendee from LA. It would be fun to go international!

Gene, how did your pizza event go?  Do you have any pictures you’d be up for sharing?

Hi Julie,
Thanks for inquiring. The event gets better with age. Attendees are urged to bring their favorite topping and the experienced guests are getting better at bringing good ingredients. In the past I had to put together a base of the fundamentals because I couldn’t be sure what would show up. One person now brings caramelized onions another favors their own Chinese pizza invention and he brings pork, bok choy, and Hoisin sauce. A first this year was a large portion of home cooked pulled pork. I married the pulled pork with some blue cheese on a pesto base. The crowd loved it. I used 15 lbs of flour for the dough and I vowed that this year I would count the number of pizzas we cooked. Alas after 30 the tally got somewhat confused so I think it was around 35. I did have dough left over so we had pizza for dinner the next night. Boo Hoo. Much better than running out of dough with 30 plus guests. We achieved international fame. One of my friends brought a guest from the Ukraine.
I am afraid I got so excited making everyones favorites that I totally spaced on pictures.

Gene, thanks for the report, I enjoyed it.  Congrats on going international!  Must try some of those toppings, I’ve been wanting to make a caramlized onion pizza for the longest time, this is reminding me to get on with it.

The beauty of the pizza is in it’s infinite variety. Caramelized onions are a favorite in southern France. It takes a lot of onions to make a good amount. I appreciate my friend’s help. I prefer the American classics. Pepperoni, olives, mushrooms etc. The crowd seems to favor exotics. The Chinese. Hoisin sauce topped with bok choy, pork, onion. The Californian. Pesto, artichokes, pine nuts.

Oh dear this thread makes me salivate. I’m so glad I’m back from my trip and can cook and bake again!

I got a new cookbook from Barbara Lynch, called Stir, in which she has recipes for brioche based pizza. Or you may call it flatbread. Really buttery. Which she tops with stuff like homemade ricotta, pistachios, pepper flakes and honey - you should try that on your dough as well! Different but really good!

Great. I needed another reason to eat more butter.
I was tempted to try a dessert pizza but I got fixated on a vision of honey and butter bubbling golden brown. Then I thought about the consequences of that golden brown mixture running out on my pizza stone and that halted me dead in my tracks. Maybe if I am real careful creating a dam around the edge.

See that’s the advantage if you put the butter in the dough   The pizza isn’t dessert at all, it’s yummy hot salty honeyed goodness….  It doesn’t even get baked very hot or on a pizza stone.

We have something in Germany that’s pretty close to what you describe in your dessert pizza, it’s called Butterkuchen. It’s a yeast dough, baked on a sheet, with butter, cream, sugar and cinnamon on top. Sooooooooo good!