11.01.2010

Apple and Sausage Pizza with Pumpkin Beer Sauce

Apple and Sausage Pizza with Pumpkin Beer Sauce
Have you ever had the pleasure of enjoying the positively delightful combination of fresh, crisp apples with sharp cheddar cheese?  If you have, you're probably already drooling because that combination is just that good.  Now imagine adding sweet Italian sausage, slivered mushrooms and wilted spinach.  Oh, and don't forget the mustard/ pumpkin beer sauce that goes on top.  Did I mention all of these incredibly amazing flavors are all sitting on top of a whole wheat pizza crust and then fancied up a bit with a splash of fresh chopped parsley?  Have I got your attention now?



The inspiration for this dish came from a happy reunion between me and my pizza stone.  I had to throw away my last pizza stone because it was way past its prime and starting to show its age via blotchy stains from many pizza's past.  I had been without one for a while and I had missed it.  So in a tizzy of pizza ambition, I got myself a new pizza stone and couldn't wait to whip it out and break it in.  Wanting to opt for something out of the norm, I created this little concoction of fall flavors that work together oh so perfectly I wondered why I hadn't thought of this combination before.

Apples and Sausage and Pumpkin Beer Sauce...oh my!
Apple Sausage Pizza with Pumpkin Beer Sauce
- 1 store bought ball of fresh whole wheat pizza dough
- Some flour for rolling out the dough
- Cornmeal for the bottom of the pizza so it doesn't stick
- 2 links of sweet Italian sausage (I used turkey sausage here)
- 1 small apple, sliced thin
- 5-6 mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
- A couple giant handfuls of spinach
- About a cup of cheese (I used a mix of mozzarella and cheddar)
- About a cup of pumpkin beer
- About two tablespoons of coarse grain mustard
- About 1 tbs creme fraiche (or sour cream would work as well)
- Fresh ground pepper
 - Parsley for garnish (optional)

Put the pizza stone into the oven and set it 450 degrees.  (Make sure the oven is cool when you put the pizza stone in, otherwise you run the risk of it cracking) Start by removing the casings on the sausage and brown them up in a pot.  Remove the sausage and add the beer.  Let it reduce by half and then add the mustard and black pepper.  Let the sauce cool a bit and add the creme fraiche.  In another pot, wilt down the spinach until it is just wilted.  Meanwhile by rolling out the pizza dough into some flour until it's evenly thin.  Top it with spinach, mushrooms, sausage and cheese.  Top with drizzles of the beer/mustard sauce and the slices of apple.  Put some cornmeal onto the pizza stone and carefully slide the pizza onto the hot pizza stone.  Bake for about 15 minutes until the crust starts to brown and the cheese bubbles.

12 comments:

Eliana said...

WOW - this is pizza perfection! And is seriously making my mouth water right now.

Fun and Fearless in Beantown said...

This looks and sounds great! Does this mean that you're not going to get that pizza oven for your backyard? ;-)

Jen said...

YUM! Glad you got a new pizza stone. Seriously, if you ever need help eating something, give me a call and I'll be right over!

Delicious Dishings said...

This sounds awesome! I never would have thought to reduce the pumpkin beer and mix it with mustard and use it to flavor the pizza. You are definitely super creative!

Emily said...

Woah - this pizza sounds insane. I make a lot of pizza's at home but have never added apple, no less a pumpkin beer sauce. Sounds GREAT!

Wicked Domestic said...

Wow...this looks amazing. Don't you just love fall dishes?!

Justin said...

That pizza looks awesome! Great photos too!

Kathy said...

This sounds wonderful! I'm in agreement that the pumpkin beer sauce is a brilliant idea! It makes me want to try it with Fall Harvest Mustard (from Ray's Mustard Mill, its a whole seed cranberry mustard and basically TheBest.Thing.EVER.)! And Gouda!

As always this looks delicious!

Cailin @ Stir Crazy said...

OMG, I love pizza and this sounds amazing! I never would have thought to put apples on a pizza, but this totally works. I really need to try this soon!

Erin said...

This looks so yummy. Thank you for sharing!

Kerstin said...

What a gorgeous and inspiring pie - love all the ingredients! I just got a new pizza stone too and can't wait to use it!

Alicia said...

i LOVE apples and cheddar - and with that pumpkin beer sauce, I am drooling!!

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