A light, fresh, and creamy pizza

First the inspiration, then the recipe (I totally forgot to take a picture...and it looked so lovely!).

Last week I spent one day in New York City. I apologize to all of you who have lived in New York City and to all of you who love New York City. I do not. This trip was just further confirmation for my sexy husband and I that New York City is just too much. Give me Chicago or, best of all, Vancouver any day. I do not want New York City. It may very well be the culinary capital of the world, but who can eat at all of those restaurants? How can this one or that one be the jewel? There are approximately 50 million "jewels" in New York City. I find it all very overwhelming. Still, on my last two trips to New York City the highlight has been restaurants. Last year we found this awesome wine bar that was an oasis. It didn't belong in New York City at all. It made me feel like I was somewhere else, somewhere relaxing and peaceful, and that's probably why I liked it so much.

Last week we went to this wonderful pizza place off of Broadway near Times Square (I don't remember the name...but no matter, you can't recreate an experience in New York City anyway). It was spacious, unhurried, and uncrowded (and a welcome relief since we'd been standing in line at the Empire State Building for over 2 hours). They had two coal fired ovens in which they made New York style thin crust pizza. My sexy husband and I got a bruschetta pizza. The pizza had no sauce. The mozzarella cheese was directly on the crust with grilled chicken and tomatoes marinated in basil and olive oil on top. It was fantastic. The restaurant also had a white sauceless pizza with both ricotta and mozzarella. Unfortunately at $22 a pizza, I didn't get to try that one.

These pizzas were my inspiration.

My pizza (which my sexy husband declared to be even better than the $22 version) was pan fried. As I suggested when I first succeeded at pan frying a pizza (see my directions here), it is much easier to pan fry a pizza if you don't have to worry about cooking/melting the toppings. So, if you haven't already guessed, I topped my pizza with ricotta cheese (no moz) and bruschetta topping.

Bruschetta topping:

3 large tomatoes, diced (try to squeeze out some of the liquid or use a firmer Roma tomato)
2 green onions, chopped
1 large clove garlic, minced
a small handful of fresh herbs, chopped (I used basil, savory, mint, and thyme because I had them available. You can just use basil if you want. That should be your predominant flavor)
1 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and black pepper to taste

I made the bruschetta topping about an hour ahead so the flavors of the herbs would start coming out into the juices.

Pan fry (in some olive oil) or grill pizza dough until it's nicely browned and crispy on one side. Flip. Top with ricotta cheese and bruschetta topping. Continue frying or grilling until second side is nicely browned and crisp. If your dough is burning before it cooks through, the pan/grill is too hot.

For me, the key to this pizza is the dough (crispy on the outside and wonderful, doughy goodness inside) and the ricotta cheese. The ricotta makes the pizza both creamy and light while allowing the tomatoes and basil to dominate.

My father-in-law told me to tell all of you that it was a great success. He loved it.:)