Pizza Night

Hold on to your butts! I was so inspired by pizza night that I started a blog! This pizza is so dang delicious, your friends might think you're trying to seduce them. Seriously. It's like handing out a slice of heaven.
One of my dinner guests said this pizza reminded him of Cinnamon Toast Crunch! with bacon. That may be one of the best compliments ever.

Hand-tossed dough topped with homemade Fuji apple butter, fontina cheese, sliced apples & red onions.

Why is this pizza so dang delicious (SDD)? First of all, the combination of apple butter, bacon, fontina cheese, more apples & red onions is brilliant. Furthermore, when you combine all these flavors on top of a cold-fermented, hand-tossed crust, and cook it in a cast iron skillet, the result truly is a party in your tummy. I should have taken more pictures.

The most important advice I can give when making this pizza is to use homemade apple butter. Even if you're not a fan of apple butter. Until recently, that super smooth brown paste never appealed to me. I would always try to be a good sport about it, but never understood why anyone would choose apple butter over jam or preserves or maple syrup. Last month, during my mom's visit to Florida, I was introduced to the magic that is homemade apple butter. Thank you, Mom! When you make it yourself, you can use your favorite kind of apple and you control how much sugar is added. Woohoo! Here is the recipe I use, from the MCAS Beaufort Federal Credit Union Community Cookbook, with my own modifications:

Apple Butter

• 6 lbs. peeled and cored apples
• 1.5 - 2 cups of demerara sugar
• 2 Tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp grated nutmeg

It is best to process the apples into small pieces before adding them to the slow cooker. You can chop them into small pieces (1/4") by hand or you can use a food processor to accomplish the same effect. No big deal if there are a few big pieces here and there. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix until apples are completely coated. Transfer mixture into a slow cooker.

Cook at low temperature for 10-12 hours, until mixture is thick, stirring occasionally. Alternatively, you can cook the apples on high for 8 hours, but you have to stir more frequently.

When done, place apple butter into hot canning jars and seal with hot seals and lids. Process sealed jars in almost boiling water for 5-10 minutes. Place sealed jars in sink full of room temperature water for 10 minutes. Once the lids pop, let the jars cool completely before storing.

Please refrigerate after opening.

I can't stop making it, and my friends can't stop eating it.

SDD on pizza, toast, english muffins, pancakes, vanilla ice cream, in your oatmeal, in your smoothie, on a spoon, etc. etc.