Margherita Pizza

Raise of hands…who loves pizza?  It is very rare to find a person that doesn’t like a delicious slice of pizza hot out of the oven.  But, I will tell you a secret, I don’t really care for pizza…well unless it is really good pizza.  The crust has to be perfectly cooked, the toppings have to be fresh, and you can see where I am going with this.  When I want pizza I want it to be good.

One of my favorite kinds of pizza is a delicious margherita pizza with fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil.  But, how often do you come across that at your local pizza delivery place?  I have found that making pizza at home is the best solution to my pizza snobbery.  But sometimes schedules make homemade crust impossible.  That is why I was so excited to see that World Market carried a fabulous Italian pizza crust in their gourmet food section.  Now I can whip up a gourmet margherita pizza in under 15 minutes…and with this margherita pizza recipes, so can you!

Ingredients-

• 1 premade pizza crust (I used the Pastorelli crust available at World Market)
• 3-4 thinly sliced roma tomatoes
• 1/2 lb. fresh mozzarella sliced in about 1/4 inch slices
• 4-5 fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2-3 garlic cloves, finely minced

Directions-

1. Preheat oven according to pizza crust directions.  Place prepared pizza crust on pizza stone or parchment lined baking sheet.  Mix minced garlic with olive oil and spread evenly over pizza crust.
2. Arranged tomato slices over the crust.  Top tomatoes with fresh mozzarella slices.
3. Sprinkle with finely sliced fresh basil.
4. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cheese is melted.
5. Serve with your favorite Italian soda and ENJOY!

Now you can join me in my pizza snobbery.  You won’t be disappointed.  Do you know what else won’t disappoint you?  This Friday’s Gourmet Getaway SNAP! Chat with Cost Plus World Market.  In addition to amazing prizes, World Market is also bringing a couple very special guest hosts…can you say JOEY FATONE and My Family Recipe Rocks?  Here are the details:

• Friday, September 20th, 2013
• 6:00 pm MT (5:00 PT, 7:00 CT, and 8:00 ET) for 1 hour.
• We are chatting family recipes with our friends at Cost Plus World Market and My Family Recipe Rocks! Be ready to share, learn, have fun, and leave hungry (maybe have a snack or two on hand during this delicious chat).  It’s going to be like having a gourmet getaway from the comfort of your own home.  We will also be announcing some juicy details about World Market’s upcoming promotion (hint — get your passport ready).
• Be sure to follow @worldmarket, @reciperocks, @realjoeyfatone, and @snapconf so you don’t miss out on any of the excitement.
• Not familiar with this social media tool? Read up on how to use Twitter. Never participated in a Twitter chat? We’ve got Twitter chat pointers too.
• You can follow all the SNAP! Chat happenings with the #GourmetGetaway hashtag.
• We invite you to participate using TweetChat following the #GourmetGetaway.

Now what are you waiting for…make a pizza and RSVP for this week’s SNAP! chat.