Thursday, May 26, 2011

Hamburger Pizza= A finnnneee alternative to your standard hamburger

One of my favorite things to do when I procrastinate is make pizza (the GRE is tomorrow folks... yelp!). What about pizza is there not to like... carbs+ cheese = open canvas. You can do anything you want with pizza, plus the best part is, you control the amount of cheese, toppings, sauce, etc.

The inspiration for this pizza came from the fact I had hamburger meat I had to use, but, I didn't want a hamburger. LIGHT BULB. Hamburger pizza. The first thing you have to come up with is, what goes on a hamburger? Lettuce, tomatoes, onions, mayo, cheese all make up the standard hamburger. However, lettuce isn't going to cook well, and neither is mayo.

Fixing the lettuce and mayo problem was easy; I just would not put it on. But that also leaves me with the questions of decided the kind of base the pizza would have. Ketchup? Eh, it just doesn't sound right. Thousand Island? It has the same problem as the mayo.Perplexed on what to do, I went grocery shopping and waited for inspiration to hit me.... which it did.

Caramelized onion dip. Who does not LOVE caramelized onions on thier hamburger. Plus, the dip was creamy and cheesy, which was perfect. All that was left was the pizza construction.

Ingredients (All from Trader Joe's): 1 red onion, 1 steak tomato, 80-20 ground beef, Sharp White Cheddar Slices, Jack Blue Cheese Slices, Pizza dough, Caramelized onion dip. I also used minced garlic I had in my kitchen.




The first thing you need to do it take the dough out and let it rest for over 20 minutes. The longer, the better. I have a pizza stone (if you do not have one, I suggest investing), which I used. If you are like me, make sure you put cornmeal down on the stone (not flour, it will burn) before you lay down the dough to rest.


The first step is to brown the meat. Cook it down as much as you can, as you don't want it to keep cooking on the pizza. If you let it cook on the pizza, the fat will drip and get over everything, making your pizza a greasy mess. And that is NOT tasty.


Next, chop your vegetables. Cut the tomatoes and onions into thin rings. Set these aside. After the dough has risen a bit, add more cornmeal to the stone and roll out the dough. Depending on the type and amount of dough you are using, you will get various size circles. Make the edges thicker to have a crust to hold on to.

What I love to do with pizza, because I am garlic obsessed, is smear minced/crushed garlic all along the base of the pizza to the edges. That way, even the crust is delicious. Next, put down your base, which in this case is the caramelized onion dip. Mmmmmm


Next, add the hamburger meat. You can put as little or as much as you like. I used about 3/4 of the amount that came in the package cooked down. Personally, I don't skimp on toppings.


Next, add the tomatoes. I usually put the underneath the cheese. Afterward, I take both cheeses, breaking up the slices into chunks and spreading both evenly over the pizza. You can use as much cheese as you think you want. I used about 2 slices of the Jack Blue cheese and 3 of the Cheddar.


Lastly, put the onions on top. Onions cook down to about half of their size, so even when it may seem like a lot on a pizza, it really isn't. I sprinkled a little shredded mozzarella on top of the pizza, just to hold it all together. This step is optional.


Voila. Delicious Hamburger Pizza.... Make sure you let the pizza rest for a few moments before cutting into it. Once properly cooled, cut a slice, or two.... or three, and enjoy! 

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