Sometimes he cuts appetizer pizzas into squares and passes them around the bar on weekends as a snack, gratis. “To be honest, people don’t mind waiting as much when you give them a little bite,” he says.

GET CREATIVE

Chefs go many directions with first-course pizzas, which, after all, are meant to open the palate rather than fill the guest. Pizza crust, whatever it is made of, is the perfect canvas for the creative chef to cover the culinary range of exotic, rich, flavor-balanced and upscale ingredients. Some share their favorite ideas.

BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse

BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse venues serve appetizer pizzas that include this club pizza (left) and pesto chicken with sun-dried tomato pizza.

the oven to set the bacon. He slices the finished dates onto the pizza dough, along with fontina cheese and fresh herbs at the end. It presents a sweet, salty, smoky flavor.

• One of Poursohi’s favorites at Faz is tarte
flambé—applewood-smoked bacon, cream
cheese, goat cheese, onion and julienned
fresh basil. He finely dices the onion and
cuts the raw bacon into small pieces
and mixes with cream cheese and goat
cheese, spreads it all on the dough and
bakes. Before service, he garnishes with
basil. For those who wonder how you can
include raw bacon on the pizza, “It cooks
perfectly. It’s fabulous,” he says.

• Poursohi also makes pomegranate
barbecue sauce work on appetizer
pizzas. He makes chicken/mozzarella/
pomegranate barbecue pizza, which offers
a sweet/sour flavor. His special sauce
replaces tomato sauce. “Or you can use
duck confit, if you like, with pomegranate
barbecue sauce.”
• For a Mexican/Southwest appetizer
pizza, Martin plays with barbacoa (spicy
shredded braised beef), adding sautéed
pepper, onions and green chilies. At the
end, he adds cilantro and drizzles with
Baja sauce, “which is like Mexican-style
vinaigrette,” he says.

Mardi Gras Pizza Bread

Jasper Mirabile Jr., Chef/Co-owner
Jasper’s
Kansas City, Mo.

Yield: 4-6 servings

1 loaf ciabatta bread
2 cups New Orleans red gravy
1 cup fresh mozzarella
½ cup Romano, grated
½ cup pepperoni, chopped
Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzle

• To mimic a chicken/mozzarella club sandwich, another appetizer pizza at BJ’s features a thin crust covered with mozzarella cheese (no sauce), seasoned tomatoes, diced grilled chicken and bacon bits. Once removed from the oven, garlic aïoli is drizzled over the top with diced avocado.

The National Culinary Review | May 2011

Method: Preheat oven to 450°F. Slice bread in half lengthwise. Spread both sides with New Orleans red gravy. Add cheeses and pepperoni. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake until crisp and cheese is bubbling, about 4-5 minutes. Cut into slices; serve hot.

• Further on the pomegranate theme, Poursohi makes pomegranate/walnut pizza. For the sauce, he finely dices onion and caramelizes with olive oil, adds ground walnuts and cooks on low for about a half-hour until the oil from the walnuts comes out. “At that stage, add pomegranate juice or paste as the base of the sauce,” he says. Add chicken, duck or any meat spread on top of the dough, and bake.

• Another unique thin-crust appetizer pizza at BJ’s layers thin-sliced roasted potatoes with a thin layer of Boursin or mozzarella cheese and shredded rotisserie chicken. Fresh herbs, such as thyme and rosemary, are added at the end.

• Bacon-wrapped dates are the key
ingredient for one of Martin’s favorites at
BJ’s restaurants. He stuffs dates with blue
cheese, wraps with bacon and bakes in
• Also on the potato theme, Corrieri with
MAFIAoZA’s favors red potato, rosemary
and lardo pizza for an appetizer. He tops
little rounds of dough with two or three
slices of parboiled, sliced red potato,
sprinkles on rosemary and tops with a