Thanksgiving Pizza

I decided to end this week with a recipe that requires a little sense of humor. It does. The mere idea of a Thanksgiving pizza requires a little sense of humor, though if you like unique pizza, this one’s definitely right up your alley. At the end of our post detailing our Ham and Pineapple on our newly minted Sweet Potato Crust, I mentioned that we had made an extra batch and were looking for ideas on toppings. While no one really commented in the post, Twitter was definitely a buzz with ideas. Several people asked us to make a Thanksgiving-themed pizza. Always the nerds up for anything weird, Neil and I decided to make a go of it.

I based the design off our very favorite stuffing recipe. I didn’t use every ingredient, as I felt it would be overwhelming, but I picked the ingredients I felt would complement each other best. So here we go:

INGREDIENTS:

For the Pizza:
1 batch of sweet potato pizza crust dough (directions here)
12 large slices of Sopressata (or any thinly sliced sausage)
1 golden delicious apple, cored and sliced thinly
1 cup dried cranberries
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
3 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt
Pepper
Basil
Oregano
Garlic Powder

Pomegranate Reduction (optional but worth it):
1 cup pomegranate juice
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
corn starch to thicken if needed (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

For the pizza:
1. Prepare dough according to directions. Roll out and brush with olive oil, and season with salt, pepper, basil, oregano and garlic powder to taste.
2. Layer first the sopressata, then a thin layer of cheese, then apple slices and a final layer of cheese. Sprinkle with dried cranberries, and season with additional herbs if desired.
3. Bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until crust and cheese turns golden.

To make the pomegranate reduction:
1. Bring ingredients to a boil, then lower to a simmer, and continue to simmer for about 15 minutes, adding corn starch to thicken as necessary.
The pomegranate reduction, drizzled over the pizza, gave it the perfect sweet to salt ratio.

I still can’t get over how good this crust is, and how soft and chewy it gets in the oven. As much as I love my dad’s mountain-high leftover turkey and fixings sandwiches, this might be a new favorite!

Edited to add: Suffice to say, you can substitute any of your leftovers in any combination you choose. We use sausage in our stuffing, but you can substitute your leftover shredded turkey, mushrooms, olives… anything!