AUTUMN PIZZA WITH DELICATA, CRANBERRIES, AND SAGE

Place pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 425 degrees for at least 20 minutes.  You can also make this pizza on a sheet pan if you don’t have a stone (no need to preheat sheet pan).

Bring your pizza dough to room temperature and knead briefly.  Cover with a clean kitchen towel on the counter.  Periodically go back while you are preparing the toppings and knead the dough for a couple of minutes.  This is ‘proofing’ the dough and will make it easy to form into a large round when you are ready to put the pizza together.

Cut the root and stem ends off the delicata squash and discard.  Cut the whole squash in half lengthwise.  Using a mandoline cut each half into very thin strips.  If you don’t have a mandoline, slice into as thin strips as possible, using a sharp knife.  Set aside.

Cook the bacon in a large deep skillet over medium high heat until lightly crispy.  Remove from the pan and chop into ½” pieces.  Set aside.

Add the onion, leeks, garlic, and the 2 tablespoons chopped sage to the bacon drippings in the pan and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and fragrant, about 2-3 minutes.  Add the reserved sliced squash and bacon to the pan along with the salt, pepper, and nutmeg.  Continue to cook, tossing frequently, until the squash is softened and begins to get limp, about 4-5 minutes.  Remove the pan from the heat and add ½ cup of the mayonnaise, ½ cup of the parmesan cheese and the whole cranberries.  Toss to fully coat.  Set aside to cool slightly while you prepare the dough.

Form your ‘proofed’ dough into a 12-14” round.  If the dough is still very springy, let it rest for another 10 minutes and try forming again.  Sprinkle the cornmeal on a pizza peel (or baking sheet and place your formed dough on top of it. The cornmeal will make the crust crispy and help the pizza to easily slide off the peel and onto the stone.

Top the dough with ½ cup of the shredded mozzarella, followed by the squash and cranberry mixture, spreading it evenly and leaving about 1” of dough exposed around the edge.  Top the squash with the remaining ½ cup of parmesan, followed by the remaining ½ cup of shredded mozzarella.

Slide the pizza onto the hot stone in the oven (or place sheet pan in oven) and bake for 10 minutes.  After 10 minutes brush the exposed crust with the remaining 2 tablespoons of the Hellmann’s mayo.  Bake for 3-4 more minutes until bubbly and golden brown.  Remove and let sit for 5-10 minutes to set while you prepare the crispy sage.

Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium high heat and add the whole sage leaves.  The butter will bubble and the sage will get crispy.  As soon as the butter turns golden brown, remove it from the heat.  Arrange the crispy sage leaves over the top of the pizza and drizzle the brown butter all over.

Drizzle the Hellmann’s Roasted Garlic Sauce back and forth across the top.  Cut into slices and devour!

PIZZA DOUGH

2 tablespoons olive oil (plus 2 teaspoons to oil the bowl)

1 tablespoon honey

1 ½ cups warm water (115-120 degrees)

1 packet yeast

2 teaspoons salt

3 ½ – 4 ½ cups flour

Place olive oil, honey, and water into the bowl of a stand mixer.  Stir to dissolve honey into the water (so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the bowl).  Sprinkle the yeast on top of the liquid mixture, stir, and let sit for 5-10 minutes until yeast becomes foamy.  Add salt and 2 ½ cups of the flour.  Mix using the dough hook attachment.  Gradually add as much of the remaining flour as needed until a ball forms and pulls away from the bowl.  Empty dough onto a floured countertop and knead for 8 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic adding flour as needed if sticky.

Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel.  Let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour until doubled in bulk.  Knead dough briefly and divide into 2 equal parts and form balls.  Let rest for 30 minutes under a clean kitchen towel.  If you are not using both balls, refrigerate each ball in a plastic bag sprayed with cooking spray for up to 5 days.