A Pizza Battle of Epic Proportions!!

Pizza is one of those foods loved the world over. No matter where you are on this planet, no matter what your taste, there is a pizza out there for you. And if you say you don't like pizza... well, the sooner you stop lying to yourself and everyone around you, the better! ;)

In just over a month, Las Vegas will once again become ground zero for pizza genius. Pizza professionals from around the world will get together at the International Pizza Expo to do all things pizza. In light of this, I've been inspired by the folks at Vegas.com to come up with a pizza using only a Las Vegas resort  as my muse! Piece of cake pizza!

After discussing my pizza plans with my husband, to a response of... 'maybe you should pick another hotel?', things quickly escalated into an epic pizza showdown.

Queue music, 'cause there's about to be a Pizza War!

Pizza #1: Inspired by The Paris Las Vegas Hotel 

My Inspiration: Simple and tasty French cooking.

I chose sautéed mushrooms and lardons a la Julia Child - shallots for their overall yumminess and two very distinct french ingredients; herbs de provence and camembert cheese.


Ingredients: 
- Olive Oil
- Sea Salt

- Butter

- Herbs de Provence
- Cremini Mushrooms 

- Shallots 

- Chunk Bacon
- Camembert Cheese

- Pizza Dough





Instructions:

1) Prep pizza dough. Allow 2 hours for the dough to proof. I used this recipe from Ciao Florentina. This pizza dough is unreal and worth the wait!!

2) Prep lardons. Trim rind of chunk bacon. Cut bacon into matchsticks. Simmer in pot of water with rind until cooked (5-7ish mins) and remove with a slotted spoon. Set aside.

3) Sauté mushrooms. Heat butter in pan on medium-high; once foam starts to go down, add herbs de Provence, swirl them around then add the mushrooms. Shake/toss the pan until mushrooms begin to brown (6-7ish mins). Set aside.

4) Fry shallots and crisp lardons. Add oil to pan, then shallots. Season with salt and cook. Add the lardons and fry until crispy and shallots are caramelized.

5) Assemble pizza. Drizzle olive oil over uncooked pizza crust, then sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt (seriously a pinch, you don't want salty pizza, trust me!). Spread shallots onto the crust with the lardons. Add the herb de provence seasoned mushrooms and finally, top with dollops of camembert cheese.

6) Bake on high heat (as high as your oven will go) for 10-15 minutes or until crust looks cooked and your pizza is bubbling!

The sexy before shot.

 

The oh so melty, gooey, after shot!

Pizza #2: Inspired by The Flamingo Hotel

Nick's Inspiration: Actual flamingos and the hotel's historical association with mobsters.

Nick chose shrimp as a key ingredient because flamingos turn pink over time due to a heavy diet of shrimp (leave it to Nick to bring random knowledge to the table - fun fact!) He chose to also use chicken because it's a relative of the flamingo. He opted for Italian themed ingredients like pesto and fresh mozzarella because of the hotels original ties to the mob (later realizing the original owner was in fact a Jewish mobster from New York! his comment... 'whoops!'). And lastly cayenne pepper, feta and red pepper to represent the pops of colour and the unique flavours of the strip!

Ingredients:
- Olive Oil
- Minced Garlic
- Lemon Juice
- Salt
- Shrimp, peeled & deveined
- Chicken Breast
- Cayenne Pepper
- Pesto
- Fresh Mozzarella
- Feta Cheese
- Red Pepper
- Pizza Dough


Instructions:

1) Prep pizza dough. Allow 2 hours for the dough to proof. We both used the same AMAZING dough recipe. Seriously, it's worth the wait.

2) Marinate shrimp in lemon juice, minced garlic, salt and olive oil.

3) Season chicken breast with salt & cayenne pepper and fry in olive oil until cooked. Set aside.

4) Sauté shrimp in frying pan with the marinade. Set aside.

5) Slice red pepper & mozzarella.

6) Assemble pizza. Spread thin layer of pesto over uncooked crust, top with sliced mozzarella. Place shrimp on top of mozzarella then add the chicken. Place thinly sliced pieces of red pepper around the pizza and crumble feta to finish.

7) Bake on high heat (as high as your oven will go) for 10-15 minutes or until crust looks cooked and your pizza is bubbling!

The sexy before picture!

And the even sexier, after picture!

So there you have it! A pretty epic pizza battle, our first foodie face-off, and a damn tasty good time! I felt like I was on an episode of Cutthroat Kitchen, battling for kitchen equipment and counter space. It was legit so much fun! And I can honestly say I would 100% make both pizzas again.

Piz-zout! ;)