Summer’s totally in full effect. I haven’t watched TV in days, my nails are bright pink, I can’t leave the house without sunglasses, and all I want to do is sit outside while drinking pink wine and eating pizza.

And iced coffee. I’m eating that like crazy, too.

I’ve been playing with a lot of pizza topping combinations and I’m really digging the whole sweet fruit thing with cheese and some sort of salty meat. It’s a winner of a combo; made only better with a drizzle of this balsamic/honey reduction thing I made. Sounds fancy (meh)…nah! Totally easy.

I was going to use blackberries instead of the figs, but when I saw them perched, looking all cute in their pretty little basket, blackberries didn’t have a chance.
I’ve also been on this undeclared mission to find a whole wheat pizza crust that can compete with this current favorite of mine. Well…this thing below totally struck out–it almost makes me mad looking at the picture. Yes, it’s true, pizza dough has the ability to make me angry.

I’m posting a picture as evidence that I had the best intentions with it, but it was bland and way too fluffy, if that makes sese. Don’t worry. I’m determined. I totally have my I’m-gonna-figure-this-out face on. It’s scary.
Despite this super lame pizza dough, this pizza is kind of flawless. It’s a mouth full of summer flavors going on that can only be made better by an accompanied glass of ice cold pink wine.

And maybe some sort of icebox cake. I like things icey. So icey.
Fig Bacon and Goat Cheese Pizza

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3-4 slices of bacon, cubed
12 ounces of store-bought (or homemade dough)
4 ounces goat cheese, softened
4-5 black figs, quartered
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
1 handful of arugula

Preheat oven to 500 degrees and heat up stone for 30 minutes.

In a medium fry pan–over medium heat fry bacon until crispy.

Gently pull pizza dough apart into a non-perfect circle. Place on a piece of parchment. Smear on a thick layer of goat cheese on the pizza dough’s entire surface. Top with figs and bacon. Place on the stone (with parchment) in the oven. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.

While pizza is cooking, add balsamic vinegar and honey to a small saucepan. Cook to reduce for 3-5 minutes, or until thick and syrupy. Remove pizza from oven and top with a handful of arugula and balsamic/honey reduction sauce.

I have to confess that I was once a bit of a pizza purist. To me, pizza meant crust, sauce, mozzarella cheese and pepperoni. As a kid I was incredibly stringent on this rule. It was a huge step when I finally began to eat sausage on my pizza, but no one was crazy enough to think I might try green peppers or mushrooms.

Nowadays I tend to be much more adventurous. I like pizzas with different sauces like pesto, or even those that don’t have sauce like a classic Margherita pizza. This however, might be the biggest leap I’ve ever made. There isn’t any sauce, just a drizzle of olive oil. You won’t find mozzarella but instead a mild Fontina cheese. Oh yeah, and there’s also the potato and arugula. I was stunned to learn how amazing arugula could be on a pizza when I went to Pitfire, but potato? On a pizza? My adult self wanted to try this, but I could hear the little kid in me screaming “Gross! I’m not tasting it!”

Trust me though, you’re gonna want to give this a shot. If you actually do have small children, feed them a “normal” pizza while you dig into this. The mild potato and Fontina combined with the peppery arugula is perfect for the summer; light, flavorful and satisfying.

Potato and Arugula Pizza

Adapted from The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook

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Pizza dough, either store-bought or homemade
1 larger baking potato, scrubbed
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
2 cups arugula leaves
3 ounces shredded Fontina cheese (about ¾ cup)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Slice the potato into thin slices. Toss in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and lay out on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until just tender. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Raise the oven temperature to 500 degrees. In a small bowl combine 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the minced garlic. Set aside. Wash, dry and coarsely chop the arugula. Toss the arugula with 1 tablespoon olive oil and set aside.

Grease a baking sheet with olive oil and stretch the dough to fill it. (You can also use a pizza stone and roll the dough out to a 12-inch circle on a pizza peel) Line the dough in rings of potatoes, starting from the outside and working inward, leaving a ½ inch border around the edges. Brush the potatoes with the garlic oil.

Place the baking sheet in the oven for about 10 minutes, or until the crust starts to brown and the potatoes are golden brown.

Sprinkle the arugula evenly over the pizza. Sprinkle the cheese over the arugula and bake for another 3 minutes, or until the cheese melts.