Variety Of Cheeses Can Spice Up Pizza

While shopping at the supermarket the other day, I kept passing another woman shopper going the opposite way. We nodded and smiled as we went along our merry way.

When we both came to the bakery the unexpected happened: I accidently put my loaves of bread in her cart.

The switch was immediately noticed by the other woman and we adjusted the food items.

Later, I wondered what I would have cooked for dinner if I’d kept the contents of the other cart. The gracious shopper who ended up with my cart might have been curious about the four types of cheese that I was buying.

The cheeses were the star attraction for a pizza. We sampled the cheeses before cooking; my girls were not impressed with cold Fontina cheese, but the blend of four melted cheeses was quite delicious.

Fontina cheese is a delicately nutty cheese with an almost-honey flavor. It’s a mellow appetizer or dessert cheese.

Provolone, a very hard cheese, is smoked and fairly sharp. Combined with fontina, mozzarella and fresh parmesan, this pizza topping is worth staying home for.

This recipe recommends a refrigerated pizza crust dough, but you might consider a Boboli pizza shell as an alternative for a crustier pizza. Top with lots of tomatoes; there’s no tomato base for the pizza.

Serve with a Caesar salad and finish the meal with rainbow sherbet.

And next time you’re in the supermarket, check your grocery cart; you may find extra loaves of bread.

Cheese Lover’s White Pizza

Adapted from “Weight Watchers Favorite Homestyle Recipes” (NAL Books)

1 10-ounce refrigerated pizza crust

3 ounces shredded nonfat mozzarella cheese

3 ounces shredded provolone cheese

3 ounces shredded fontina cheese

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

3-4 large tomatoes, sliced

2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray 12-inch pizza pan or 13-by 9-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Unroll pizza dough; press into prepared pan. Arrange remaining ingredients over top. Bake until cheese is bubbly and golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes.

Yield: 6 servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 452 calories, 18 grams fat (36 percent fat calories), 30 grams protein, 40 grams carbohydrate, 48 milligrams cholesterol, 642 milligrams sodium.

MEMO: The goal of Five and Fifteen is to find recipes where you can do the shopping in five minutes and the cooking in about fifteen. Merri Lou Dobler, a registered dietitian and Spokane resident, welcomes ideas from readers; write to: Five and Fifteen, Features Department, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210.

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