Happy Birthday, Jeanne! That's right friends, the sweet and sassy, Texas-dwelling blogger behind Inside NanaBread's Head is turning 50 today.
In honor of this exciting day, my theme-loving friends and I (see Cocktail Week, Crepe Week, Beer Week, etc.) are hosting a surprise (virtual) birthday party for Jeanne. Today we're sharing all sorts of great recipes fit for a fun, fabulous party.
While I haven't known Jeanne long, I feel like I know her so much better after combing through her blog in preparation for today's recipe. I was looking for an affinity toward a certain ingredient or dish from Jeanne's posts. A sign! Something! And there they were. . . pecans. With pecans as an inspiration and endless possibilities, I figured I could do no wrong. This sweet and savory combination comes from my cheese mongering days where I learned fig + cheese = happiness. I hope you'll agree, Jeanne! Happy Birthday!
1 lb. prepared pizza dough, or use your favorite recipe
cornmeal for baking pan or pizza stone
1 red onion, thinly sliced and caramelized
1 tablespoon of butter
1/2 cup of fig jam
1/2 cup of raw pecans, halves and pieces
2 cups of shredded fontina cheese
arugula, optional
- Prepare your pizza dough, rolling it out to make one large flatbread or several (4) small flatbreads. Move pizza dough to a cornmeal dusted, preheated baking sheet or pizza stone. I opted to use Smitten Kitchen's gussied-up pizza dough and roll out four small flatbreads. Pro-tip: Do NOT substitute grits for cornmeal. Bad bad idea.
- Heat butter in a skillet on medium high heat to caramelize the red onion. Once the butter is warmed through and fully melted, add the sliced onion, stirring to coat the onions. Turn the heat down somewhere between low to medium heat and let the onions caramelize slowly. I added a little bit of balsamic jam here, I highly recommend it if you can get your paws on some.
- Once the onions are done, begin dressing your unbaked flatbread(s). I layered the onions first, then small half-teaspoon dollops of fig jam, followed by pecans and fontina. Make sure the pecans are tucked well underneath the cheese, otherwise they'll burn. Alternately, skip the pecans in your assembly and top hot-out-of-the-oven flatbreads with toasted pecans.
- Bake your flatbread(s) at your ovens highest heat or per dough instructions.
- Top your flatbread(s) with bright, crisp spinach or arugula and enjoy. I did!
Great news! The party doesn't stop here. See who else is celebrating Jeanne's 50th today. . .
- Kirsten's Orange Cream Pie
- Allison's Coca Cola Cake
- Beka's Aged Manhattan
- Megan's Nutella Turnovers
- Kat's Guacamole
- Madelyn's Cheesey Chorizo Dip
- Anne's Mexican Vanilla Ice Cream Cones
- Monica's Tropical Ice Cream
- Katie's Chocolate Cake with Cooked Flour Frosting
- Lauren's Mini Key Lime Pies with an Animal Cracker Crust
- Carrie's Coconut Banana Brownie Pie
