Mushroom Pan Pizza and Home Alone

Hello and welcome to Pizza and a Movie! Today we have a holiday edition of Pizza and a Movie. It’s not the holidays at the Djalali House without watching Home Alone, at least once. Since it takes place in the Chicago Suburbs, and pizza is featured in the movie, I thought we’d do a pan pizza today. Kind of a deep dish-style pizza, this pan pizza is like a pie. The crust climbs the sides of the pan to give a gorgeous golden, bready crust. Let’s get to it!

Mushrooms

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Let’s start with the mushrooms. I have a 1-ounce package of dried Porcini mushrooms that I will reconstitute in hot water for about 10 minutes. Then I strained the liquid and added the liquid and the reconstituted Porcinis to a pan with sliced mushrooms and about 1/4 cup of water. Over medium-high heat, let the liquid boil and cook off until the pan is dry.

Sprinkle a pinch of kosher salt on the mushrooms and drizzle on a little olive oil. Sauté the mushrooms in the olive oil for a few minutes, until the mushrooms develop a little browning. Sprinkle the mushrooms with some fresh thyme or rosemary, stir and take off the heat. Set the pan aside.

Build the Mushroom Pan Pizza

Use a cast iron or other oven safe pan, and rub a little olive oil over the entire inside surface of the pan.

Take your prepared pizza dough and stretch it into the pan, pulling the sides of the dough up to cover the sides of the pan. Spread a layer of grated low moisture mozzarella over the bottom of the dough as the first layer.

Then top the cheese with your red sauce. I am using leftover meat sauce from our Classic Spaghetti and Meat Sauce recipe.

Spread the mushrooms over the red sauce. Then top with fresh mozzarella pearls.

Bake the Mushroom Pan Pizza for about 20 minutes, until the crust is risen and golden and the cheese is melted.

Finishing Touches

This next part is optional. When the pizza was done, I took it out of the oven and eased the pie out of the pan. Then I sprinkled grated Parmesan over the top and slid the pizza back into the oven (sans pan) for about 5 minutes to melt the Parmesan.

When the pizza came out for the second time, I set it on a wire rack and topped it with chopped parsley.

Let the pizza cool on a wire rack for a few minutes and then slice it up and enjoy!

Movie Night: Home Alone

We have our Mushroom Pan Pizza ready so let’s get to what has become a classic Christmas Movie. Home Alone is the 1990 comedy written by John Hughes (directed by Chris Columbus), starring Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, Catherine O’Hara and John Heard. I am not sure who hasn’t seen this movie, but if it’s been a while for you, give it a watch, it holds up in such a cute and nostalgic way.

With classic one-liners and unforgettable, painful-looking stunt scenes, this movie is heartwarming and clever. I love the cameo by John Candy as Gus Polinski, the the Polka King of the Midwest. It’s also so great to revisit Catherine O’Hara’s early films. To me, she is a comedy legend and it’s great to see her and Candy together in this movie. Home Alone is available to watch with a Disney + subscription; and available to rent on Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu, YouTube, Redbox and Amazon Prime.

Thank you all for joining me today for Pizza and a Movie! This will be the last pizza recipe of 2022 – next week will look back at the top pizzas of 2022. We are taking Sunday off this week in honor of Christmas. Through next week we will visit the top 5 recipes from Sunday Supper, top 5 desserts and the overall top 5 recipes from Djalali Cooks. Then it’s on to 2023 and new recipes! Happy Holidays, take care and be well. xo Kelly

Print Recipe

Mushroom Pan Pizza

(2 votes, average: 4.50 out of 5)

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Dinner, Main Course – American/Italian

By Kelly Djalali – Serves: 2-4

Prep Time: 20 Minutes – Cooking Time: 15-20 Minutes – Total Time: ~40 Minutes

A deep dish-style pan pizza with earthy, sautéd mushrooms, tomato-rich meat sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

Ingredients

• 1 oz. Dried Mushrooms, like Porcini
• 4-6 oz, Fresh Mushrooms, sliced
• 1/4 cup Water
• Olive Oil, divided
• Kosher Salt
• Fresh Thyme or Rosemary, minced
• 1 Prepared Pizza Dough
• 1/2 cup grated Low Moisture Mozzarella
• 1-1.5 cups Prepared Tomato Sauce
• 8 oz. Fresh Mozzarella Pearls
• Parmesan Cheese
• Chopped Fresh Herbs, like Parsley, for garnish

Instructions

1

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2

Reconstitute the dried mushrooms in hot water for about 10 minutes. Then strain the liquid and add the liquid and the reconstituted Porcinis to a pan with sliced mushrooms and about 1/4 cup of water. Over medium-high heat, let the liquid boil and cook off until the pan is dry.

3

Sprinkle a pinch of kosher salt on the mushrooms and drizzle on a little olive oil. Sauté the mushrooms in the olive oil for a few minutes, until the mushrooms develop a little browning. Sprinkle the mushrooms with some fresh thyme or rosemary, stir and take off the heat. Set the pan aside.

4

Use a cast iron or other oven safe pan, and rub a little olive oil over the entire inside surface of the pan.

5

Take your prepared pizza dough and stretch it into the pan, pulling the sides of the dough up to cover the sides of the pan. Spread a layer of grated low moisture mozzarella over the bottom of the dough as the first layer.

6

Then top the cheese with your prepared tomato sauce.

7

Spread the mushrooms over the red sauce. Then top with fresh mozzarella pearls.

8

Bake the Mushroom Pan Pizza for about 20 minutes, until the crust is risen and golden and the cheese is melted.

9

This next part is optional. When the pizza is done, take it out of the oven and ease the pie out of the pan.

10

Then sprinkle grated Parmesan over the top and slide the pizza back into the oven (sans pan) for about 5 minutes to melt the Parmesan. Keep an eye on the pizza so the bottom crust does not burn.

11

When the pizza comes out for the second time, set it on a wire rack and top with chopped parsley.