Stir It Up: Lenten Pizza & Lemon Mascarpone Mini Desserts - WFMJ.com News weather sports for Youngstown-Warren Ohio

Stir It Up: Lenten Pizza & Lemon Mascarpone Mini Desserts

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Lenten Pizza 

6 tablespoons prepared pesto sauce

1 unbaked pizza crust

4 ounces of goat cheese

3 Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/4 cup sliced black olives, drained

1 cup fresh arugula or baby spinach, cut up

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Parmesan cheese

Cut up arugula or spinach and mix with lemon juice and pepper and set aside. Preheat oven, following the directions on the package. If the pesto is very oily, drain some of the oil off or dab it with a paper towel. Mix garlic into the pesto and spread the pesto mixture on the unbaked crust. Crumble goat cheese onto the pesto, covering the entire pizza. If you are not a huge goat cheese fan, fresh mozzarella cheese also works just fine. Sprinkle olives over the pizza. Top with slices of tomatoes. Lightly brush the edges of the pizza crust with olive oil and sprinkle with a little grated Parmesan cheese. Place pizza directly on the oven rack or place on a sheet of aluminum foil on the oven rack. Bake pizza for 5 to 10 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove from the oven, cooling for a few minutes, then topping with the drained arugula or spinach and serving.  

Lemon Mascarpone Mini Desserts 

1 (8 ounces) container mascarpone cheese

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup whipped cream

2 (3 once) packages ladyfingers

1 1/2 cup lemon curd

Fresh raspberries, blackberries, strawberries for garnish 

Mix mascarpone cheese, sugar and vanilla just until blended. Beat whipping cream until soft peaks forms then fold in cheese mixture. Spoon into a zip lock bag and cut a 1/2 inch hole in one corner. Cut ladyfingers in half crosswise. Press 1 ladyfinger half into a small desert dish, shot glass, or small, stemmed glass. Spoon 1 1/2 teaspoon lemon curd on top of the ladyfinger. Pipe a small amount of mascarpone mixture on top of the lemon curd and repeat once. Garnish with fresh berries. Cover and chill for 2 hours or overnight