“My sister got me all of the things in this picture.”

My sister always gets me thoughtful gifts, many times for no reason at all. Just because she is a nice person. She in fact, gave me everything in the above picture - trendy table runner, millennial-colored die and this awesome cookbook.

Love & Lemons is a blog-turned cookbook from Jeanine Donofrio. Inspired by food from her travels and life in Austin, Love & Lemons is focused on simple, fresh and “impronto” cooking. This book is unique in the fact that it is organized by ingredients. A chapter for apples, a chapter on zucchini, and lots in between. It's a great resource to reference when you have lots of peppers in your fridge. Or when you accidentally bought 7 cucumbers and only needed 1 for a recipe.

Instead of flipping through the pages of the book and randomly stopping, I decided to use my super cute dice from my sister to choose the recipe from this book.

42 + 62 = 104 = page 104 & 105 = Roasted Cauliflower and Pear Pizza

I only recently came around to cauliflower. Thinking about it gives me flashbacks to my childhood of sitting down to steamed and mushy nothingness that was only palatable with a hearty squeeze of microwaved cheese from a plastic bottle. Eww.

But I’ve thankfully come to find out, roasting cauliflower is delicious. It might as well be a different vegetable all together. It becomes nutty and rich, with crunchy caramelized bits after being roasting on a sheet pan. The head that I used for this recipe was a tad bigger than “small” so I had a bit of cauliflower that didn’t make it onto my pizza. The extra roasted cauliflower is great to keep in the fridge to toss in salads or stir-frys.

I made Jeanine’s pizza dough recipe from the book, which was nice and hearty. It was half all-purpose flour and half whole wheat flour, so it had a nice bite to it. I had just finished washing and putting away my farm share for the week and fennel fronds were covering my counter and cutting board. Because I dislike cleaning that much, I thought it was be easier to mix in the scattered fronds into the dough - instead of washing my cutting board and counter. I am a true lazy innovator. Her dough only needs to rest for an hour, but if you are looking to cut down your prep time, store bought pizza dough or even a pre-made flatbread would work just fine!

I tend to be excessive and over the top when it comes to lots of food-related things, and cheese is one of them. I can't just put any old cheese on a pizza! Who do you think I am? This recipe calls for white cheddar and feta or blue cheese. I opted for a one-year cheddar from Vermont that melts great and is more buttery than super sharp. My fav cheese counter also had a special sheep’s milk cheese who’s rind gets rubbed with tomato paste. It's softer and creamier than other Pecorino cheeses, and its slightly earthy sweetness pairs great with the nutty cauliflower and fresh pear. I liked the idea of choosing a blue cheese over feta, and picked out one of my favorite Italian blues, Alta Blu di Langa. It's a mix of goat, sheep and cow’s milk, and has a bright and fresh finish.

*From left to right : Grafton 1-year Cheddar, Pecorino Marzolino, Alta Blu di Langa*

This pizza was so hearty I totally forgot it didn't have any meat on it. It may seem like an odd combo, but the crunchy pear and the nutty cauliflower go great together. The melty cheese, spicy arugula and sweet honey take this pizza above and beyond your regular pizza.

So thank you, Love & Lemons, for your beautiful blog, cookbook and introducing me to this unique and delicious combination.

Roasted Cauliflower and Pear Pizza

Makes 1 big pizza

1 recipe homemade pizza dough* or store-bought dough
1 small head of cauliflower
Cornmeal - for dusting
EVOO - for drizzling and brushing
1 ½ cups grated white cheddar (about .75 lbs piece)
1 unripe pear - thinly sliced
⅓ cup of crumbled feta or blue cheese (about .15 lbs piece)
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Handful of arugula
Salt and pepper
Honey - for drizzling

Make the pizza dough, or buy some from the store. You do you!

Preheat the oven to 400℉. Break cauliflower up into small florets and spread on a large baking sheet. Drizzle with EVOO, salt and pepper and toss together. Bake until golden brown, around 25-30 minutes, flipping and mixing florets halfway through.

On a lightly floured surface, shape pizza dough into a large circle - about 12 inches. It doesn’t need to be perfect. That’s the beauty of homemade pizza! Transfer the dough to a sheet tray dusted with cornmeal, drizzle with EVOO and bake for 5 minutes.

Remove the dough from the oven and top with half of the cheddar, sliced pear, feta or blue cheese, roasted cauliflower and the remaining cheddar. Bake for an additional 10-12 minutes, or until cheese is melty and bubbly. Remove from oven, top with arugula, red pepper flakes and drizzle with honey.

*Love & Lemon’s Pizza Dough

¾ cup warm water
1 tsp honey
1 packet active dry yeast
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp kosher salt
Assorted herbs/fennels fronds leftover on your cutting board (optional)
2 Tbsp EVOO

In a small bowl, stir together ¼ cup of the water and the honey, and sprinkle in the yeast. (I accidentally stirred the entire cup of water together with the honey and yeast, and everything turned out fine, just fyi.) Let the mixture sit until foamy, about 5 minutes. If it doesn’t get foamy, you'll need to start again with new yeast. If you think your yeast packets have been in your pantry for a long time, play it safe and buy some new yeast.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook, mix together both flours, salt and assorted herbs if using. Add the yeast mixture and the remaining water (if you didn’t accidentally use it all before) and 1 tablespoon of the EVOO. Mix on medium speed until it begins to form into a ball and climbs up the hook. Add more flour if the dough seems too sticky. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead into a smooth ball.

Pour the remaining tablespoon of EVOO around a medium bowl and place the ball of dough inside. Roll the dough around so that it is covered in the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set in a warm spot until the dough has doubled in size - about one hour.

After the dough has risen, punch down and roll out onto a lightly floured surface. Stretch the dough out and continue with the pizza recipe.

If you are not planning on using the dough right away, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Let sit out at room temperature for one hour before using.

Recipe adapted from The Love & Lemons Cookbook / by Jeanine Donofiro ; photography by Jack Mathews