It’s been a while since I’ve written—or done much cooking, to be honest. I’ll blame that on our recent 8-day vacation to Las Vegas and Seattle (instead of my laziness).

Tonight’s creation is inspired by a similar dish at Mario Batali’s Otto Enoteca Pizzeria at the Venetian in Las Vegas. The goat cheese, pancetta, caramelized onion, and arugula pizza was by far our favorite meal of the trip. Kokomo’s Seafood and Steakhouse at the Mirage was extremely over-priced for the quality of the meal, and while Canaletto (also in the Venetian) is dear to our hearts (we ate there on our honeymoon, 4 years ago), my risotto didn’t quite measure up to the delectable roasted pear ravioli I had before.

If only we had this…

…we could re-create our “Italian retreat” with homemade espresso! (We’ll save that for the next first time we win big in the casino!)

We’d planned on cooking the pizza tonight anyway (i.e., simple nights at home while we replenish our savings account!), but Mark’s great news was cause for a celebration. (Hence the Moretti beers in our legally purchased Moretti goblets from Otto. Thanks, Waiter Leonard; if only you knew our “glass situation,” you might have had us institutionalized instead of checking with management to see if the glasses were indeed for sale.)

After an interview Wednesday, Mark officially received the therapist position for which he applied. It’s about time—those 2 years of night classes, internship, and full-time employment have culminated into a Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and a promotion! (Maybe we can replenish that savings more quickly now—if it weren’t for those pesky student loans.)

So…back to the pizza. While our pancetta may not be cured in-house like Otto’s, it’s still pretty darn tasty, adding a nice salty bite to the creaminess of the chevre. With a light tomato base and some greens to freshen everything up, this may be my new favorite pizza. (Although, can you ever really go wrong with pizza?)

Pancetta and Goat Cheese Pizza with Caramelized Onions and Arugula

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 pizza crust of choice (or 2 naan or small flat breads)
• tomato-based pizza sauce (to taste)
• ¼ cup onion, julienned or chopped
• 2-4 oz. goat cheese
• 1-2 slices (¼ inch) pancetta, chopped
• 1 handful of arugula

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375˚
2. On stovetop, sauté chopped pancetta until browned and set aside
3. Spread sauce onto crust/flat bread and top with onion and goat cheese. On a baking sheet, bake for 8-10 minutes
4. Top with cooked pancetta and arugula and bake another 5-7 minutes

Serve immediately