Caramelized Vidalia Onion Pizza

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Pizza is a standard menu item at our condo, though I routinelychange up the topping combinations based on whatever is in season, what's in the pantry and refrigerator, and what flavors I most crave at that time. But one day when I made dozens of different pizzas, Joe declared the Caramelized Vidalia Onion Pizza to be his favorite and so I've kept it on the regular rotation.

4-6 Vidalia onions (for a 12-inch pizza)
2 oz. goat cheese
fresh thyme leaves, washed and dried (approx. 1/2 teaspoon)
clove of garlic, peeled
homemade pizza crust

Make a pizza crust based on your favorite recipe. I use this and follow the recipe on the bag. If you don't want to make crust from scratch, just buy a ball of raw pizza dough from your favorite neighborhood pizza place--it's cheap (+/-$3), and you can usually get two smaller thin-crust pizzas out of whatever they sell as a "large" blob.

While the pizza dough is rising or resting, put your pizza stone on the bottom rack of your oven and start pre-heating the oven to at least 475 degrees (F). Then start working on the onions.

Peel and slice 4-6 Vidalia onions, more or less depending on the size of your pizza and the size of the onions. The onions will reduce by at least half while caramelizing, so don't worry that it looks like way too much. Use 4 if your onions are large and/or your pizza is small, use more as needed. Slice the onions into strands, not a dice--larger strands help keep the onions atop the pizza while eating.

Caramelize the onions. To do this, add a drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil to a pan and heat over medium heat. Add onions. Stir frequently until they brown. Add salt and pepper to taste. Note that this recipe is a bit flexible in that you can decide how much caramelization you want--anywhere from medium brown to dark brown will work, though the darker you go, the sweeter the results. Getting to dark brown without burning the onions takes 30-60 minutes, but the pizza dough takes an hour to rise so you don't need to rush anyway.

Once the onions are close to finished and the dough has risen appropriately, pat the pizza dough into shape and par-bake it approx. 6 minutes on a pizza stone in a very hot oven.

Remove the par-baked crust. Snap the clove of garlic in half and rub it around on the warm crust (alternately, use a wee bit of garlic-infused olive oil--but just a tiny amount because you don't want to get the crust too soggy). Smother crust with caramelized Vidalia onions, top with crumbled goat cheese and fresh thyme leaves.

Return pizza to oven to finish baking, approx. 6 minutes or until crust is nicely browned and cheese begins to melt.

Serve and enjoy.

Note: Oven times may vary.