This week’s Project Pastry Queen challenge was one of the more fun and unique recipes in The Pastry Queen: Caesar Salad Pizzas, selected by Alice of This Home Plate.

It’s exactly what you’d expect: romaine, parmesan, and croutons are tossed with an out-of-this-world homemade dressing. And then all that is put on top of already-cooked, individual-sized pizza crusts.

I only made a half recipe of the dressing (it makes a lot!) and added some sliced grilled chicken breast and crunchy, completely addicting homemade croutons (recipe below). I’m not so much an anchovy filet person but I keep a tube of anchovy paste in the fridge for such occasions. It adds that extra layer of briny/saltiness to the dressing and the tube keeps forever. As you can see, I opted against serving it on pizza crust so I could save the carbs for dessert. Totally worth it 🙂

For the Caesar Salad Pizza recipe, head over to This Home Plate. And be sure to check out the other members’ pizzas!

Next week, I’ll be on time with a beautiful Tuxedo Cake. I have to be. It’s my week to host 🙂

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Homemade Croutons

Crispy, crunchy croutons made from any leftover bread in the house. They're so good, you'll never want to buy them again.

Ingredients

• 2 cups of ~3/4-inch bread cubes
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder (more, if desired)
• 2 Tbsp finely grated Parmesan
• Pepper
• Salt

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325.
2. Place bread cubes in a medium bowl.
3. Whisk olive oil, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, cheese, a pinch of salt, and black pepper together in a small bowl.
4. Drizzle oil over bread cubes and toss to evenly distribute (I place a plate over the bowl and shake).
5. Turn out onto a foil- or silicon-lined baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.
6. Shake the pan or stir bread cubes and bake for another 10 minutes.
7. Repeat and bake for another 10 minutes. Check a test crouton or two to make sure they're crispy all the way through - bake an extra 5 minutes if needed.
8. Remove from oven and let cool to room temp.
9. Leftovers will keep several days in a zip-top bag.

Notes

Yields: 12 servings

Source: Confections of a Foodie Bride

Estimated time: 40 minutes