Week #37: Oregon - Crab Louis Pizza

State: Oregon

Oregon is home to beautiful landscapes and fresh seafood from the Pacific ocean.  Unfortunately I have never been there, but from what I hear it is beautiful there.  The only thing I know about Oregon is the Mighty Ducks at the University of Oregon.  Going into this challenge, I found out the Crab Louis is very popular here and since I have never had Dungeness crab, I had to give it a try.  Being a Maryland native, I am a little picky when it comes to crab meat.  However, I thought the Dungeness crab was very good.  Taking on this challenge, I had a lot of success with the Cobb salad and wanted to see if I could repeat the success with this pizza.  See learning moments for the conclusion of the taste test.

Ingredients:

2 hard-boiled eggs - diced into four sections

8 cherry or grape tomatoes in slices

1/2 lb of Dungeness crab meat or 1 side of the crab

1 avocado - diced

1-2 cups of romaine lettuce

1 pizza crust

Dressing:

1/2 lemon - juiced

salt and pepper to taste

1/3 cup hot chile sauce or Siracha

1/3 cup of mayo (calls for 2/3 cup, but I didn't use as much)

1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Dressing:

Add all ingredients into a bowl and whisk until fully mixed together.  Set aside.

Crab Meat:

When I purchased the crab, it was already cooked and in the shell.  Since they are from the west coast, it is easier for the dealer to transport them cooked or frozen.  Pick all the meat and set aside.

Pizza:

Preheat oven to 450.  First, cook the crust until slightly browned.  Remove from heat and turn heat down to 400.  Add a layer of the dressing to coat the base of the pizza, but ensure to leave some for drizzling after pizza is made.  Add a layer of mozzarella cheese and put into the oven for 5 minutes or until pizza is melted.  Then, add a layer of lettuce and add your veggies.  Then add the eggs, crab meat, parsley, and finish the pizza off with a drizzle of the salad dressing.  Try to get the eggs and the top of crab meat, but not over-powering it.  You want to be able to taste all the veggies with a hint of the dressing.  Add some salt and pepper to taste and eat.  Enjoy! 

Pairing:

When you think of beer from Oregon, you think of Rogue Brewery.  They have been pumping out beers for years and great quality beers at that.  They are the top state in craft beer production in the US.  I went with a Farmhouse 7 Hop IPA to bring in more acidity to the pizza and because I simply love IPA's.  I would go with a stout or a good IPA for this pizza.  For a wine, a nice soft red would be good.  

Learning Moments:

After making the Cobb salad, I thought this pizza was going to be just like the other one, but it was different.  I think the dressing was a little too tart, so I would alter it a little and maybe add some shrimp to the salad.  The pizza was good, but with these minor tweaks it could have turned out to be amazing!  I love salad pizzas now!  I would highly recommend this pizza!