French Bread Pizza

This recipe is an adaptation of a recipe I saw somewhere and I have no idea where. I took the original idea and made it my own. The results were quite delicious, if I do say so myself. It is a quick and easy lunch or dinner, and each portion can be personalized and made to individual taste. In fact, it would probably be fun to have a little pizza party using this idea. Just provide 6" horizontally sliced halves of French bread (or something very similar) along with a variety of toppings, and each person can make it to his or her own liking. Then just place them all in the oven together to bake and voila - dinner is served! Great with a glass of red wine and maybe a salad on the side.



French Bread Pizza
These amounts make 2 - 6" halves - easy to increase, alter, etc.

6" piece of French or similar type Bread, cut in half horizontally
2 T. Butter (I use unsalted)
1 Garlic clove, minced
Garlic salt
fresh ground Pepper
Herbs, fresh or dried (I used fresh basil and oregano)
Toppings such as onion, bell pepper, mushrooms (I used chopped onion, red bell pepper and tomatoes)
Mozzarella cheese, grated - about a Cup
Romano cheese, grated - about a Tablespoon

Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray or brush lightly with olive oil to prevent sticking. Place bread on foil, cut side up.

Melt butter with garlic clove in a saucepan over low heat. Spread on top of bread (using a pastry brush works well for this). Next sprinkle garlic salt, fresh pepper, and herbs to taste.

Sprinkle a thin layer of mozzarella over the bread, then add the other toppings. Top with additional mozzarella, a sprinkle of romano, and drizzle with olive oil.

Bake until cheese is melted and bubbly - about 15 mins. If desired, you can place it under the broiler for the last couple of minutes to make the top a nice golden color.

Enjoy!