Homegrown Gourmet 10

It's time for me to pick a winner (yes, I'm aware the deadline for submissions was 3 weeks ago). It has been a very tough choice.

For those of you who haven't been following, I am the host of this round of Homegrown Gourmet. This challenge topic was pizza, which not-so-coincidentally also happens to be one of my favorite foods. I received four delicious entries; you'll understand after reading them why it's taken me so long to pick a winner. So let's get to the good stuff, alright?

First, Megan at Joy Through Cooking submitted this delicious-looking pizza topped with ingredients from her CSA shipment.

Megan says "This pizza featured roasted garlic mashed with olive oil and smeared as the 'sauce,' local heirloom tomatos, sliced, fresh basil chiffonade, super sweet yellow corn sliced off the cob, and two medium balls of local fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced." Are you drooling yet? Cause I sure am.

Next, Erika at Bean's Bistro submitted her Local Pizza Margherita, using ingredients found at her local Farmer's Markets.

Dough from her local pizza company, fresh tomatoes from the farmer's market, and two kinds of cheese? Sign me up.

Next Kate at Paved with Good Intentions submitted this beautiful Four Cheese Pizza with Portobello Mushrooms and Artichokes - a true testament to her California location.

Any pizza with four cheeses (especially my favorites) is OK in my book.

Finally, Megan at Joy Through Cooking submitted a second pizza, this one representative of her husband's hometown of Johnstown, PA, where pierogies reign supreme.

Megan describes her inspiration: "The crust of the pizza would be the pasta. I topped it with lots of carmelized onions, and then mashed potatoes (I used small new potatos, boiled until cooked through, and roughly mashed with some butter and milk added to taste) that I mixed with about a cup of Cabot shredded sharp cheddar ... and a package of that precooked bacon... roughly shredded. When the pizza was almost done, I added even more cheddar on top of it." Yum.


Now you can see why this was such a difficult decision. Before I announce the winner, I just want to thank you all for participating - you're all winners in my book (*cue cheesy music*). You all took this challenge to new heights.

But now, I am pleased to announce the winner is...

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Congrats, Erika. Your local twist on Margherita captured my heart and taste buds.