Okay, let me tell you about this little cooking adventure I had the other day. I’ve been craving something different, you know, not the usual pizza with tomato sauce and cheese. So, I thought, why not try making that California Pizza Kitchen Shrimp Scampi Pizza? Yeah, that one!
First things first, I had to get all the stuff I needed. I already had some shrimp in the freezer, which was a good start. I remembered that this pizza doesn’t use regular tomato sauce, but a garlic-shallot butter thing. So I grabbed some butter, garlic, and a shallot from the pantry. Oh, and I needed pizza dough. Since I’m not exactly a baking expert, I just picked up a ready-made one from the store. Problem solved!
Next up, prepping the ingredients. I defrosted the shrimp. While that was happening, I melted some butter in a pan and tossed in the minced garlic and chopped shallot. Man, the smell was amazing already! I let that cook for a bit until they were soft and fragrant, but not brown.
Now, for the pizza dough, I sprinkled some flour on my kitchen counter so it wouldn’t stick. I rolled out the dough, but it wasn’t perfect. It’s okay, it doesn’t need to be a perfect circle, right? I carefully transferred it to a baking sheet. To keep it from sticking to the pan, I sprinkled some cornmeal on the baking sheet.
Then, I spread that delicious garlic-shallot butter sauce all over the dough, leaving just a little bit of space around the edges. I arranged the shrimp on top, making sure they were evenly distributed. To add some cheese to the shrimp pizza, I grated some mozzarella cheese and sprinkled it over the shrimp. It’s looking good.
I popped the whole thing into the preheated oven. I set the oven to what the dough package said, around 400 degrees Fahrenheit. I waited around, peeking through the oven window every now and then. It took about 15-20 minutes, but I made sure the crust was golden brown and the cheese was all melted and bubbly. It looked like two 8-inch pizzas.
- Defrost shrimp.
- Melt butter and saute garlic and shallot.
- Roll out dough and place it on a baking sheet with cornmeal.
- Spread garlic-shallot butter and arrange shrimp.
- Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
- Bake until golden brown and cheese is melted.
Finally, it was done! I carefully took it out of the oven and let it cool for a few minutes. Before serving, I added some more stuff. I sprinkled some red pepper flakes because I like a little heat. Then, because I saw it on a cooking show once, I squeezed a bit of lemon juice over the top. It really made the flavors pop!
And there you have it! My homemade version of California Pizza Kitchen’s Shrimp Scampi Pizza. It wasn’t exactly like the restaurant’s, but it was pretty darn good! Definitely a fun little cooking project, and I’ll probably make it again sometime.
Highlights:
- The garlic-shallot butter sauce is the key!
- Don’t be afraid to use store-bought dough.
- A little lemon juice at the end brightens everything up.
If you’re looking for a different kind of pizza to try, give this one a shot. It’s not that hard, and it’s super tasty. Just don’t blame me if you end up eating the whole thing yourself!
