Cranberry Jalapeno Pizza

1. Preheat your oven to 500 degrees F / 260 degrees C and set a bakers half sheet to the side.

For the cheese sauce base:

1. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat melt the garlic-infused olive oil (or olive oil + minced garlic) with the butter.
2. When the butter has fully melted, add the flour and whisk to combine fully.
3. Once the mixture has started to simmer and become frothy, add the milk slowly, whisking to combine. The mixture will look chunky at first but will smooth as you whisk.
4. Once the milk is combined, add the parmesan cheese and continue to whisk until combined fully.
5. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. The sauce should have thickened considerably at this point and be fairly smooth. If your sauce is too thick, add additional milk 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking to combine. Remove from heat and reserve to the side until ready to assemble the pizza.

Assembling the pizza:

1. Shape your dough. If you prefer a classic pie-shape with a thicker crust compared to the center of your dough, I suggest hand-stretching your dough. If you prefer your pizza to be an even thickness, I suggest rolling your dough out with a rolling pin.
   • If you are hand-stretching your pizza dough:
     1. I like to rub a small amount of olive oil into my hands first; this allows me to shape the dough easier without it ripping accidentally from friction.
     2. Press the dough down with the palm of your hand into a disk shape, then use your fingertips to gently press down on the dough disk, further flattening it.
     3. To further extend the dough, I prefer to press one palm on top of one side of the dough and with the other hand lift the alternative side of the dough and gently work the dough outward, pulling very gently with the tips of my oiled fingers (like a very discrete “come hither” motion) to slowly stretch the dough out. Rotate slightly and repeat until the dough is shaped and stretched to your liking. If you find that the dough starts to snap back or is beginning to tear, allow the dough to relax for a minute or two before proceeding again. Transfer your stretched dough to a sheet of parchment paper.
   • If you are using a rolling pin:
     1. I prefer to place my dough between two sheets of parchment paper to avoid the dough sticking to my rolling pin, but if you prefer you can also sprinkle a bit of flour over the dough ball as well as wiping some over your rolling pin by hand to prevent sticking instead. Once the dough has been rolled to your preferred size and shape, peel the top layer of parchment paper off (if using). The bottom layer that the dough is resting on can be utilized for your baking sheet. If you find that the dough starts to snap back or is beginning to tear, allow the dough to relax for a minute or two before proceeding again.
2. Transfer your shaped dough to the reserved baking sheet.
3. Top with reserved cheese sauce, using the back of a spoon spread the sauce out evenly over the dough.
4. Top the pizza with mozzarella and parmesan cheese, then top with generous spoonfuls of the orange cranberry sauce in evenly dispersed dollops.
5. Finally, add the pickled jalapeno peppers, dispersing them evenly on the top. I prefer to add mine directly next to the dollops of orange cranberry sauce so you get a bite of spiciness at the same time as a bite of the tart and sweet cranberry.
6. Bake for 14-16 minutes or until the crust has reached your preferred level of crispness and the cheese is fully melted. I find that pizzas that have a thinner topping layer take less time to bake and heavier-topped pizzas generally take a bit longer to bake so watch your pizza closely after the 14-minute mark and adjust as desired.
7. Once the pizza is baked, drizzle the top with honey if desired, slice, and serve warm.