Are you ready for a Throwdown?

As I mentioned in my previous post about our latest kitchen purchase, Dave was challenged to a Bobby Flay style pizza throwdown by our good friend Brian. On Saturday night, the battle commenced. And it was good.

One thing you should know...I'm all about a theme. Dave will attest to the fact that when it comes to entertaining, I go all out. Since this was pizza throwdown, I felt it only appropriate that our dining room make a transformation into an Italian-style pizzeria. I scoured online for the perfect appetizer recipes, picked up a chef's coat for Dave and parmesan shakers from our local restaurant supply store, and found the perfect red and white checked runner for our dining room table.

To start the evening, we served a few appetizers including bruschetta three ways, minted pea bruschetta, Arancini, white bean dip and Salami, Mozzarella & Tomato-Basil skewers. Brian and his lovely wife Natasha contributed to the Italian spread by bringing marinated eggplant--which I need to get the recipe for because it was delish!

While the boys were preparing their competition pizzas, we also premade some other entrees for sampling. First, the classic margherita that Dave cooked on our baking stone on the grill:

And next, a tasty red pepper, prosciutto, mushroom and fresh mozzarella:

After an hour or so of snacking on appetizers and enjoying some wine (or for me, a couple of vodka tonics), the pizza was ready. We started off by explaining the judging criteria to our guests. Each person would submit an anonymous score sheet that picked a winner in the five previously determined categories: taste, crust, toppings, originality and overall.

We started off with serving Brian's pizza, a deep-dish style, chipotle-flavored crust topped with caramelized red onions, chopped kalamata olives, prosciutto and a sour cream drizzle, taking the place of the usual cheese.

Following that, Dave served his thin-crust pizza with a fire-roasted tomato sauce that featured a hint of Sriracha and a variety of toppings: sweet Italian sausage, roasted red and yellow peppers, sliced portabella mushrooms, fresh mozzarella, crumbled goat cheese, crispy pancetta and a garnish of fresh basil.

Since both pizzas had great flavor, toppings and crust, I knew that it would be a tough decision for our guest judges. Who would win this epic throwdown?

After such a hard-fought battle, I'm happy to report that Dave came out victorious in the end! And if you're out there Mr. Flay, I can put you in touch with a pizza master that is ready for a challenge any day....

I must send out a huge thanks to Natasha for capturing these wonderful pictures of the fun-filled evening. Make sure to check out the Pizza Throwdown from Brian's perspective at Table Hopping.