Pizza with Cremini Mushrooms, New Potatoes, and Crescenza Cheese

• 1 whole head garlic
• 5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
• 4 small fingerling potatoes, very thinly sliced (no need to peel)
• 1 pound cremini (common brown) mushrooms, ends trimmed, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Pizza dough (page 192)
• Cornmeal or durum flour for dusting
• 1/2 pound Bellwether Farms Crescenza cheese or fresh whole-milk mozzarella
• 4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 4 small handfuls arugula

1. Preheat the oven to 400F.
2. Slice about 1/4 inch off the stem end (opposite the root end) of the garlic head to expose the individual cloves.
3. Put the whole garlic head, root end down, on a sheet of aluminum foil and drizzle with 1 teaspoon olive oil.
4. Seal the foil package and place in the oven until the cloves are soft, 45 to 50 minutes.
5. (You will have to open the package to check.)
6. Let cool.
7. Squeeze the softened garlic cloves out of the papery skins and mash with 2 tablespoons olive oil into a paste.
8. Bring a small pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.
9. Add the potatoes and cook until just tender, about 3 minutes.
10. Drain.
11. Heat a large skillet over high heat.
12. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil.
13. When the oil is hot, add the mushrooms and saute until well browned, about 5 minutes.
14. Add the minced garlic and season with salt and pepper.
15. Cook, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes longer to release the garlic fragrance.
16. At least 45 minutes before baking, put a pizza stone on a rack in the bottom third of the oven and preheat the oven to its highest setting (500F to 550F).
17. With lightly floured fingers on a lightly floured work surface, flatten a ball of pizza dough into a round.
18. Pick up the round with both hands and, grasping the round by an edge, rotate the dough clockwise between your fingertips, always holding it by the edge.
19. As you rotate the dough, stretch it into an 8-inch circle; the dough will also stretch and lengthen from its own weight.
20. Alternatively, drape the flattened round over your lightly floured knuckles and rotate the dough, moving your knuckles slightly farther apart, until the round stretches into an 8-inch circle.
21. Place the dough on a pizza peel lightly dusted with cornmeal or durum flour.
22. Work quickly now to prevent sticking.
23. Brush the dough with one-quarter of the garlic paste.
24. Top with one-quarter of the potato slices, then scatter with one-quarter of the mushrooms.
25. Distribute the Crescenza cheese in 5 or 6 clumps, using a total of 2 ounces.
26. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon Parmesan.
27. Slide onto the pizza stone and bake until the crust is brown and crisp, about 10 minutes.
28. Transfer the pizza to a cutting board and scatter a handful of arugula over the surface.
29. Cut into wedges and serve immediately.
30. Repeat with the remaining 3 balls of dough.
31. Enjoy with Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay or another rich, barrel-fermented Chardonnay.

head garlic, extravirgin olive oil, potatoes, cremini, garlic, kosher salt, cornmeal, bellwether farms, parmesan cheese, arugula

Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/pizza-with-cremini-mushrooms-new-potatoes-and-crescenza-cheese-388199 (may not work)