Pizza night was such a hit last month among my twenty-something guests that I decided it was the best way to entertain a crowd again this past weekend. I duplicated two of the the pizzas from last month: the basic margherita,  and one with roasted eggplant, peppers and onion.

See Mom’s Pizza for the sauce recipe and the basic procedures.

The third pizza was made with sauteed swiss chard, caramelized onions and goat cheese. This was essentially the same as last month’s beet green and garlic pizza, only substituing swiss chard and onion for beet greens and garlic.

Then add dollops of fresh soft goat cheese and drizzle with olive oil.

The main attraction in this post, however, was the simplest pizza of all:  zucchini and ricotta studded with fresh cherry tomatoes.  This pizza was so beautiful and light (and easy) that it was an instant favorite.  The zucchini were sauteed briefly until they began to soften and become golden and caramelized, then they were arranged and embedded in the ricotta.  The cherry tomatoes were simply cut in half and arranged between rounds of zucchini.  The whole pizza was heavily anointed with olive oil, sprinkled with salt and pepper and baked for about 45 minutes at 375 degrees with convection.

Last but not least, was a beautiful salad made with oak leaf lettuce, yellow cherry tomatoes and roasted beets from my neighbor Beppi’s garden.  I tossed the greens in a large mixing bowl with 2 parts olive oil to one part red wine vinegar, sprinkled on salt and pepper to taste, and then piled the greens in an oval serving platter and topped with the beets and halved tomatoes.  It’s an impressive presentation for any buffet.