Spider Web Pizza
This pizza can be made completely from scratch or you can certainly purchase a ready-made crust and sauce from a jar. The most essential component is the mozzarella cream sauce used to make the web and the spiders made of olives and carrots.
Spiders
- Canned pitted whole black olives
- Carrots
Each olive will make one spider, so use as many olives as you like. For each olive, cut eight thin carrot sticks, about the thickness of a toothpick and about two inches long. Use an actual toothpick to poke holes in each side of each olive, ideally four holes per side. The olives I used were on the small side so I could only get three holes per side. I realize an insect with six legs isn’t technically a spider, but I hoped my kids wouldn’t notice or care. Once you have the holes poked, insert a carrot “leg” into each hole. Place the spiders on the pizza prior to baking.
Mozzarella Cream Sauce
- 3-1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1-3/4 cups heavy cream, heated just until steaming
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup shredded mozzarella
Over medium-low heat, melt butter in a heavy-bottom, medium saucepan. Add flour, whisking constantly. Cook, whisking occasionally, for 2-3 minutes; do not let the mixture brown. Whisking constantly, add about two tablespoons of the hot cream to the sauce pan. Add the remaining hot cream in small increments, whisking constantly until a smooth paste forms. Whisk in remaining hot cream and add salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon until the sauce is thick and creamy, about ten minutes. Add the mozzarella, stirring until melted and fully incorporated. Let cool for about 30 minutes and then place in a squeezable condiment bottle. After the pizza is cooked, use the squeeze bottle to pipe on a spider web pattern of your choosing. If you are uncomfortable using your imagination, you can Google spider webs to find a picture of one.