For those of you who don’t know, next week brings one of the best days of the year: Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, and not just because it celebrates excessive consumption of meat, sweets and cream covered vegetables. I like going home to Minnesota, where the snow still falls before December. I like visiting with family — especially cooking, and drinking my mom’s great grandfather’s secret eggnog. And finally, as a student, I like reenergizing before exams during this pseudo fall-break period.

Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, corn bread, green beans, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie are just a few of the foods that come to mind when I think of Thanksgiving. My distress doesn’t come from the quantity or quality of food, but the number of people I’ll have to share with. For some bizarre reason, my mom thought it would be a care-free relaxing time to invite approximately 25 close friends and family members to my house. I can’t wait to be asked “what are you doing after graduation?” at least seven times.

Nonetheless, this column is about food and not my personal Thanksgiving grievances. I considered writing a Thanksgiving themed recipe, but the time requirements for many dishes exclude them from the scope of this column. So, I’m here to inspire your Thanksgiving leftovers.

BBQ Turkey Pizza

This pizza has it all: looks, flavor and simplicity. Make it for yourself or make it for a date — you’re bound to be impressed.

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Ingredients (3 servings, 20-minute prep)

• 2 pre-cooked pizza crusts, thin
• 3/4 pound of cooked turkey, shredded
• 8 oz. of fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
• 1 to1-1/2 cups of BBQ sauce
• 1 red onion, julienned
• 2 tbsp of butter
• 2 handfuls of arugula

Directions 

1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
2. In a sauté pan, caramelize your onions on medium-low heat (~ seven-ten minutes).
3. Find pizza pans or make double-layered aluminum foil ‘pans’ big enough to fit the pizza crusts.
4. Once your oven is heated, pre-bake the pizza crusts for two- three minutes.
5. Remove the pizza crusts and evenly spread 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce on each crust. Add more until your desired sauce level is achieved.
6. Evenly spread the turkey and caramelized onions between the two crusts.
7. Place the sliced mozzarella on top.
8. Bake the pizzas for 6-8 minutes until the crusts begin to develop color.
9. Place one handful of arugula on each pizza.

Voila!

As always, hit me up with questions, comments or concerns,