Go nuts over pizza with walnut crust

Any pizza aficionado knows the crust is the key to good pizza. And while food manufacturers have come a long way in providing consumers with a variety of prepared pizza crusts, a good recipe for homemade pizza crust is still invaluable. I'd go so far as to call today's crust from Mollie Katzen a truly great pizza crust.

Mollie Katzen wrote one of my favorite cookbooks of all time, "The Moosewood Cookbook." My tattered copy has drips and stains and notes in the margins from the 20 years I've used it, and I think I have cooked every one of the recipes. Apart from my own cookbooks that I wrote with Beverly, I cannot say that about any other book.

The biggest drawback to homemade crust, of course, is the time it takes for the dough to rise. This is one dinner that must be planned at least 90 minutes ahead. The good news is that Mollie's pizza crust freezes beautifully and can defrost on the countertop and be ready to bake when you get home from work. We love to divide the dough into fourths and freeze it ahead, taking out to defrost only the dough we need on any given night.

Mollie's pizza toppings are simply a suggestion of vegetable options, and every pizza can be different. At my house, the toppings are usually whatever's in the veggie bin and cupboard. Let us know at tellus@kitchenscoop.com what pizza combinations you come up with to top Mollie's delectable crust.

Suggested menu: Mollie Katzen's Vegetable and Walnut Pizza with sliced fresh fruit of choice.

•Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross write "Desperation Dinners." Contact them at Desperation Dinners, c/o United Media, 200 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016, or tellus@kitchenscoop.com. More at the Desperation Dinners Web site, kitchenscoop.com.