Spana~KO~Pizza

Spanakopita is a surprisingly savory strudel of sorts that is to Greeks what pizza is to Americans.  My first and only attempt at making it for my husband, whose mother was Greek, was somewhat of a failure.  My problem was that I did not know how to work with phyllo dough.  The fine sheets tore as I handled them, came apart as I brushed butter on them and dried out completely while waiting to be used.  The spinach filling was quite good, though, and I baked it in a casserole, admitting defeat.  Many years have passed since then and my fear of phyllo stands firm. Thus, I decided to eliminate it from my repertoire and create a pizza using a traditional spanakopita filling on amazing whole wheat pizza dough.  This pizza is my way of ‘thumbing my nose’ so to speak at phyllo.

For the topping, I lightly sautéed chopped onion and scallions for a few minutes.  I then stirred in frozen chopped spinach that had been thawed and drained, parsley, dill, nutmeg, salt and pepper.  I found the dill and nutmeg gave the mixture a complexity of flavor present only in the best spanakopita.  After this mixture cooled a bit, I folded in a good amount of crumbled feta cheese.  Now to top the pie - I scattered shredded mozzarella over the oiled dough and distributed the spinach/feta mixture evenly over that.  Pine nuts and freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano completed the pizza topping.  It baked up to golden perfection in about twelve minutes on my smoking hot pizza stone.  After removing it from the heat, I topped it with freshly grated lemon zest.



Spana~KO~Pizza



Since I have to be mindful of portion sizes in order to stay within my daily points plus range, I allowed myself two small slices – for lunch.  It was so amazingly savory and gooey; I then proceeded to have another slice – afternoon snack.  OK, so now I was trying to wait for another fifteen minutes so my brain could catch up and register satiety which takes the normal brain about twenty minutes; time to package the rest of the pizza and put it away for dinner.  As I placed the package into the refrigerator, the struggle continued.   “You know you are going to eat the rest of this for dinner,” I said to myself, “so why let it get cold?”  “Just take it out of the ‘fridge and let it sit on the counter,” I continued, “There is nothing in it that will go bad.”  So onto the counter went my tidy foil package containing the rest of that fabulously, delicious Greek delight of a pizza.  Twenty minutes passed and I realized that the voice in my head must have been so loud it prevented my brain from doing the satiety thing it was supposed to be doing.  Now I had to put my new behavior modification skills to work.  In order to break an old habit (eating when not hungry, for example), one should do a new activity in its place to form a new habit.  Taking a walk is a good example; so I did what I was taught.  I took a walk – right over to the counter, placed the last two slices of the Spana~KO~Pizza on my plate, sat down and had dinner at 3:00 P.M.  What is it they say about not being able to teach old dogs new tricks?  That afternoon put me about three days into my points plus value for the week, but I did not give up.  Lesson learned – for now.  But let me tell you, it was worth every bite.  That savory spinach filling on a pizza crust satisfies sufficiently – who needs phyllo?

SHRIMP COCKTAIL REVOLUTIONIZED

Over the years, I have served shrimp cocktail more times than I can count.  Eventually, boredom set in and boiled shrimp with no frills cocktail sauce held no charm.  I began experimenting with new sauces and dips, trying everything from sickeningly sweet to killer spicy – learning the hard way to use wasabi powder in moderation.  Realizing that the shrimp also played a part in this lackluster appetizer, I marinated them in garlic, oil, salt, and crushed red pepper, grilled them and dipped them into a fragrant, nutty roasted red pepper pesto.  Success!  The combination was incredible and thus became my go to shrimp cocktail appetizer.  This revolutionized shrimp cocktail was the inspiration for my Shrimp and Red Pepper Pesto Pizza.

I have tested this recipe before and found it to have amazing depth of flavor resulting from the interplay of the roasted red pepper pesto and the piquancy of the Manchego cheese.  There were also several varying textural levels from the crispiness of the crust to the smooth, buttery texture of the cheese and the slight crunch remaining in the freshly sliced red peppers and onions that added to the overall complexity of this pizza; and the shrimp, because they were nestled in the pepper pesto and cheese, were cooked to juicy perfection.   With such great results from my first test run of this pizza you might be wondering why I must test it again.  For the first test, I baked the pizza on the outdoor pizza grill and it now needs to be baked in a conventional oven as per the recipe.  Yes, the amount of testing that is needed before finalizing recipes for Pizza Memoirs is mind boggling.  So, let the testing begin. 

I placed my cold pizza stone on an oven rack in the top third of the oven and began heating the oven to 500^o Fahrenheit.  Wanting to insure that the stone was truly heated to the maximum my oven would allow, I preheated the stone for one hour.   After slipping the prepared pizza off my pizza peel onto the very hot pizza stone and quickly closing the oven door, I began shredding the fresh basil leaves to use as the final garnish.  Within four minutes, I noticed the top of the pizza was already beginning to brown.  Oh no, that’s not good.  I probably should have placed the stone a little lower in the oven; isn’t hindsight wonderful?  Within nine minutes, the pizza was browned, glistening with the oil from the cheese and ready to come out of the oven for its final garnish of basil leaves and freshly grated lemon zest.  As the blend of yeasty, peppery, buttery and herbaceous scents reached my nose, I was jolted back to reality by two words that raced across my mind like an Arizona dust devil,  ‘Points Plus’.  Yes, my dream of eating half of this amazing work of art was dashed against the rocks of reality and with renewed resolve to remain faithful to my Weight Watchers plan for another day; I sat down at the table and SLOWLY consumed two small pieces of my Shrimp and Red Pepper Pesto Pizza. 



SHRIMP AND RED PEPPER PESTO PIZZA



 Yum, yum, and yum…it tasted as good as it looked and smelled; I could have easily eaten two more pieces.  Two, who am I kidding?  I probably could have eaten the entire pizza.   Instead, I silently repeated a quote I read in one of my Weight Watchers books – “Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels.”  Hang in there all my friends who are working so hard to improve your health; if you believe you can do it, you can do it.    Linda

S'mores Pizza, Please

S'mores Pizza, Please

The day has finally arrived; the last day of spring break vacation in Tucson and the long awaited testing of my S’mores Pizza, Please pizza.  I can’t even think about food at this point and, speaking of points, I believe I have used my Weight Watchers points through the end of next week!  What can I say?  Old habits die hard and mine are like vampires, not easy to kill! The s’mores pizza has graham cracker crumbs mixed with sugar and melted butter, marshmallow crème, chocolate bars broken into pieces, more graham cracker mix and a topping of miniature marshmallows.  Sound sweet enough?  When it came off the grill, it looked like heaven – big puffs of browned marshmallow and melted chocolate; a gooey delight.  Then I took my first bite.  It was so overpoweringly sweet that when I swallowed it, I felt like a cat choking on a fur ball.  Gag, gag, and gag!  The children had distinctly different opinions and critiques about this dessert pizza; Margaux said the marshmallow crème was too puffy and too much, Eli, on the other hand didn’t look up for several minutes.  He ate, and ate and ate….enjoying every warm, gooey mouthful.  Finally, I told him I was afraid he was going to get sick, but he assured me he wouldn’t and that the pizza was delicious; oh, and not too sweet at all.  That child has my father’s cast iron stomach; he didn’t get sick, he didn’t get hyper…go figure!  So the vacation ended on a high note (sugar high) and I will revise the recipe before re-testing.  It will have only a thin coating of marshmallow fluff on the partially grilled crust as per Margaux, and will have larger pieces of chocolate so that it more resembles the look of a real s’more, as per my sister Elaine.  Eli had no suggestions; his attitude being you can’t improve on perfection.  That’s our boy!

SPRING BREAK PIZZA TESTING MARATHON

Once again, it is spring break at OES (Oregon Episcopal School) for my sister’s two grandchildren, and their annual trek to Tucson is in full swing.  Eli and Margaux, soon to be eleven and thirteen respectively, have grown at least six inches each since their last visit and their appetites have kept pace with their height.  I took one look at them and knew that the official taste testers for my kids’ pizza recipes had arrived.  However, I had no idea that a plethora of pizzas would pass through my grill and oven like rabbits being chased by a coyote.  We feverishly packed four days with taste testing new recipes; tough work, but somebody has to do it!

I assembled the ingredients for the first test, Mags and Eli’s Hawaiian Pizza, and invited the children to make their own pizzas.  They did an amazing job of stretching and shaping the dough and then carefully crafted each pizza to their own specifications.  Margaux used the ham sparingly and Eli used just sauce and pineapple.  I know what you are thinking, who makes pizza without cheese? It doesn’t make sense to me, but that is the beauty of these recipes – you can easily make them your own by eliminating and/or adding ingredients as you like.   As you can see from the picture below, they did a fantastic job and were quite pleased with the results. 

Mags and Eli's Hawaiian Pizza

                                               



Maui Kazaui Pizza



While the children assembled their pizzas, I prepared the Maui Kazaui Pizza for the adults - my sister, my nephew Mark and me.  I call this the adult version of the Mags and Eli’s Hawaiian Pizza because I planned to finish it by drizzling warmed pineapple liqueur over the pizza and igniting it – KAZAUI!   Once I shared this detail with my sister and nephew, the ‘discussion’ began.  Elaine is a scientist and emphatically stated that liqueur, warmed or not, once dispersed over the baked pizza, would be absorbed and would not ignite.  She suggested igniting the liqueur and then pouring it over the pizza.  Now doesn’t that sound safe?  Thankfully, my nephew agreed that pouring flaming liquid out of a small vessel onto a pizza was an accident waiting to happen so I tried it my way.  As you may have guessed, it did not ignite; in fact, the only thing it did was make the pizza a bit soggy in the spot where I tried to puddle it up and ignite it.  I hate to admit it, but Elaine was right – I guess you can’t argue with science.  In spite of that fact that one or two of the pieces were a bit soggy, the overall taste of this pizza was outstanding.

The Maui Kazaui Pizza is a grilled pizza that has a base of orange marmalade mixed with soy sauce that is topped with a layer of camembert cheese.  The cheese is then topped with pieces of smoked ham, bits of grilled fresh pineapple and more cheese.  Layers of sweetness, smokiness and saltiness, interspersed with the soft creamy bite of the camembert cheese is Polynesian perfection.  When I re-test this recipe, I think I will soak the warm grilled pineapple in the pineapple liqueur before placing it on the pizza…how bad can that be?



Sloppy Jen's Pizza



My plans for dinner the next evening were swiftly swept aside when, after hearing what was on the menu, Margaux tilted her head while giving me the sad, puppy dog eyes and brave half smile look as she said, “Auntie Linda, I thought we were having Sloppy Jen’s Pizza tonight.”  Oh boy, I was not going to win that battle!  So, Sloppy Jen’s it was.  I pulled the dough out of the freezer, whipped up a batch of sloppy Joes mix, grated some cheddar cheese, sliced some peppers and was ready to test another pizza.  The kids enjoyed hearing the story about their second cousin Jen, for whom this pizza is named.  Jen was a rather sloppy eater when she was a kid, so much so that I could always tell what she had eaten during the day by the telltale stains on her outfit when she came home from school.  She loved the nights we had Sloppy Joes for dinner because it was one of the only times she could make it through the meal without being chastised for dropping food on herself – eating a sloppy Joes sandwich is a messy job for most of us so I usually gave her a free pass on manners those nights.  I must say that today Jen has impeccable manners - I guess all my ‘reminders’ paid off in the long run.  Interestingly enough, the only criticism on the Sloppy Jen’s Pizza came from Margaux who thought it wasn’t juicy enough.  She, like Jen, prefers her sloppy Joes really loose and messy.  I only used half the sloppy Joes mixture on my test pizza to avoid too much sogginess in the crust, but it would be equally delicious if you loaded all the mixture on the dough and ate the finished pizza with a fork and knife. 

The BBQ sauce and ketchup give the beef a nice sweet/tangy taste which can be enhanced by using more BBQ sauce on the finished pizza.  These two children have some amazing appetites and I had to nix their idea of making the S’mores Pizza, Please pizza for dessert.  They would have to wait for one more night and settle for ice cream sundaes.

                        

S'mores Pizza, Please

OK ... I'll say it ... UNCLE!!!!!!

Desert Snowstorm Prompts Pizza Testing

It was 4:17 AM Sunday, February 27^th when the sound of the wind whistling through an unlocked window awakened me.  I got up to secure the window and couldn’t believe my eyes as I peered outside into the darkness.  It took a few seconds for it to register, but yes, I was seeing snow.  Beautiful, fluffy snowflakes were coming down at a pretty good clip, covering the ground and blanketing cacti, trees and shrubs alike; the Sonora desert looked pristine and magical.  The wonder of the scene brought me back to our winters in Connecticut, and the magnificence of freshly fallen snow and the bitter cold, and the incessant shoveling, and the ice; reality check – that’s why we left Connecticut.  For some reason, seeing the snow set me to thinking about Christmas back east, and since nearly every one of my holiday memories is somehow connected to food, I found myself thinking about Christmas dinner.  I could almost smell the large, luscious roasted prime rib of beef, each slice crowned with cool, creamy horseradish sauce.  Our feast also included a casserole of cheesy garlic mashed potatoes, puffed in the oven until golden brown and a full array of vegetables; each regally dressed for the Christmas feast.

The Big Horseradish Twice Baked Potato Pizza is the reinvention of our traditional Christmas dinner.  My fine Christmas china is replaced by yeasty pizza dough upon which the rest of the fabulous feast bakes to perfection.  I just couldn’t get the memory of this meal out of my mind so I decided to test the Big Horseradish pizza before I actually went out of my mind.  Since I successfully incorporated pizza into my Weight Watchers meal plan last week and lost 2.4 pounds, my fear of taste testing pizzas for Pizza Memoirs has somewhat diminished.  I do remain acutely aware that portion control is key.

The Big Horseradish Twice Baked Potato Pizza

This pizza truly replicated our prime rib dinner in its original form with one exception; the taste of the steak was a bit subdued.  It didn’t stand out as the entrée course of a dinner should.  The roasted garlic paste base, melted Gruyere and horseradish mashed potatoes melded perfectly, providing well rounded flavor with each bite.  Recipe revisions include placing smaller spoonfuls of the mashed potato mixture on the pizza, leaving room for the taste of the steak to come through in each bite; and making sure the steak is rare when sliced and placed on pizza.  In reality, I would be perfectly happy leaving the steak out altogether and placing larger dollops of the mashed potatoes on the pizza; the potatoes were that good!  I could then classify it as vegetarian – doesn’t that sound healthier? 
Thank God I am a lifetime member of Weight Watchers.


The Perfect Bite



Lobster Pizza Revisited

After taste testing the Fabulous Fortieth Anniversary Pizza for the first time, it was unanimously decided that I had to go back to the drawing board if I wanted to include that recipe in my cookbook.  As you may recall, the Fabulous Fortieth pizza had a base of garlic paste, topped with manchego cheese, chunks of lobster, caramelized onion, and more cheese.  Somewhere between the overpowering taste of the roasted garlic paste and the sweetness of the caramelized onion, the delicate lobster was like a single clam at a lobster bake – totally lost.  This was not the fabulous lobster pizza I expected. 

Thus, the recipe revisions began and the second taste test took place last night.  I adjusted my original recipe by eliminating the roasted garlic paste, using as a substitute the melted butter in which I sautéed sliced shallots, garlic and red pepper flakes.  I also eliminated the caramelized onions and used the sautéed shallots which imparted a much more delicate onion flavor.  Manchego, a fatty Spanish cheese made from ewes’ milk, complimented rather than overpowered each of the other delicate ingredients.  I used two 5 ounce Brazilian lobster tails which was more than enough, allowing for a nice chunk of lobster in every bite.  The finishing touches of chives, freshly grated lemon zest, kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper added to the depth of flavor, the zest providing a nice high note.  I drizzled a bit of white truffle oil over all, but it added nothing as far as I could tell from the two small squares I consumed.

Yes, you read that correctly.  I did have two squares of that incredibly luscious pizza and still managed to stay on my Weight Watchers plan.  I have learned that the problem is not the actual food one eats; rather it is the amount of that food shoveled into the mouth that causes the problem.  You actually do not have to give up any one food; you just need to eat realistic portions.  Oh God, now I sound like my mother…that’s scary!  At any rate, it’s working for me.

A new strategy I used at the ‘Fabulous Fortieth’ taste testing dinner was to serve a fresh salad with the pizza.  Can you believe this strategy is new to me?  Well, growing up in my big Italian family, pizza was a balanced meal in and of itself.  You had your grain, your vegetables, your meat and your dairy….no need for salad to balance that equation.   My salad of spring greens, sliced red pears, crumbled blue cheese, toasted walnuts and light vinaigrette paired perfectly with the pizza and saved me from reaching for a third piece; I reached instead for more salad.  As I slowly ate my salad, I was able to sit back and watch my guests enjoying every last morsel of pizza left on the serving board.  I then knew that my recipe revisions were spot on and the Fabulous Fortieth Anniversary Pizza would indeed be included in Pizza Memoirs. 



The new Fabulous Fortieth Anniversary Pizza ~ Taste the Love



Two Charlies Tackle Taco Pizza

My husband Charlie would eat pizza seven nights a week if I made it for him.  He is always ready and willing to go off his diet and ‘take one for the team,’ when I ask him to taste and evaluate one of my new pizzas.  He is equally willing, however, to simply savor and enjoy one of his old favorites should the opportunity present itself.  Last night was one of those too good to be true opportunities; I offered to make him a pizza to share with one of his friends. 

Normally, I would be right in there looking for my fair share, but I want to test a lobster pizza on Sunday and cannot justify eating pizza twice in one week.  Yes, I know Sunday could be considered a new week since I began Weight Watchers on a Saturday; trust me, I mentally ran through all the justifications for eating that pizza numerous times.  But I am getting stronger in my resolve to focus on a long term weight loss goal and not so much on instant gratification.  Hold on, I think I need a ‘Bravo’ sticker!    http://www.weightwatchers.com/

Charlie invited his friend Charlie over to share the pizza with him and I decided to make them a pizza named for our daughter, the Jenny Loves Tacos Pizza.  Jenny always had a deep and abiding love for tacos.  Given a choice, she would choose tacos over any other food and argued it was suitable for any occasion from celebrating straight ‘A’s on yet another report card to choosing a theme for her next birthday party.  Most kids brought cupcakes to school on their birthday to share with classmates; not Jenny, she brought tacos.  Jenny is now all grown up and friends and colleagues know her only as Jennifer or Attorney Groves, but there is a piece of little Jenny who is still very much alive and she confessed to me quite recently that she still loved tacos and could probably eat fifty if given the chance.

When this pizza comes off the grill or out of the oven, each slice is like a taco shell that is filled with perfectly seasoned meat and gooey cheese.  What it becomes after that is entirely up to the individual. 

Toppings are set out allowing each person to craft his or her own perfect ‘taco’ pizza. It was great fun watching the two Charlies as they each chose their toppings and ever so carefully layered them onto the pizza slices, smiling in anticipation of tasting the finished product. 

Here is my recipe – have fun customizing your own perfect taco pizza slice.

Ingredients:

1 recipe	Taco Seasoning Mix (recipe follows)
1 pound	Ground beef, 80% lean *
½ cup ½ cup	Water Tomato sauce, divided – recommended brand – Hunt’s
8 – 9 ounces	Prepared pizza dough at room temperature
4 ounces	Shredded cheddar cheese, or smoked cheddar cheese
6	Scallions, white and green parts thinly sliced
4 ounces	Monterey Jack or Jalapeno Jack cheese, shredded
1	Small sweet white onion, minced
½ cup	Black olives, sliced
1	Large, ripe tomato, seeded and finely chopped
	Sour cream
	Taco sauce
	Shredded iceberg lettuce

Directions:

1.   Prepare taco seasoning mix and set aside.

2.   Heat a 12” skillet, over medium-high heat.  Add beef and cook, breaking apart with a wooden spoon, until beef is cooked and lightly browned, about 5 to 7 minutes.  Drain fat from beef mixture. Add water, ¼ cup of the tomato sauce and Taco Seasoning Mix, stir to combine.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove lid and simmer 5 minutes longer or until most of liquid is absorbed.  Set aside to cool.          

3.   Roll, stretch and shape dough into an unrefined circular or rectangular shape approximately 12 to 14 inches according to basic directions.  Spread ¼ cup tomato sauce on the dough then sprinkle with the cheddar cheese leaving a border of approximately ½ inch.

4.   Spread cooled taco filling over cheese – I recommend that you use only one half of the mixture, but feel free to load it up if you so desire.

5.   Top with scallions and Monterey Jack cheese.

6.   Bake on a preheated Pizza Grill or on a pizza stone in a preheated 500 degree oven, rotating pizza after 4 minutes to prevent sticking.  Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until crust is firm and golden and topping is bubbly.  You may need to bake for an additional few minutes if you used all the beef taco mixture; and you will definitely need to use a fork and knife to eat your pizza once you add your toppings.

7.   Remove from the heat and cut into squares or wedges.  Set out taco sauce.  Place onion, olives, tomato, sour cream and lettuce in small bowls. Allow each person to top his or her own taco pizza piece with toppings of his/her own choice.  As Jenny would say, ‘this is a very personal matter.’

*Tip:  You can use the heated leftover taco mix and the condiments for a tasty “Taco Salad” the next day.   Guess what Charlie is having for dinner tonight!!!

Taco Seasoning Mix   Yield 2 Tablespoons (approximately)

Ingredients:      

2 teaspoons     instant minced onion (dehydrated minced onion

½ teaspoon     instant minced garlic (dehydrated garlic flakes)

1 teaspoon      kosher salt          

1 teaspoon      chili powder         

½ teaspoon     cornstarch

½ teaspoon     crushed dried red pepper flakes

¼ teaspoon     Mexican oregano (crushed)           

½ teaspoon     ground cumin

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and spoon mixture into a small airtight container. Store in a cool, dry place for up to 6 months.