The "Whatever You've Got in Your Fridge" Pizza

Don't judge this pizza by her looks - she's unbelievably tasty, however knobbly she may be. Every two weeks or so my mom and I get a hankerin' for homemade pizza. And tonight, the above photo is what came of our efforts. Are you ready? It was a: goat cheese - roasted tomato - spinach - caramelized onion - hard-boiled egg - mustard vinaigrette pizza! And how did I discover that all of these ingredients made one hell of a pizza? By making it...out of random goodies in the fridge!



Mom made her famous pizza dough (which I will put on here eventually), but you can make any pizza dough recipe or buy a ready-made pizza crust. Then we drizzled olive oil on it, put the pre-roasted tomatoes (mom does this in the summer when we have more tomatoes than we know what to do with) on top and plopped globs of goat cheese on it. Then we baked it in the oven on 500 degrees F until the crust browned and bubbled.

Next we put fresh spinach, caramelized onions (I caramelized them before-hand in a little red wine), and sliced hard-boiled eggs on top. Then I drizzled my homemade mustard vinaigrette (dijon mustard, honey, apple cider vinegar, thyme, and basil) over the whole thing!

I must say, it was quite good! The combination of the sweet onions, the tart roasted tomatoes, and the creamy eggs and mustard vinaigrette was a great variation on the old "pizza with red sauce and lots of cheese" trick.

~ Mari

Spinach

The Joy of Cooking (Vegetables)

Spring is here and it's time for veggies! Last night, my dad and I made a strictly veggie meal (which, if you know my dad, is almost unheard of) that was amazingly delicious - if I do say so myself! The photo above is what we started with: raw beets, sweet onions, fennel, and garlic cloves. We decided to roast them (believe it or not, at the suggestion of Auguste Escoffier) so they would be cruncy and delicious. After we arranged them in the pan (and preheated the oven to 350 degrees F), we drizzled EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil) on them and sprinkled them with salt, pepper, a little chicken base (I promise... it works), and balsamic vinegar.



Next, we baked them for about 20 minutes, flipped them over & added a few splashes of red wine, and baked them for another 10 minutes.

Next, we plated them and sprinkled toasted walnuts shaved parmesan cheese on them and drizzled a homemade mustard walnut vinaigrette over the entire yumminess. I love how the onions soaked up the balsamic and wine and look like little sweet roses! And every once in a while, when you bite into a roasted and caramelized garlic clove, you just want to weep with happiness.

You've got to love my dad. He couldn't take having a completely vegetarian meal (it's just not in him), so he rendered some bacon and sauteed the beet greens in it for about 4 minutes. And I must say - they were delicious! But, if you're a vegetarian, you could do without that step, of course. ;)

Enjoy!