Just Keeping It Real Around Here

I hear people are worried that I might actually bare a breast at some point in this sacred space we call my blog. Fear not. Given what I know about myself, I think the odds are highly stacked against that. A part of me still wants to believe I’m badass enough to do it, so if you could just continue to play along, I would appreciate it. Things on the cooking front have been less than inspiring this week, with one kid recovering from strep and the other one coming down with it, and me only a week out of surgery. I never quite made it to the grocery store (save my trip to Codman for the fish delivery), so we were working with a barren pantry and the dregs of the crisper. Dinner one night consisted of fried rice made with some ratty old turnips and a hopeful heap of curry powder. The next night was pasta and salad. Then more pasta and salad, this time with a side of fresh fish. Words cannot express how very uninterested I was in gutting 5 grey sole that day, but the reward was a fish that tasted absolutely delicious when sautéed in nothing more than olive oil. Last night’s dinner was pita pizza, my fallback when we’re out of hotdogs. I made the kids their favorite: cheese, no sauce, hold the toppings. It evolved through trial and error over several weeks with me coming up with various creative combinations and the kids eliminating at least one ingredient until there was nothing left but cheese melted on bread. Whatever. I’m too beaten down to care. Then I made one with sauce and sausage for Husband, and a sauceless version for me with caramelized onions, mozzarella, goat cheese, and rosemary.
Actually, the last one adds up to more than the sum of its parts, and I would recommend it for your winter pizza repertoire. Just sauté an onion in olive oil on low for about 20 minutes with a pinch of salt and sugar (2 onions for a regular-sized pizza). Sprinkle some mozzarella on the pita (often, I put a little cheddar on there, too), pile on the onions, dot with goat cheese, sprinkle with rosemary and black pepper. Bake 8 minutes or so in a hot oven. Drizzle with a tiny bit of extra virgin olive oil while it cools. Around here, you can make it with all local ingredients, too. I use the large pita pockets from Bay State Bakery in Worcester because they stay thin and crispy the way I can’t seem to make my own pizza crusts come out. Ah well. Next week is another week.

Comments

[Julia]

For a throw-together dinner, that looks pretty darn tasty.

Pizza crusts are hard at home because the ovens don't get hot enough. I've come to putting the cookie sheet directly on the floor of the oven to get that intense direct heat. It works pretty well....

Good luck with all the recovery!

[Megan Carroll]

Pita pizza's are fun, my mum use to always make them for us kidlets when we were young many moons ago. Thank you for being inspiring and honest ...

ps. Julia, funnily enough I just posted something about awesome homemade pizza dough on my own blog...

[Amy]

Afflicted weight loss plan for 2010: Stomach flu...throw up every 2 hours for 24 hours. I don't recommend it.

Once I get my appetite back, I'm making that pizza.

[melch]

That looks delicious. I think caramelized onions make anything tasty.

[NurseJen]

No boobage? Eh, well, there's still the food-porn (this pita pizza looks food-gasmic!)

[Husband]

All 3 varieties of the pita pizza are delicious. Family favorite.

[Wouter]

I need to get a pizza stone. Those apparently get the crust going.

And I don't think anyone was *worried*, per se :-) As long as you are happy with the results...

[Tammy]

Wouter: I have a stone, but I'm still not happy with how my homemade crusts come out even at top heat. But really the pita crusts are fine with me and less work.

Husband: Admit it. You wish they were all sausage.

NurseJen: I'm grateful that my photos are occasionally considered porn-worthy. I'll be happy when we have more natural light in a few months.

melch: I agree. Onions are underrated.

Amy: Ugh. I hope you're feeling much better and have a pizza pie all to yourself.

Megan: Your pizza looks awesome. Check it out, peeps: http://tomatotots.blogspot.com/2010/02/perfect-pizza.html
and
http://tomatotots.blogspot.com/2010/02/nirvana-is-in-first-bite-dough-recipe.html

Julia: That's brilliant. Cookie sheet on the bottom of the oven. I'll have to try that. Thanks for the tip!

[megan]

Thanks for the mention... I love pizza in all forms... Pita pizza's a are definite quick night dinner!

[Acai Berry Pure]

I enjoyed reading this post. Thanks for a wonderful job!