Spatulas, Corkscrews & Suitcases

CINCO de MAYO MEXICAN SALSA: Fresh Pico de Gallo with Heirloom Tomatoes and Corn

Similar to Mexican Pico de Gallo, this sugar-free tomato salsa with some garden fresh cilantro and chilies is quick and easy to prepare using readily available market ingredients, kitchen gadgets and tools. Warm tortilla chips and guacamole are the perfect accompaniment to this awesome salsa. Super easy to make and eat right now, or follow the recipe and can the rest for later!

Heirloom Tomato Varieties

It's not summer yet in the Northeast, but you can start thinking about growing your own heirloom tomatoes, or seek out a local farmer's market for the freshest tomatoes they have. Below are some of the most popular heirloom tomatoes available from growers and seed companies. Don't worry if you can't get heirlooms now. Fleshy red-ripe tomatoes from Whole Foods Market or Trader Joe's will do the job too. 

• Brandywine tomatoes are widely recognized with red and yellow being the most popular colors.
• Jubilee tomatoes are a beautiful golden variety.
• Green Zebra is a fun tomato to use because of its striking color and stripes.
• Cherokee Purple is a deep purple, almost "black" tomato.

Adding fresh tomatoes last to the fresh salsa will not only keep their flesh intact, but their colors bright and vibrant as well. Fold the tomatoes in carefully so as not to bruise or crush them.

Ingredients: Fresh Tomato Salsa Recipe

• 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large Spanish onion, chopped small
• 1 large green pepper, chopped
• 1 large red pepper, chopped
• 2 large jalapenos, finely minced
• 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes, unsalted
• 6 ounce can tomato paste, unsalted
• 1 Tablespoon lime juice, fresh squeezed
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 drops hot habeneros sauce (Bandana's Habeneros Sauce is good)
• 4 ounce can green chilies
• 1/4 cup Bragg's Liquid Aminos, tamari sauce, or low sodium soy sauce
•  2 pounds corn, fresh off the cob, or frozen (thawed)
• 3 pounds heirloom tomatoes, fleshy Italian plum tomatoes are best, chopped or halved if small
• 1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro

Directions: How To Make Fresh Tomato Salsa

1. In a large stock pot, saute onions and peppers in extra virgin olive oil until crisp tender.
2. Add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, lime juice, honey, chilies, habeneros sauce and Bragg's Liquid Aminos, tamari or soy sauce.
3. Cook over very low heat for 10 minutes. Remove from stove, and carefully fold in corn and tomatoes.
4. Gently add cilantro and stir.
5. Cool completely and store in refrigerator, or can in a hot water bath for 25 minutes.
6. Makes 9 pints.

Check out These Favorites!

• Taco Salad Recipe - Veggie or Beef   
• Seven Layer Mexican Dip Recipe
• Mexican Salad Recipe
• The Best Guacamole Dip Recipe
• Zesty Pesto Pasta Salad
• Easy Retro Ambrosia Salad
• Ina Garten's Panzanella Salad Recipe
• Easy Tri-Colored Coleslaw Recipe
• Cobb Salad - An Edible Landscape!

RECIPES OF THE MONTH Part II

Julia Child's Nicoise Salad, Peanut Butter Buckeyes, Pear & Plum Tart, Apple Cranberry Tart, Chocolate Eclair Cake, Heirloom Tomato Recipes, Roasted Red Potatoes, Veggie Borscht and How to Cook Corn on the Cob.

Here's another list of recipes I've been working on the last two months or so. There's more to come too! Print them off or bookmark them for later use. And please feel free to email the links to your friends!

Julia Child's Nicoise Salad Recipe - Inspired by the French Chef - Salad Niçoise Recipe inspired by The French Chef: Black Nicoise olives, fresh or white albacore tuna, hard boiled eggs, heirloom tomatoes and fresh green beans set this salad apart from the ordinary ho-hum salad. Bon Appétit!

Roasted Red Potatoes Recipe - Red Bliss Potatoes sprinkled with olive oil, garlic & herbs and roasted in a hot oven or on the grill. Add some sauteed onions & peppers and call them Home Fries! Slice some smoked mozzarella chicken sausage and call it supper! Side dish or main dish, you decide!

Corn on the Cob: How to Cook Sweet Corn - Here's the secret recipe to perfect corn on the cob! Sweet Corn, Silver Queen, Butter & Sugar - whatever the variety - follow these simple directions, and you'll be enjoying the best sweet corn this summer!

Vegan Borscht Recipe & Video by Hippy Gourmet - Who says borscht has to have meat? This PBS episode has the Hippy Gourmet cooking alongside guest Lara Gutnik from the Ukrain. Delicious and authentic, this soup is an excellent example of borscht gone vegan!


 


Heirloom Tomato Recipes - Caprese Salad, Heirloom Tomato Tart, Tomato Sandwiches, BLT Sandwich and Brouchetta are just some of the delicious foods you can make with a bushel of heirloom tomatoes.

Apple Cranberry Galette Recipe - Stonewall Kitchen's Apple Butter, orchard apples & fresh cranberries from the bog, snuggle together with cinnamon & spices in a rustic free-form flaky pie crust & tart.

Fresh Raspberry Pie Recipe - Fresh raspberries baked in a flaky pie crust with plump ripe raspberries and spices. Dress it up with a lattice or double crust and serve à la mode with ice cream! Simply delish!

Buckeyes Recipe: Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Candy - Football or chocolate candy? Similar to a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, and shaped like a buckeye, these chocolate dipped peanut butter candies are absolutely addicting!

 

Rustic Pear and Plum Tart Recipe - Stonewall Kitchen's Dulce De Leche caramel sauce, ripe Bartlett pears & Italian prune plums baked with nutmeg & spices in a flaky free-form pie crust. Just add ice cream.

Key Lime Pie vs Lemon Meringue Pie - The recipes for Key Lime Pie & Lemon Meringue Pie are very different, and yet both are refreshing summer pies made with citrus fruits – lemons and limes. Would you choose Graham Cracker Crust, or Flaky Pie Crust? Meringue or Whipped Cream topping?

Blackberry Cobbler Recipe with Fresh Peaches - Blackberry Cobbler baked with fresh peaches and blackberries, bubbling up under a sweet biscuit topping.

Eclair Cake Recipe with Chocolate Frosting- This no-bake eclair cake layered with graham crackers, Cool Whip & vanilla pudding is frosted with homemade chocolate icing. Also called ice box cake, it's a perfect birthday cake or easy dessert!

Peach Recipes - Here's a recipe box full of 15 Peach Recipes! Peach Pie, Peach Cobbler, Peach Ice Cream Pie, Peaches & Cream Scones and many more. If it's peaches you crave, this list of peach recipes will tempt you!

RECIPES OF THE MONTH

 


Nutella S'mores, Apple Bread Pudding, Zucchini Bread, Blackberry Cobbler, Baked Flounder, Chicken Tetrazzini, Banana Nut Muffins, BLT Pasta Salad, Corn Pudding and Deli Style Macaroni Salad.

I Got My Bakin' MoJo Back!
Yes, I'm still alive! And I'm back with a bunch of new recipes! July & August were very busy months with tons of company, sailing and searingly hot temperatures that left me with almost no will to bake or cook. We don't have AC on the boat, and when that sun beats down on the deck, it heats the inside temps to over 100 degrees. There were days I just packed up my laptop and went to the library to escape the heat. The gas grill was my best friend for weeks! I got my MoJo back now that the days have turned cooler, and I've started baking and cooking again! Even our son Brad got the baking bug yesterday and made a batch of cookies, just because he could!

Recipes of Some of the Month!
This is just 1/3 of the things I've written since I've been AWOL the last 4 weeks. I'll post more in the days to come. PLUS, I have another Giveaway planned, so keep your eyes peeled for that as well! As always, feel free to print these Examiner and Suite101 recipes out, and make sure to email them to your friends too!

BLT Pasta Salad Recipe
Bacon, Lettuce & Tomato Macaroni Salad – A twist on the classic BLT Sandwich! Use spiral pasta to hold more Italian dressing, add crisp bacon, romaine lettuce and vine-ripened tomatoes. Great for lunch, brunch or supper!

Macaroni Salad Recipe with Mayonnaise
Classic deli style macaroni salad with onions, peppers, celery, hard boiled eggs, mayonnaise and celery salt. Hamburgers & hot dogs, barbecues, cookouts & picnics, could all use a big helping of this easy macaroni salad!

Chicken Tetrazzini Recipe
Chicken Tetrazzini casserole with leftover roast chicken, spaghetti, butter, mushrooms, onions, sherry, cream and spices. This lip-smacking dish is perfect for pot lucks and large family dinners.

Corn Pudding Recipe: Scalloped Corn
Easy side dish casserole for quick meals & holiday entertaining. Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix is the secret ingredient! Don't let the name 'Corn Pudding' throw you off. This is an amazing veggie casserole. Red peppers and green scallions give it festive color, while canned and creamed corn give it great texture.

Baked Flounder Recipe with Cracker Topping
Baking flounder, sole or cod is a quick & easy way to prepare this mild white fish. Just a few simple ingredients, and tender baked flounder is ready to serve.

Red Onion Jam Recipe
Large red onions simmered and cooked down with butter, sugar and balsamic vinegar, makes an amazing relish or jam that's perfect for burgers, cheese, appetizers, tarts & galettes or dipping. Quick & Easy!

Banana Nut Muffins Recipe
Moist & flavorful muffins loaded with ripe bananas, walnuts and chocolate chips if you like. Banana streusel muffins freeze well, so bake a double batch for later. Great for brunch, snacks, picnics or with a cup of tea!

Nutella S'mores Recipe
Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, campers and kids  will love these s'mores made with Nutella Chocolate Hazelnut Spread, honey graham crackers and toasted marshmallows.

Zucchini Bread with Chocolate Chips
Moist & flavorful Zucchini Nut Bread recipe loaded with chocolate chips, cinnamon and walnuts. Easy quick bread recipe can be baked in mini loaf pans or cupcakes with cream cheese frosting!

Apple Bread Pudding Recipe with Fresh Apples
Fall dessert recipes with fresh apples, Vermont maple syrup and apple juice concentrate make this apple bread pudding with whip cream a perfect cool weather snack.

White Chocolate Frosting Recipe
Melted white chocolate coating, blended with butter & cream cheese frosting. Decorate Red Velvet Cupcakes, Coconut Cake, Chocolate Cupcakes, or frost a cheesecake. 

Fresh Peach Pie Recipe with Streusel Topping
Flaky pie crust loaded with fresh ripe peaches & spices, topped with sweet brown sugar praline streusel.

Blackberry Muffin Recipe with Fresh Blackberries
Blackberry Muffins with brown sugar & pecan streusel topping. 

SUMMER SALAD RECIPES

Salad Recipes for Summer
Hot summer weather calls for cool summer salads, and I have plenty to share! Panzanella Salad, Waldorf Salad, Pesto Pasta Salad, Strawberry & Spinach Salad, Red Bliss Potato Salad, and lots, lots more! Check out all the recipes here and on Examiner.com.

I don't know about you, but I'm planning on lots of cookouts this summer! We bought a grill last year for all the Grilled Pizzas we were making. That turned out to be a very good decision! We don't eat a lot of meat, but when we do have steak, burgers or grilled salmon, there's nothing I like better than a delicious Potato Salad or Pesto Pasta Salad.

I didn't include a green salad in this list because you all know how to throw a bunch of veggies together. I have lots more where these came from, so I'll be adding to this list over the next weeks and months. Also, check out my sidebars on each side. I've tried to tidy them up and categorize recipes. There's literally hundreds of recipes here, so start clicking and enjoy your summer!

Red White & Blue Fruit Salad Recipe - Everyone loves fresh fruit salad, so why not make it a patriotic one with the colors of the flag! Red strawberries and raspberries, almost white bananas and pineapple, and as blue as you can get blueberries make one beautiful fruit salad!

 

Waldorf Salad Recipe with Fawlty Towers Video - Remember John Cleese in Fawlty Towers? The chef had the night off, and Basil accepted dinner guests, took the money and decided to make the dinner himself. As most Fawlty Towers episodes go, Basil made a mess of everything! Watch Basil's hilarious Waldorf Salad video, and laugh all the way to the kitchen! Just as good as the original Waldorf Salad served by the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York. Apples, walnuts, raisins, celery and grapes, tossed together in a simple mayonnaise dressing. Perfect for a summer day!

Tri-color Coleslaw Recipe - No 4th of July cookout is complete without coleslaw! This green, purple & orange coleslaw is super easy, very colorful and wicked tasty. And it's great for a raw side dish, no cooking! You can save even more time by buying the pre-packaged coleslaw mix at the market and adding your own dressing!

Panzanella Italian Bread Salad Recipe - Unbelievably quick & easy bread salad that's so filling, it can be used for a main dish meal. Homemade Italian bread seasoned croutons, peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, fresh basil and an awesome balsamic vinegar dressing, gives this bread salad just the right zing!

Easy Ambrosia Recipe - A retro favorite of families everywhere, this easy ambrosia is not only colorful, but delicious too! Sweet pineapple, mandarin oranges, mini colored marshmallows and coconut, all mixed with sour cream. Ambrosia - it'll bring back sweet memories!

Spinach Salad with Strawberries - Fresh baby spinach, ripe juicy strawberries and raspberry vinaigrette dressing. Lightly toasted pecans give it some crunch, and sharp cheddar cheese complements the salad with pizazz!

Seven Layer Mexican Dip Recipe - Another great pot luck or picnic favorite - Avocados, salsa, cilantro, black beans, tomatoes and then some. All the awesome ingredients you want in a 7 layer Mexican dip!

Red Bliss Potato Salad Recipe - Potato Salad for Sunday brunch, outdoor BBQ's, summer picnics, Father's Day, graduations, 4th of July or afternoon tea! Red potatoes, mayo, red onions, green relish and hard boiled eggs, make this Red Bliss potato salad a classic!

Taco Salad Recipe - THE EASY WAY to eat a taco! Vegetarians & meat lovers alike will love this easy Taco Salad. Just throw everything together and serve. Perfect for summer cookouts!





Pesto Pasta Salad Recipe - 4th of July wouldn't be the same without this Zesty Pasta Salad! Fresh basil pesto, spiral pasta, tomatoes, olives, peppers, onions and salad dressing make a great summer pasta salad for your holiday cookout!

The Best Guacamole Dip Recipe - This ultra-smooth guacamole is made chunky with onions, celery, cucumber and tomatoes. Add mayo and Italian dressing to make a pourable homemade guacamole salad dressing! Watch the funky YouTube video at the end. You'll remember this every time you eat Guacamole!





Cobb Salad - An Edible Landscape - Classic Cobb Salad with bacon, chicken, hard boiled eggs & lettuce, all arranged in neat & tidy colorful rows. Perfect make-ahead salad for picnics, cookouts and lazy summer suppers!

Mexican Salad Recipe - Colorful Mexican salad isn't just for Cinco de Mayo! Yellow corn, red peppers, green cucumbers and black beans give this delicious and refreshing salad lots of contrast, color and texture! Spicy tomato dressing makes this salad POP for 4th of July! Serve this salad with a side of homemade cornbread.

CINCO de MAYO RECIPES

Last Minute Cinco de Mayo Recipes
Tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo, and I've been busy with all my last minute Mexican & Tex-Mex recipes. Most of the recipes are quick & easy, so you can do them ahead or wait until last minute. Check back again. I'll be adding more as I finish them!

Cinco de Mayo Recipes

• The Best Guacamole Dip
  
• Seven Layer Mexican Dip Recipe
• Taco Salad Recipe - Veggie & Beef
  
• Award Winning Chili Recipe
• Caramel Topped Flan Recipe
  
• Mexican Wedding Cookies Recipe
• The Classic Tequila Sunrise
• The Best Margarita Recipe
• The Best Strawberry Margarita Recipe

SUPERBOWL CHILI RECIPE

                                   

Vegetarian or Hamburger Chile Recipe
Everyone loves a hot bowl of chili during a football game! Here's a great SUPERBOWL SUNDAY CHILI RECIPE. Make it either vegetarian or add ground hamburger, chicken, pork or ground turkey. Anyway you make it, it's gonna taste great!

This Chili recipe freezes well, so if you make a big batch, don't worry, you can have it next week and the week after that! I usually serve it over a bowl of brown jasmine rice and sprinkle it with cheese! Add a side of CORNBREAD or biscuits and your favorite bottle of cold beer, and your party will be an instant hit!

AWARD WINNING CHILI RECIPE
Oh, and the best part about this chili? I won a trophy for it. It was voted Best Vegetarian Chili Cookoff back in 2004! I was shocked to say the least. There were quite a few other contenders, but I won fair and square. I didn't even try rigging the contest, and didn't know any of the judges, honest!

                                                      

How Do You Find This Award Winning Chili Recipe?
Just like the Spinach Artichoke Dip Recipe, click here to find my Award Winning Chili Recipe on Suite101. As always, you can print it off, email it to a friend or bookmark it for later. While you're there, click around for more of my recipes. There's something there for every taste!

                                                                      

SPINACH ARTICHOKE DIP - Superbowl Sunday Recipe

                                        

SUPERBOWL SUNDAY APPETIZER
Guess what my most requested recipe is right now? It's for my Spinach Artichoke Dip. My Suite101 recipe is going gangbusters with record hits! You have guests coming over, a house full of hungry guys perhaps? You're looking for the perfect appetizer for your SUPERBOWL party right? Well, look no further! This dip will knock your socks off, and your guests will be asking for the recipe long after the SUPERBOWL is over!  Heck! Now I'm hungry and thinking of making it for Sunday's game!

Spinach Artichoke Dip Recipe
This recipe was one of the biggest hits for many years when we were catering for the Strong House Inn in Vermont. It's still my favorite hot dip of all time! It tastes so  close to the Olive Garden and TGIF's Spinach Artichoke Dip Recipes, it'll be hard to tell the difference. The only difference is the price you had to pay for it!

The Spinach Artichoke Dip is  also SUPER easy to put together. If you don't like artichokes, leave them out. It won't taste quite the same, but it'll still be one of the best tasting hor d'oeuvres on your SUPERBOWL buffet table! Let it cool down or about 15 minutes before serving, it's HOT right out of the oven! Serve it with crackers or with baguette slices.

Soooo, Where Do You Get The Spinach Artichoke Dip Recipe?
Here's what you do...Click here for my Spinach Artichoke Dip Recipe. It'll bring you right to my Suite101 article page. You can print it off to use in the kitchen, email it to a friend, or bookmark it for later. The buttons are all down at the bottom of the recipe. Enjoy the game, but most of all, enjoy the Spinach Artichoke Dip! I know I will! If you like this recipe, you might want to try my Vegetarian or Hamburger Chili Recipe!

 

SPLIT PEA SOUP RECIPE

                                                   

Split Pea Soup With Barley
It's late fall and the weather has been cold, raw and windy. Time to take out that stock pot that's been stuffed in the pantry all summer and make some chunky, thick and hearty SPLIT PEA SOUP! Although this Split Pea Soup takes a good two hours to simmer, the recipe does go together rather quickly, and your house will smell heavenly while it merrily bubbles away! Ultimate cold weather comfort food at its best!

                                                                             

The Split Pea Soup was thin while it was cooking, but it thickened up real fast!

This SPLIT PEA SOUP is very chunky with barley and carrots. The longer it sits, the thicker it gets! Even though my recipe for Split Pea Soup, found here at Suite101, is vegetarian, don't let that scare you meat eaters away! You'll probably notice by the pictures that I added kielbasa to it at the very end. The recipe makes a large amount, so I cut up one pound of turkey kielbasa, but you can use any variety you like best. Serve the soup with hunks of fresh French Bread to sop up the bottom of the bowl.

                                                                          

SPLIT PEA SOUP WITH BARLEY freezes real well, so make a big batch, portion it out in Ziploc containers and you'll have a few lunches for the rest of the week! Bon Appetit!

AWARD WINNING VEGETARIAN CHILI RECIPE - Hamburger Chili Too!

                                            

Award Winning Vegetarian Chili
This Vegetarian Chili really did win an award! It was a nice shiny trophy for the best Vegetarian Chili evah! Well OK, not really, but close! My son Brad entered my chili in the Country Home Chili Cook-Off Contest in Vergennes, Vermont while he was working there in 2003. When he came home with this trophy, I was shocked! I asked him if I was the only one entered, and he laughed and said there were plenty of contestants, but mine was the best. He loves his Mom, so of course he tells me what I want to hear!! Click here for my Award Winning Vegetarian Chili Recipe.

                                                                     

                                                                              

What is TVP?
This yummy chili has all the standard ingredients in it. Onions, peppers, garlic, beans, tomatoes, spices and TVP. WHAT? What is TVP? TVP is short for Textured Vegetable Protein. It's a soy product that mimics all sorts of meat. The first impression you'll get when you see this *interesting* food(?) is that it looks like dried dog food chunks. I know, appetizing isn't it? It all depends what you reconstitute it with. I soak mine in a mixture of BBQ sauce and boiling water, so it has a nice smoky flavor when it's all done. You can find TVP in health or natural health food stores like Whole Foods. It comes in chunks or small granuals. Its a great source of protein, so if you're a vegetarian, TVP will help get your protein. Because it's dried, it weighs virtually nothing, and it keeps for a very long time if stored in sealed dry containers or zip-lock bags. TVP is one of those foods that's good to have on hand just in case the lights go out!

                                                                         

Vegetarian Chili or Hamburger Chili, You Decide!
I've been making this Vegetarian Chili for many, many years. How many? I don't have enough fingers and toes to count that high! I can see the confused and quizzical look on your face that leaves you thinking, "Was Donna 10 or 15 when she started making this chili?" Yes, believe whatever you want. John and the kids always loved when I made my chili. But I would pay dearly from the nuclear fallout - the stinky cloud that would engulf our home - just hours after we got up from the table.

                                                            

Meat-Lovers Chili Too!
For all your meat-loving friends, you can make this chili with hamburger, ground turkey, sausage or chicken too. Just brown the meat with the onions, peppers and garlic before you add the rest of the ingredients. I add corn and fresh cilantro to mine as a variation and serve it over brown jasmine rice. Add a pan of cornbread and dinner is served! You'll love it. I know you will!

So...click here for my Award Winning Vegetarian Chili Recipe.

                                                                        
                                                                    

MORE PIZZA ON THE GRILL: LAST WEEK

                                                        

GRILLED PIZZA
If you've been lurking around my blog for any length of time, you'll see a trend developing. This week on "PIZZA ON THE GRILL". I'm gonna try and make this a regular feature, maybe weekly, perhaps biweekly, but probably definitely regularly. Is that vague enough for you? I try to confuse, I really do!

We've been doing this - Grilling Pizza thing  - for quite some time now. Check out my other posts under Pizza & Libations! At least once a week, sometimes twice a week at the top of the dock. People are starting to notice. Friends, family, dockmates, passersby, people that don't know who the heck we are or what the heck we're doing, and last but not least, you, the blogging world, my blogging peeps!
                                                                        
                                                                    

Have Pizza Will Travel!
Since we still don't have our own grill (we're so cheap, we're waiting for the stores to have their closeout end-of-season sales before we buy!) we rely on others at the marina, or we take the PIZZA ON THE GRILL thing on the road! Uh huh, you heard that right! We literally pack up absolutely everything, excluding the kitchen sink, but definitely including the aluminum foil and cutting boards, and we take it to the people! We have a waiting list and a regular following waiting to be put on the waiting list again.

                                                                      

How Many Pizzas Can We Dream Up?
There's only so many GRILLED PIZZAS that we can think up. The books on the subject have quite a selection of ideas and  we'll likely depend on some of those old standbys. But, I can't wait to show you some of the bizarre and off the wall pizzas we've come up with! So, I'm not sure how long this will last. Maybe you'll get tired of all my Pizza photos and start screaming at me to PLEASE STOP WITH THE PIZZA ALREADY!

                                                                     

Whine, Whine Wine!
And, because wine is a BIG part of my life - and I do mean BIG - I'll most assuredly be including a bottle of wine with my selections. Pizza & Wine Pairings! Maybe even Pizza & Beer Pairings! Who knows? 

                                                                    

No More Pizza!

So, without further ado, more fireworks and pizza farts, I'll show you what we did the last two weeks, which by the way, included four culinary works of art (pizzas) each time, three gigs in a row! You do the math! Note: I use I, me, my, we and us in all my Tall Tale Grilling Fibs, Lies & videotapes because I do most of the work planning, prepping, delegating and decorating. John does most of the actual standing-at-the-grill-drinking-beer-and-wine-and- often-flipping-a-pizza-or-two, three or four stuff! It's a good deal for you! You get a Two-fer for the same price!

                                                                 

Quick Pizza Primer 101
Most of the time I start off with whole wheat pizza dough. Sometimes I'll throw an authentic Italian pizza dough in there as well. Federal Hill Pizza Company from Cranston, Rhode Island makes fantastic whole wheat and white pizza dough. Four ingredients - unbleached flour, water, salt and yeast, that's it! I get it from my local market - Dave's Marketplace. Then I flatten it out on a board sprinkled with corn meal.

                                                       

Federal Hill Pizza Dough

Next, I rub a good amount of flavored olive oil on the dough. This could be Basil Oil, Roasted Garlic Oil or Roasted Chili Oil or whatever I have on hand. I need to stop at Whole Foods again and stock up on some more tantalizing flavors to stimulate (can I say that on my blog?), tickle or burn our taste buds! Turn it over and place it on a piece of heavy duty aluminum foil. Oil and corn meal the other side too. Crank up that oven! It has to be HOTTER than hell when you slap that baby on there. You know what? I have this all written on an earlier post. Go there and it will tell you how to finish it. Next time when I have more space, I'll write it all out for you again. Promise!

                                                                         

Sun-dried Tomato & Basil Pesto Asparagus & Artichoke Pizza
I love pesto of any kind and I've been experimenting with new and exciting combinations. Last weeks "Pesto of the Week" was a Basil Pesto base with sun-dried tomatoes. That was over-the-top yummy! It looked like mud (green and red make mud!) but it sure was tasty! I started with whole wheat pizza dough and smeared it good with the pesto. Next, I put down some tender grilled and seasoned asparagus spears. I opened a jar of marinated artichoke hearts and threw those on top too. It smelled so good before it was grilled, we couldn't help drooling thinking of how much better it would be when it was finally done! Freshly grated parmesan and mozzarella and a sprinkle of Mrs Dash and it was back on the grill. I wish you could have been here to taste it! You wouldn't have gone home!

                                                                    

Barbecued Chicken, Carmelized Onions, & Fresh Basil Pizza
Our friend Paul (we stormed his kitchen and deck this time) had some leftover BBQ'd chicken on a ziploc bag We grabbed that and plopped it on top of red sauce, added some carmelized onions, topped it with a mixture of cheeses and finally some fresh basil from his herb garden. It was a BIG hit with my Dad who doesn't really like pizza??? I think we changed his mind that night because he ate more than his share of mix-and-match pizzas
                                                                 

Plain Old Pepperoni and Cheese Pizza
Because we had my non-adventurous Dad, my Mother-in-Law and the grandkids with us (Hey! What was I thinking?) we had to do at least one boring...I mean traditional pizza for them. Turns out, they liked all the eclectic pizzas too! I used Boars Head Pepperoni on red sauce, topped with fresh parmesan and mozzarella and spices. I may have thought it was boring, but it tastes so much better when you use the good stuff!

                                                                   

The Frankenstein Pizza
This is Garbage Pizza at its finest! Everything from leftovers to scraps of red peppers, mushroom slices, odd olives and cheeses that I could find in my fridge. No one cared in the least and it was all gone before I could get to my second Loaded Homemade Lemonade...and I do mean Loaded!

So, that's it for the pizzas of the week. Stay tuned for the next installment of "As The Pizza Spins!" Send in your comments and requests for your favorite pizza and we'll try to accommodate your every wish...pizza, silly!