I bet takeout pizza is one of the easiest and most popular takeout foods in the US. We used to regularly order a tasty thin crust from a popular pizzeria on Friday nights until we started making our own pizza. Paul makes homemade crust now and then but we usually start with a good premade thin crust that comes in a package of three most often hanging in the produce section of the grocery store. We then pull out a jar of homemade Italian flavored tomato sauce along with some shredded mozzarella and parmesan. I am especially happy if we have goat cheese in the cheese drawer. We usually have a package of pepperoni, salami or sliced ham on hand for pizza. I would love to try using homemade fennel seasoned sausage too but first I must get Paul on board with sausage making. I love pizza loaded with veggies which is probably the main reason we started making our own pizza. We always use sautéed onions and peppers along with black olives and sometimes mushrooms. Using fresh sliced tomatoes and basil are also a frequent choice. Several other, slightly unusual, veggies I like on pizza are thinly sliced precooked potatoes and eggplant. We cook our pizza on a preheated pizza stone at high heat and, at the table, I add more grated parmesan and Paul adds crushed red peppers. Along with a good red wine, you can’t beat fresh hot homemade pizza when you get exactly what you want on top at a fraction of the price. It also makes for a great entertaining experience for adults and children alike.
We had another family get together this past weekend, this time with those on my mother’s side of the family. Mom got to see her sister and I got to catch up with my five enthusiastic girl cousins from this family. We drove two hours east to the Melrose, MN area to my cousin’s tranquil farm property where they don’t farm but boy do they garden. They have two vegetable gardens in an old alfalfa field across from their home, one is 40’ X 100’ and the other 20’ X 150’. I counted 30 tomato plants alone in one garden and there were even more in the other garden. Peas reached toward the sky on two fences that went along the entire 100’ garden. Cucumbers took up half of the smaller garden and I swear one zucchini plant was 4’ X 4’ in diameter as was the lone yellow squash plant next to it. The eggplant she is growing for me is coming along nicely too. Producing raspberry bushes span a 40’ area and their potato and bean plants go on forever. A separate 3’ X 20’ raised bed was filled with carrots. All I can say is they must use some potent fertilizer and work their backsides off all summer. They sell most of their bounty to area individuals, businesses and tourists then process what’s left to last the winter. Lucky relatives that visit at the right time during the summer season make out like bandits. We brought home cucumbers, zucchini and yellow squash along with a huge bag of peas which needed to be shelled. I decided the ride home was the perfect time to get the job done so I gave some to my mom in the back seat and I set up my shelling station in the front passenger seat. She didn’t last long feigning numbness in her fingers but I kept at it most of the two hour drive home and upon arrival we had at least 6 cups of fresh peas to blanch and freeze. Tonight, Paul is serving pasta with fresh peas and mint…Yum!
I must finish with a few comments on this family potluck! My hosting cousin is particularly skilled in the kitchen so along with pulled pork sandwiches on homemade buns and beans there were lots of great salads including three potato salads, one with eggs, one without eggs and one heavy on the mustard. My favorite salad was a ramped up Raman noodle, cabbage, almond, snap pea wonder and the orzo pasta salad was a strong contender as well! Desserts included peach cobbler, rhubarb meringue slab pie, a creamy butterscotch bar and blueberry cake along with angel food cake with strawberries and ice cream served in late afternoon. Needless to say, it was our only meal of the day and good times were had by all!