Neurosis and Hawaiian Pizza

First blog post ever, and I'm going to let the cat out of the bag. Eventually you'll find out the truth anyway. It will be little things at first, things that might make you wonder about my sanity. Then the bigger things. So, let's just lay it all out on the table in the beginning and get it over with.... I'm a teensy, tiny bit neurotic. 

There, I've said it! It's true! And I'll tell you my other dirty, little secret.... not only am I neurotic, but I like it that way. 

For example: I started this whole blogging experience in October with the help of my friend, Abby. Here it is January, and this is my first post ever?! 

Yep. I'm not even embarrassed about it! I only started about a dozen times, but 'something' wasn't right. I chased this elusive 'something' for months, searching for the perfect way to start my amazing blogging adventure. You know what I discovered? There is no perfect way. You just gotta jump right into the deep end of the pool and try to swim. Which, by the way, several people have already told me. Repeatedly. Being hard-headed is pretty much a way of life for me. You'll get used to it. 

So, instead of the exotic 'something' that I know you're looking forward to, this is what you get today: Hawaiian Pizza. Which, when made properly, can practically be a religious experience. I know this because I just snarfed down a third of the pie when it came out of the oven. Thank goodness I hit up the gym this afternoon.

I experimented a little with my ingredients, but not much. You don't mess with perfection. Pineapple and Canadian bacon? Perfection.

This is what I started with.... but not how I finished! 

I thought I was so smart, taking a photograph of my ingredients like I've seen other people do. Well, guess what? I'm neurotic. That means I forgot a bunch of ingredients in this picture, and I added ingredients later that I wasn't expecting to use. Total fail. I'll try to do better next time, I promise. 

Naturally, the first ingredient I forgot was the pizza dough. I mean, really? It's only the most obvious part, but that's me. Forgetfulness... also a way of life around here. 

You can use any kind of dough that you want for your pizza. Make it from scratch, buy a bag of mix, or use a Boboli... whatever floats your boat. Making pizza dough from scratch is on my list of things to learn, but today I had some in the fridge from my friend Abby, who spoils me with her pizza dough bounty :) 

Start by spraying your pizza pan with some non-stick spray and dusting it with a little cornmeal (Totally not in the picture, did you notice?). Preheat the oven to 425 degrees, or whatever your package directions indicate. While it warms up, stretch your dough to cover the pan. If necessary, you can coat your hands with a bit of olive oil to make the dough easier to work with. Prick your crust all over with a fork. I pre-cook my dough a bit so it's not so... well, doughy. You don't have to do this, it greatly depends on what kind of crust you are using. But if you're like me, just pop it in the oven for 5 or 6 minutes. When it comes out, it should look a little something like this:

Around here, we call this 'rustic'

Actually, yours will probably look more uniform and prettier than mine. The Hubs and I had just finished an hour workout at the gym, and we were hungry! Looks mostly take a backseat around here when the Hubs is hungry.

Once the dough is pre-cooked, it's just a matter of piling on your sauce and toppings. I wanted to shake things up a bit though. First, I sliced 4 pieces of bacon into 1" pieces. I threw those into a skillet with a tablespoon or so of brown sugar (the brown sugar is the secret here... if you haven't tried it, please do. Yum squared). Cook this for just a few minutes. I wanted the bacon to be done, but not too crispy since it would be going back in the oven on top of my pizza. After removing the bacon to a paper towel to drain, I threw some thinly sliced red onion into the skillet with the bacon grease. Saute the onion slices until soft and lightly browned, then place on the paper towel with the bacon.

You could easily make the pizza sauce from scratch, but the hunger factor allowed no time to make sauce today. Today was all about quick and simple. When I need pizza sauce in a pinch, this is my go-to favorite:

It's not too runny, which I like. Whatever you like best, go for it! It's pretty hard to mess up pizza. I do have one stipulation though - please, please, pretty please, do not use that pre-shredded, yucky mozzarella cheese in a bag. Bleck. Your taste buds will thank me for this, I promise you. Instead of that unnaturalness, try this:

It's yum. It's heaven in your mouth. You will never go back to that stuff in a bag, I swear. You don't even have to shred it for your pizza. Just slice it thin and pile it on!

Top all that delicious mozzarella cheese with some thinly sliced Canadian bacon plus the brown sugar bacon (if you didn't eat it all already!), and the sautéed onions. And don't forget the pineapple! You can't have Hawaiian Pizza without the pineapple, it's just not done. You can buy fresh, buy canned, or you can go the route I did with this:

I gave these a rough chop before throwing them on the pizza, but you can leave them whole if you want. Top everything off with a 1/3 cup of shredded Monterey Jack cheese and a sprinkle of kosher salt.

Nothing left now but to put it in the oven and wait while the amazing smell fills your house. If you've pre-cooked your dough, then this only needs about another 10 minutes in the oven, until the cheese is melted and the edges are golden. When all is said and done, you wind up with a pizza that should look a little something like this:

Ta da! Hawaiian Pizza

From start to finish, this is about a 30 minute meal. Homemade pizza is a new obsession for me, and it's quickly gaining some prominence in our household. It's easily customizable, and not too hard to make healthy. (Although, I doubt this Hawaiian would qualify in that category!) A whole wheat crust, plenty of veggies, and some low-fat cheese would turn this typical junk food into a healthy evening meal. Granted, that's very unlikely to happen here, at least not without many (loud) protests from the Hubs. Maybe someday I will fool him into healthy eating, but today is not that day.

So, I guess this is the end of my first post ever... I know it took me several months to get here, but now that I've started, you'll have a hard time stopping me! You can expect many more recipes, as I'm a closet foodie that finally came out a few years ago. But there will also be photography, and travel, and my random ramblings. Being married to the military has its advantages and disadvantages, ups and downs, and everything in between. I want to share what I can with you. As for my neuroses, we'll just consider this therapy. See you soon!


The Standard Form:


Hawaiian Pizza


Ingredients:

1 pizza crust
Non-stick spray
Sprinkle of cornmeal
5 ounces pizza sauce
4 slices bacon, cut into 1" pieces
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

3 ounces Canadian bacon
3 ounces pineapple, roughly chopped
8 ounces Polly-O mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
1/3 cup Monterey Jack cheese
Sprinkle of kosher salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Spray a pizza pan with non-stick spray and sprinkle with some cornmeal. Stretch the pizza dough to fit the pan, then pre-cook the dough for 5-6 minutes in the oven on the lower rack. While the dough is pre-cooking, place the bacon pieces in a skillet along with the brown sugar. Cook over medium-high heat for a few minutes, until the bacon is just cooked. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Add the onion to the skillet with the bacon grease and saute until softened and lightly browned. Remove to plate with the bacon.

Spread the sauce evenly over the pizza dough. Top with the sliced mozzarella, Canadian bacon, brown sugar bacon, onions, and pineapple. Sprinkle with the Monterey Jack cheese and a little bit of kosher salt.

Return the pizza to the oven and bake for 8-12 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the edges are golden. Wait a few minutes before slicing. Enjoy!