No! It’s a pizza-salad! Maybe this is me and Andy’s invention, but the two foods I love most are salads and pizza, so we decided to combine them. I know, you’re probably thinking why not just eat the salad first and then the pizza? Why, because we’re creative up in here at Chez Nelson! Not only does the salad provide a colorful boost to the dish, but it’s a fancy why to serve it to your friends. Andy’s buddy “Pingle” was just here from Chicago and we made it for him. “This is different,” he said, polishing down what was left!

I make my pizzas vegetarian, but add whatever you like on yours. Andy makes a fresh batch of dough every three months and divides it into about 30 little dough balls. I freeze them and pull them out a few hours before I want to use them and they defrost nicely. The key for me is working with a lot of flour on my board so if you’re gluten-free, you’ll probably need a little more. Also, we use the Kitchen Aid pasta attachment to thin the dough into more of a flatbread. Typically, one dough ball (processed through the Kitchen Aid) will yield four long strips that I layer onto my pizza board. Manga!

It’s a Homemade Pizza-Salad- serves two

Ingredients: 

-1 pound of dough homemade or store bought. (Gluten-free people, New Frontier’s sells one!)

-red sauce (I like Trader Joe’s Garlic Spaghetti Sauce, but I am working on my own homemade version currently!)

-1 can black olives

-1 pepper

-8 small heirloom tomatoes

-1 red onion

-1 package crimini mushrooms

-fresh herbs from your garden

-cheese (I like goat cheese, crumbled or grated)

-1 bowl of greens (I like arugula, spinach and radicchio)

-balsamic vinger

-olive oil

-salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 450. If you are using a pizza stone, allow 20 minutes for it to heat up inside the oven. I got mine at Target and use it for everything! (calzones, baked goodies, breads)

2. Roll out your dough or use your Kitchen Aid attachment to create 4 strips of dough. I flour my Kitchen Aid too. 

3. Spread your dough on your floured pizza paddle to make the sliding, on and off, easier. Spread red sauce on top.

4. Add your toppings, cheese last. Slide into oven.

5. Cook each pizza for about 12-18 minutes or until edges are brown and crispy.

6. In a large bowl, add your greens, dressing lightly with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Toss the salad and spread over pizza. I like to add red pepper chili flakes on top too. It’s a pizza-salad, paisano!

Since we had leftover greens from Pizza Night, I made a light and simple Golden Beet Fig Salad for lunch yesterday. While Andy was busy screaming and shouting at the TV over the Chicago Bears’ game, I was in the kitchen with the beets, boiling, peeling and slicing them along with the figs I was gifted from a student. I also added nuts, cranberries and some Gorgonzola cheese I picked up at TJ’s. It’ll take you about 5 minutes to prepare if you cook the beets ahead of time or better yet, the day before. This salad paired well with the Trader Joe’s Coastal Chardonnay and charcuterie board we busted out, along with our new obsession, Uno. Oh! And check out the easy peesy citrus dressing to accompany it!

 

Beets, Beets the Magical Fruit, Salad- serves two 

Ingredients:

-spring greens mix

-3 golden beets, raw or cooked, peeled and sliced

-3 figs, sliced 1/4″ thick

-Gorgonzola cheese (crumbled on top)

-1 packet Oh! My Omega Nut mix from TJ’s

Directions:

1. In a large bowl combine all the ingredients and toss lightly. Crumble the cheese on top.

Citrus Dressing 

Ingredients:

-4 T rice vinegar

-4 T apple cigar vinegar

-1 T spicy mustard

-1 tsp honey

-salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Mix all the ingredients together and toss over salad. Enjoy!

The salad, cheese and Uno were wonderful paired with the sun beaming over Grover Beach yesterday! After the Bears’ game ended, we walked down the street for the Sizzlin’ Concert Series in our neighborhood and bought some beers to “support the cause” of course! There was a great blues band playing and we soaked up more sun before walking home and watching a couple of Breaking Bad episodes. No spoiler alerts please! I don’t have cable and have to watch via Netflix, thank you very much!

I leave you with a picture of my friend Jen’s son Logan munching on the Pumpkin Spice Muffin recipe I posted Friday. This kid is hilarious and I love him. He loves sitting on my scooter and makes me beep the horn like a million times every time I leave. And he’s on a gluten-free diet so to see him enjoying these sugar-free, gluten-free babies makes me smile as big as him!