My Private SuperBowl...minus the game.

In honor of the Saints finally making it to the Superbowl, I had my own private party.
Yes, I am one of those uncool people without a party to crash.... boo hoo.
As you can see, my spread is quite colorful.

I'll start with the green stuff.
First, a ripe Honeydew Melon. Very sweet! Just slice, clean and cut into fork sized pieces. My secret weapon, lime juice! I squeeze two limes over the entire bowl, the fruit doesn't dry out while its sitting, and the tangy lime makes the melon taste even sweeter!

Now, I ate half the bowl before 10pm. I wonder how many servings of fruit that accounts for...



This is cole slaw. I didn't really plan to make it today, but the back of slaw mix was going to go bad if I didn't go ahead and make it. Ingredients: Slaw mix (store brand will do), Miracle Whip Dressing (I don't use mayo), Sugar, white vinegar, toss.
I'll pack it for lunch with my sandwiches.


Next is Hummus, my new favorite treat.
I bought a Tahinni Hummus but the flavors weren't there so I jazzed it up with some chili oil and garlic. With it I cut carrots and celery. Again, I'll be eating this will lunch this week.



Now for the main event!
Goldi's Spicy Smoky Pizza!
The sauce is very hot. I mean really hot. Not habanero hot, but if you don't like spicy...think twice!
1 14 oz can of Hunt's Fire Roasted Tomatoes (if you've never bought a can, BUY ONE!)
1 jar of roasted red peppers, sliced (fresh is an investment this time of year)
2 tbsp red chili paste
1 tbsp chopped garlic
2 tbsp adobo sauce
2 red chilies in adobo, chopped
Let it marinate a while, heating isn't necessary since there's no meat involved.
Now for toppings!
This is the most important part, what sets this pizza apart from any other. I pan seared some chicken (not shown) yesterday for another pizza (coming soon) and I had a whole breast left, so I chopped that up. Than I sliced the other half of a red onion (the other half is on another pizza), fresh basil (not shown) and a green onion. The tomatoes did not make it on the pizza, there was supposed to be a salad. And for the smoke part of this recipe, Smoked Gouda Cheese!

Now is when I tell you that this isn't an original pizza. MatchBox, a place in DC has a Fire & Smoke pizza with a spicy tomato sauce, roasted red pepper, basil and smoked gouda cheese. I felt that the pizza was missing an umami (japanese term for savory). Yes we have starch, veggie, dairy, but no protein. No beans, not meat, no egg, not even tofu! That's where my chicken comes in. When I first ate the pizza at the restaurant I added lemon juice. I think my tomato sauce has alleviated the need for the juice.

I decided to go with an instant pizza dough. I'm a creative person, I like trying new things, but this was not a yeast weekend. I used a "just add water" type. Worked like a charm. Today I went for a deep dish pizza, my first.

This is just to show you the depth of the pizza. If you try this at home, make sure you let the dough rest once you've kneaded it, and that you pre-bake the crust in the oven. You don't want it completely cooked, but because your oven isn't a pizza oven the dough can stay under cooked on the bottom. And because this is a deep dish you're even more likely to have wet dough. My dough could have pre-baked a few minutes more, but it held together fine.

Doesn't that look good!!!

Now, the Smoked Gouda is much creamier than Mozzarella, it's not as stringy and the smoky flavor is subtle. But This pizza is about to be my favorite of all time!

Trust me, this is one you WANT to try!