A Pizza Tasting for some Special Friends

My incredibly sweet, beautiful, talented, and awesome niece recently asked if I would cater a dinner for a team of her staff members. I was floored, and then flattered. To imagine that she would trust me with this was off the charts cool. We discussed the menu for a while, and I suggested a pizza tasting. I liked the idea as it would carry the conversation over a couple of hours of sampling different foods and it would pair well with our favorite beverage - wine. As I was working on the menu, I liked the concept even more as it allowed me to be more creative with the evening. I started with some homemade hummus to allow me time to hide behind the prep work.

Below is the menu for the evening. Click on the items to see the recipes. They use this basic pizza crust.

Appetizer – Homemade hummus

Served with sea salt flat bread and pita chips

Pizza 1 – Pizza Margherita

Fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil

Pizza 2 – Pizza Blanco

Roasted garlic and cambozola cheese with fresh rosemary

Pizza 3 – Spinach Chicken Alfredo

White sauce with fresh baby spinach and grilled chicken

Pizza 4 – Fancy Pig Pizza

Prosciutto & pancetta with caramelized onion

Pizza 5 – Spicy BBQ Chicken Pizza

Slightly spicy take on a traditional pie

Pizza 6 – Fresh Berry Pizza Tart

 Mascarpone Cheese with mixed berry compote

Pizza 7 – Chocolate Soup Pizza

A slightly sweet crust with a variety of chocolate toppings –

S’Mores, Almond Joy, Peanut Butter Cup, and Peanut-ty M&Ms

Homemade Hummus

Abbey LOVES hummus. After 3 attempts, she's told me that mine is "as good" as store bought. I'm taking that as a compliment.

2 garlic cloves

2 cups canned chickpeas (liquid reserved)

1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt

1/3 cup tahini (sesame paste)

4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (1 to 1 ½ lemon)

3 tablespoons chickpea liquid (or water)

1 tablespoons EVOO

Frank’s Red Hot Sauce (2-4 dashes, if desired)

In a food processor with blending blade mince the garlic, and add the remaining ingredients and process until it has a coarse puree consistency. You may want or need to add an additional teaspoon or two of olive oil and salt to get desired consistency and flavor.

Serve immediately, or chill for later use. Serve with pita chips, warm pita slices, or warm salted flat bread.

Pizza Blanco

1 pizza dough ball

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 bulbs of garlic, (tops cut and oven roasted)

4 oz wedge of Cambazola cheese (cut to ¼ to ½” pieces)

Kosher salt

1 or 2 sprigs fresh rosemary (stripped from stem)

Preheat oven and pizza stone for one hour at 500 F. Place the olive oil and garlic in a small bowl and let set 5 minutes for flavors to combine. Roll out the pizza dough and brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt to taste.

Place the pizza on the pre-heated stone and bake the dough for approximately 5 - 7 minutes, until dough starts to crisp. Remove from the oven and add a second coat of olive oil. Top with cheese pieces and sprinkle with rosemary. Return to oven for 3 to 5 minutes to melt the cheese. Remove from the oven and serve with the roasted garlic. When eating, remove a clove of the roasted garlic and spread on top of the pizza.

Brats and Burgers at the Ritz

Most of you know that I am active in Saving Grace Productions, I mean the Visual Art Ministry, at United Methodist Church of the Resurrection. Love this group! Great team, and an awesome small group. I am blessed to have them as friends. Earlier this year Peggy signed me up to take my Mac & Cheese to share prior to service. Since then we are trying to have a mini-potluck every 6 weeks or so.

This past weekend is round 2, and since Jeffrey Sheets was heading out off for Colorado, we made it a “camp out” theme. Thinking burgers and dogs, I had to have a creative way to share these and yet keep them warm. I opted for bacon cheeseburger version of the Chorizo Puffs and created a Brat in Blanket. By request, here are the recipes.

Bacon Cheeseburger Puffs

Makes 8 puffs

1 lb ground sirloin

2 strips cooked thick cut bacon (cut in to 4^ths)

½ small onion (finely diced)

Cheddar cheese (sliced or grated) about 3 oz

1 can Pillsbury Crescent sheets (seamless version of crescent rolls)

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Salt and pepper (to taste)

2 tablespoons Steak seasoning (I use Penzey’s Old Chicago)

1 egg, beaten (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 F

Spray a small pan with non-stick spray, or add 1 tablespoon oil and heat on medium. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Transfer to paper towel lined plate and set aside to cool.

In a mixing bowl combine the ground sirloin, steak seasoning, Worcestershire, onions, salt and pepper. Mix well. Taking about 1 oz at a time, pat until thin in pairs about 2 to 3” in diameter, but keep separate. Cut or shape the cheddar cheese into 1’ squares by ¼” thick. Place the cheese in the middle of one patty, and place the other patty on top. Shape the patty into 2” squares, with your thumb place a slight depression in the middle of the top. Repeat this until you have 8 patties.

Either on the grill or a griddle, cook until medium (slightly pink in the middle) temperature. Place on paper towel lined plate to cool.

Open the crescent sheet and stretch until solid rectangle. Cut the sheet into 8 equal size rectangles. Place a patty and bacon square into a crescent section, and seal tightly. For a nice appearance, place the square patty on the crescent piece at a 45 degree angle. If you fold the sides up, and pinch tight, you should have a cross-seam on the top. Brush with egg wash if desired.

Place on parchment lined baking sheet, and place in oven for 15  to 20 minutes until top is golden brown.

Serve with favorite toppings (ketchup, mustard, relish, etc.)

Brats in a blanket

Makes 15 pieces

5 brats

½ onion (sliced)

Pepper jack cheese slices

2 cans American ale or lager

2 can Pillsbury Crescent sheets (seamless version of crescent rolls)

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Sale and pepper (to taste)

1 egg, beaten (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Heat the beer in a medium saucepan until boiling. Pierce the brats multiple times with a fork. Place the brats and onions in the boiling beer. Cook over medium boil for about 5 minutes. Transfer to a grill or griddle, and cook about 3 minutes on top and bottom. This will add a slight crispness to the skin. Remove to paper towel lined plate to cool. Once cool, cut each brat into thirds. They should be very slightly pink in the middle or no pink at all.

Open the crescent sheet and stretch until solid rectangle. Cut the sheet (width-wise) into strips that are about 50% wider than a brat section, and cut each strip in half. It should be just wide enough to wrap the brat section and leave a pinch of dough on top and at each end. Place a brat section and slice of pepper jack (cut to the length and width of the section) into the middle of each crescent section, and seal tightly. You should have a small seam protruding from the top and ends. Brush with egg wash if desired.

Place on parchment lined baking sheet with the seams pointing up, and place in oven for 15  to 20 minutes until top is golden brown.

Serve with favorite toppings (ketchup, mustard, relish, sauerkraut, etc.)

Chorizo Puffs

This one is real easy, and in my opinion tastes bigger than effort to make them. I use my homemade pizza dough, but you can also use the ready made from the store. Pillsbury makes one in a can that can be found in the biscuit section of the supermarket.

It's also very flexible, in that if you want to mix it up, make a plate of these with two or three variations in the stuffing. My favorite is chorizo and manchego, but I've also done ground sirloin and cheddar. The possibilities are endless - ham and swiss, italian sausage and provolone, cocktail weenies and velveeta. Ok, maybe the last one is a stretch.

Chorizo Puffs

1 lb chorizo sausage
8 oz manchego cheese, grated or small cubes
Pizza dough (ready made or home made)


Preheat oven to 450 F.


Form or cut  the sausage into approximately 3/4" chunks and place in a coated frying pan over medium heat. Cook for about 10 - 12 minutes or until cooked all the way through, turning as needed. Be careful not to overcook or the sausage may dry out. Place on paper towel to cool.


Roll the pizza dough to approximately 1/4" thickness. Cut into approximately 2" squares and press out until thin. Place 2 parts sausage and 1 part cheese on top, fold the dough over, and seal. It should be roughly the shape of a ball. The size is a matter of preference, but I make them approximate 1.5" diameter. 

Place the puffs on a coated cookie sheet approximately 1" apart. Brush the tops with melted butter and bake at 450 F for 10 to 12 minutes.  Serve warm.


If desired, you can serve them with sour cream, queso, or dip of your choice.