Grilled Pepper Pizza
Sorry, those of you who remain indifferent to pizza. Here's the latest Sunday version. Three guesses what it's topped with. Sarah's leftover grilled peppers!! The most exciting thing about this photo, though, is the vase of lilacs that Yancey and Wyatt stole for me on Mother's Day morning. My mom is Queen of Lilac Stealing, so we learned from the best. I have always wanted a lilac bush--not a little struggling one that makes us wait, but a huge, lush double one. Shoot. We've been in our house over six years. By this time, I certainly could have planted one and saved Wyatt from a life of crime.
So remember those peppers and onions from yesterday? They were chopped and mixed with parsley, garlic, and more olive oil and spread on a pizza crust. With some little mozzarella balls and snippets of fresh chives. Priya asked recently how I can afford to always have fresh herbs around. These chives are from a neglected pot on my deck, and this little clump has miraculously survived. Mary gave me a beautiful herb pot for my birthday at least five years ago, and the other things have slowly died off. I just re-potted the chives, and they seem grateful. I love the delicate hollow tubes and how sprightly they welcome Spring. Fresh herbs make me think of Jamie Oliver. He uses them recklessly and acts as if everyone has acres growing right outside their door. I've always resented that when I'm following one of his recipes. Now that I have some firmly established herbs of my own, I see why he can't shut up about them. I'm sorry! Don't expect me to be traveling in a van around Italy anytime soon, though. Unlike Jamie, I don't have seven nannies.
So the end of Mother's Day was spent with yet another pizza and bottle of rosé champagne. Yancey helped Wyatt with his homework, Loretta rode her trike, and I scripted what I would say to you all when it came time. You can find the pizza dough recipe here. If you don't have grilled veggies around, surely there's something. Make sure to tell me about what you found.
Grilled Peppers and Onions Pizza Topping
3 grilled peppers, peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped (you can find technique here)
1 grilled onion, coarsely chopped
handful fresh parsley, chopped
salt and pepper
olive oil
8 oz. little fresh mozzarella balls or any kind of mozzarella
1/4 c. crumbled blue cheese
handful snipped chives
In a bowl, combine peppers, onions, parsley, salt and pepper, and a couple big glugs of olive oil. Spread on pizza crust and top with mozzarella and blue cheese. Cook according to directions in this recipe. Once the pizza is out, top with chives.
May 12, 2009
Reader Comments (6)
i'm not sure what's more entertaining...reading your blog, or reading the comments people leave. right now, 'comment conduit' from your previous post takes the cake. awesome.
chris made me get rid of my lilac bush...which practically killed me. but, we gave it to our neighbor across the street on the condition that i could pick them whenever i wanted. :) i should go do that right now. oh, and btw, the pizza looks delicious.
Went to Viet Wah today and bought green onions and cilantro. Grand total: $0.58. WOOT!
Lilac stealing? LILAC STEALING?
Good lord, what is this world coming to?
When my sister got married 5 years ago, we were renting this old craftsman house with an awesome hydrangea bush out back. I hadn't been trimmed back in quite awhile and was covering up most of the sidewalk. So I was just helping trim it, you know... supplied 2 big rubbermaid buckets of hydrangeas for the wedding! The bush still looked great. I think we kinda sorta had permission. Hm.
I will also note that this otherwise typical house had a PINK bidet in the bathroom. Nothing else was pink. We always ended up having a bidet conversation with all our guests, which was quite amusing, really. Fun to speculate how that ended up there. Anyway, I digress. Must really start my own blog rather than fill your comments with my stories!
PS - the pizza looks mahhhvelous!
It's alright, Naomi. Keep the stories coming. Of course, if you start you own blog, I'll be there telling my own stories :)
A safe and legal alternative for Wyatt's lilac foraging is the old watch-for-the -vacant-house or lot trick. When I left for church on Mother's Day, I was careful to grab a pair of clippers as I walked out the door. After church I spotted my bush, less than a block away - where a friend of Naomi's used to live. It was perfect - fat double purples, in various stages of bloom, which added variety and texture. I boldly clipped them for all the world to see, chatting with a passing neighbor who was thinking about doing the same.
(This is a long comment). I then went downtown to give them to Peggy at work, knowing that she would be sad, working and not seeing her girls on Mother's Day. I was dismayed to learn that she was on her lunch break, but I had a hunch where I'd find her, so I headed to the Bagelry. She wasn't there, but I spotted her at the end of the block, heading back to work. Having just come out of back surgery the day before, I tested my dangling foot by running down the street, calling her name.
I could see the "what a lousy Mother's Day" look in her eye, but I saw that change with the presentation of my perfectly legal double purple massive bouquet (truth is, I would have stolen them if I had to).