Pizza Pizzazz

Most people are delighted to eat pizza several times a week, it’s a staple dish everyone loves.  You can save lots of money if you make your own crust, and the toppings are easy to assemble.

A few years ago, Julie gave us a Pizzazz Pizza Maker for Christmas and we’ve been making our own pizzas ever since.  It has turned out to be the center of many parties, the easiest, most creative way to use leftovers, and the most useful appliance I own.

Once I start thinking about toppings, the sky’s the limit!  Each pizza is different.  David tried to write a recipe for his very favorite pizza, but we haven’t been able to duplicate it.  This is real one-of-a-kind, “designer-style” pizza!

I’ve tried many, many recipes for the crust, which seems to be the biggest challenge in making pizzas with the Pizzazz maker.  Finally, I found the perfect recipe for pizza crust in my now-favorite cookbook, The Ultimate Collection, by Alison Holst.    The longer the dough is allowed to rise, the more tender the crust.

2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olilve oil
3 cups flour

Measure the first 5 ingredients into a large bowl with 1 cup flour and mix thoroughly. Cover and leave for at least 15 minutes in a warm place. Stir in the remaining flour, adding extra, if necessary to make the dough firm enough to knead.  Knead for 10 minutes by hand or with an electric mixer until it forms a soft ball and springs back when pressed lightly.

I use my Kitchenaid electric mixer to do the kneading.  It saves my effort, I couldn’t be without it.  Drip a few drops of olive oil on the dough ball and turn it around in the bowl.  Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise at least 30 minutes.   Then, oil the cooking pan and press half the dough out with your fingers to make the crust.

The best pizza sauces are available in Boquete for about 85 cents a packet.  They come in mushroom, meat, vegetable, garlic and many other varieties.  They are exactly the right amount to use on a Pizzazz pizza.

Use your imagination when laying out your toppings, pepperoni, chopped garlic, oregano, basil, onions, anchovies, cooked sausage, roasted red peppers, ham, sliced black olives, or anything you like.  Top with sliced or grated  mozzarella cheese and start up your Pizzazz.

We like to sprinkle the oil that comes packed with anchovies on top at the very last minute.  As the pizza bakes, we pour a glass of good red wine and enjoy the aroma as we watch the pizza brown.   We set out our pizza cutter, grated Parmesan cheese and dried red peppers.  The rest of the evening is pure delight!

Nuts for Bananas, Bananas and Nuts!

What do you do when you have so many bananas you don’t know what to do with them? This big stalk is only one of many that are ripening this month on our property in Boquete, Panama.  Our guests can only eat 8 or 10 bananas per day and everyone who comes to visit gets a bunch for their parting gift. There are over 100 bananas on this one stalk alone.  Banana Daiquiris are good, but how many can we drink?

Maybe making a Banana Cake with a Channel of Walnuts would be a good use for some of our bananas.  My favorite cookbook is written by New Zealand cook, Alison Holst, “The Ultimate Collection”.  Alison always has creative ideas for using fresh fruits and she has a couple of banana recipes that look really good.  Her banana cake recipe is perfect for using up my bananas, and I’ll add a walnut-filled channel to it, kind of like the Panama Canal.

This is how I made it:

Turn on the oven to 350 degrees and line a ring-shaped cake pan with baking paper or spray with Pam.
Process in your food processor until smooth:
4 ripe bananas
1 stick of butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Whisk in a separate bowl:
1 1/2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

Chop 1 cup walnuts or pecans.

Add the flour mixture to your processor and pulse until barely combined. It’s OK if not fully blended, because you can stir it a bit as you fill your prepared ring pan. Using a large spoon, press the middle of the batter to make a dent and while holding the spoon down in the batter, fill the dent with nuts. Continue dragging the spoon around the ring and filling the indentation with nuts as you go. The nuts fill a channel inside the cake and become the surprising highlight of your cake after it’s baked.  Bake 35-40 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool and invert on a lovely cake plate, dust with powdered sugar, slice and serve to your delighted guests.

Now – - let’s get back to the Banana Daiquiris, we still have lots of bananas leftover.

To make the perfect daiquiri, use your drink blender.
Blend 1 cup crushed ice
2 shots favorite rum
1 shot lime juice
1 rounded tablespoon sugar
1 peeled banana
Blend 10 seconds and serve in a champagne glass and top with a cherry!
Keep those bananas coming!