How did I get so lucky??

Foodbuzz’s 24, 24, 24 … that’s how. This month, I sent in my idea of having a grown up pizza and ice cream party to the nice folks over at Foodbuzz and they accepted it! This idea came to me pretty naturally…if you know me, you know I grew up around pizza. My parents have owned a pizzeria since I was 4 years old. I’ve seen more pizza than you can imagine. No kidding. The idea also came to me after realizing that most of the time lately, eating pizza has become more of a kid friendly event for us. As parents of little ones…pizza and ice cream parties are a big part of our social scene. So why not treat us, the parents, the adults, to something just a little more fun and a little more delicious?

It all started with a planning session…I reached out to my girls…my fellow foodie friends – and of course spouses – to come up with a few ideas for some great pizzas and ice cream flavors. They came through with awesome stuff, as I knew they would. So once the menu was set, we all gathered in Aggie’s Kitchen on a sunny Saturday afternoon in Florida – fruity white sangria in hand – and pulled together a fun feast for all … (kids included of course!).

First things first. Let’s get the beverages ready…

Allison’s Sangria

2 – 750ml bottles of wine (red or white)
1 cup of rum or brandy
1 cup of triple sec or orange liquor
2/3 cup of orange juice
6 oz. of lemonade concentrate

4 cups of ginger ale
Orange, lemon, lime slices for garnish
Additional chopped fruit, optional

Combine wine, rum/brandy, triple sec, orange juice and lemonade concentrate
– and refrigerate for 2 hours – or – overnight. Right before you serve –
add the ginger ale and fruit.

Now it’s time to work…little did everyone know…this was a working party. We were abundantly staffed with lots of hands to do lots of slicing, dicing and chopping.

(Allison the prep cook…)

We made sure to really treat ourselves right by using quality ingredients such as…
Prosciutto de Parma, Genoa Salami, fresh picked basil from the garden, homemade roasted red peppers, Fig Balsamico Dressing made at a local restaurant and fresh Mexican Chorizo. All of the pizza dough was fresh and picked up from my Publix bakery.

On to making the pizza …

(the pizza making station… all you need is a clean counter, olive oil, flour and a pizza stone)

(And to our pleasant surprise…Dan actually knew what he was doing!)

(The Master and his Apprentice…)

(This is where it all started…)


(The assembly line…)

And now…the delicious creations of the day!

Larry’s Italian Stallion Pizza:

Tomato Sauce
Mozzarella Cheese
Prosciutto de Parma, chopped
Genoa Salami, chopped
Roasted Red Peppers
Asiago Cheese shavings
Fresh Basil

(Larry enjoying his creation…with friends.)

Allison’s Harmoni Special Pizza:

Fig Balsamic Preserves from Harmoni Artisan Meal Market
Cooked Crumbled Bacon
Sliced Tomatoes
Crumbled Blue Cheese

Dan’s Mexican Pizza:

Tomato Sauce
Shredded Mexican Cheese
crumbled Mexican Chorizo sausage
Fresh Toppings: shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes and chopped onions

Rocky’s Spinach Alfredo Pizza:

Spinach White Cream Sauce – melt 2-4 tb butter in saucepan over medium heat. Stir in 2 tb of flour into butter, cook for 1-2 minutes. Add 2 cups half and half to butter mixture. Add dash of salt, pepper, and fresh ground nutmeg to cream. Bring to a simmer, continually stirring to avoid bottom of pan burning. Simmer for few minutes until sauce starts to thicken. Take sauce off heat and bring to room temperature. Add 8oz thawed chopped frozen spinach to sauce.
Parmesan Cheese
Mozzarella Cheese

The perfect ending to the fantastic meal was freshly homemade ice cream.

Coconut Lime Crunch Ice Cream
Recipe adapted from 125 Best Ice Cream Recipes

1 can (15 oz) coconut cream
1 1/2 whipping cream
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
zest from 2 limes
graham crackers, broken

In a blender or food processor, puree coconut cream, whipping cream, milk, flaked coconut and lime zest until thoroughly blended.

Transfer ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions. Add broken graham crackers to ice cream mixture about 5 minutes before ice cream is done. Transfer ice cream to an air tight container and freeze for 1 hour before serving.

(the lime zest added such a refreshing flavor to an unbelievably creamy coconut ice cream)

Dulce de Leche Ice Cream
Recipe from Smitten Kitchen

(We used Christina’s homemade Dulce de Leche for the recipe…)

2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 pound dulce de leche (about 1 2/3 cups) (learn how to make your own)
1/8 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup chopped pecans (2 1/2 to 3 oz), toasted (optional)

Bring milk and cream just to a boil in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, then remove from heat and whisk in dulce de leche until dissolved. Whisk in vanilla and transfer to a metal bowl. Quick-chill by putting bowl in a larger bowl of ice and cold water and stirring occasionally until cold, 15 to 20 minutes.

Freeze mixture in ice cream maker until almost firm, then fold in pecans if using them.

Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden, at least 1 hour.

Cheers!

Thank you to everyone involved for a great time!