I tend to chafe under rules. I might even follow them intuitively, but once they have attained the official status of rule or obligation, I feel the shackles being placed on my body and my rebellious nature starts bubbling through my veins.
I mean, of course there are limits to this. I'm not advocating complete and utter food anarchy.
Rules here include, but are not limited to:
-hot dogs = never (I'm still traumatized by a toddlerhood incident)
-never mix pumpkin into macaroni and cheese
-chocolate chips, like flour, are a necessary component to a muffin-dried fruit is the devil-warm oatmeal cereal is also the devil-breakfast needs to include some sort of produce item
-apples = Granny Smith, others need not apply (this came from Seth)
-raw tomatoes are the devil (also a Seth contribution)
-ketchup needs to mixed with some truffle oil, otherwise it is inedible
That said, having strict and unwavering ideas about what constitutes a breakfast, a lunch, and dinner makes me cringe. To put it mildly. And I feel an accompanying bit of sadness that the person with these sort of rules never experienced the joy and delight of a slice of cold take-out pizza for breakfast.
Life, to be appreciated to its fullest, needs a bit of chaos and whimsy and improvisation - leftover Chinese food for the morning meal, an ice cream sandwich and some carrot sticks for lunch, and one of the perennial favorites - breakfast for dinner. Here we have pizza with cheesy ricotta sauce and topped with a mixed greens, peach, and pine nut salad...and fried eggs. Because eggs = breakfast. And that is a rule I can get behind.
Need more breakfast pizza ideas? I Can't Believe It's Not Butter has you covered with their California Pizza Party webisode!
Ingredients
4 cups mixed baby greens
3 tablespoons chives
1/4 cup torn basil leaves
2 white peaches, chopped
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons olive oil
12 teaspoon lemon zest
2 teaspoons lemon juice
kosher salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 cup ricotta
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tube refrigerated pizza dough, or use your favorite pizza dough recipe
4-6 eggs, fried
I Can't Believe It's Not Butter olive oil spray, for cooking
Instructions
For the mixed greens and peach salad:
In a large bowl, mix together the greens, chives, basil, peaches, pine nuts, and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Drizzle the olive oil, and lemon juice over the mixed green salad. Sprinkle the lemon zest, and adjust salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
For the ricotta and parmesan sauce:
In a small bowl, mix together the ricotta, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, and the garlic clove. Add freshly ground black pepper to taste. Set aside.
Heat oven to 450. Roll out the pizza dough on a Silpat or parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and spread the ricotta and parmesan mixture over the crust. Bake for another 3-5 minutes, until crust has turned golden brown. Remove from oven.
Sprinkle the mixed greens salad on top of the pizza.
Spray a pan or skillet (I use my trusty cast-iron skillet) with the olive oil spray. Crack desired amount of eggs into skillet over medium-high heat and fry until whites have cooked and the yolks are still runny. Once they are cooked, place on the pizza.
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
