Yin and Yang of Pizza Faces
A fairly old article in the San Franciso Gate about kids cooking
in their parent's kitchens after being inspired by Iron Chef and Food TV features a recipe and a pic of everyone's favorite subject. (Um, do I really have to say what that is?)
Before we get into the recipe, a quick note on the photo and a score. The score:
6/10. The pizzas look good, but they barely hold a candle to some of the recent
amateur efforts found on flickr. What's notable about the photo is... well take notice of how they only used sliced mushroom, zucchini and some sundried tomato and yet created
two distinct pizza personalities from these toppings. On the top we have the content optimist and below we have an anxiety-ridden emo pizza.
Of course, you could do the same thing if you
took a well-adjusted happy face pizza and subjected it to several evenings locked in your bedroom listening to
Alexisonfire and My Chemical Romance. Although maybe I'm generalizing too much...
And now for the recipe...
Smiley Pizza With Whole Wheat Oatmeal Crust
This recipe, based on "Anytime Pizza" from Susan Roberts and Dr. Melvin Heyman's "Feeding Your Child For Lifelong Health" is a good introduction to whole grains. Little hands can help shape toppings into smiley faces.
INGREDIENTS:
Oatmeal crust
- 2 teaspoons yeast
- 2 cups white flour
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 1/3 cups instant or quick-cooking oats
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cups water
Pizza
- Olive or corn oil cooking spray
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce (fresh or canned), or more as needed
- 4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
- 6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated
Toppings
- Yellow onion, finely chopped
- Mushrooms or zucchini, thinly sliced
- Green bell pepper, thinly sliced
- Pineapple, finely diced
INSTRUCTIONS:
To make the crust: Mix all the ingredients in a food processor and blend for 2 minutes or knead by hand for 5 minutes. The dough will be soft, even slightly sticky. Lightly coat the inside of a large bowl with cooking spray. Remove the dough from the processor, place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise for 1/2-1 hour to make the dough pliable.
Preheat oven to 450°.
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or coat sheets well with cooking spray. Cut dough equally in half. Cut each half into 8 pieces. Roll each into a ball and stretch out to make a disk about 3-4 inches in diameter. Place 8 disks on each baking sheet. Spray dough lightly with oil and cover for 1/2 hour if you have the time (this last step is not essential).
Divide the tomato sauce evenly among the 16 pizzas. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and then with cheddar cheese. Make smiley faces with the toppings. Bake for 12-15 minutes until cheese is bubbling and starting to brown.
Makes 16 miniature pizzas
PER PIZZA WITHOUT TOPPINGS: 155 calories, 7 g protein, 22 g carbohydrate, 5 g fat (3 g saturated), 12 mg cholesterol, 276 mg sodium, 2 g fiber.
Click here to view the photo set of the sfgate.com site.