Mexican Pizza

The decision for the night was pizza.

The aisles of Trader Joe's were being wondered.

The memory hits me... there's delicious organic chorizo in the freezer that I got from Olympia Local Foods, I believe it was specifically from Flying Dog Farms out in Grapeview, WA. (Note, this is probably the second product I've ever had from Grapeview, the first is obviously this.)

Yes my friends, mexican pizza time. Not mexican pizza that looks like this though.

No quero Taco Bell.

Ingredients:

Trader Joe's wheat pizza dough.
Just Chili California Hot Sauce instead of pizza sauce.
Ranchero Cheese
Chorizo
Jalapenos
Tomatoes
Cilantro

I threw out the crust first.
Broiled for 10 or so minutes.
Added the sauce, cheese, jalapenos, and chorizo.
Broiled for 10 or so minutes.
Added chopped tomatoes and cilantro.

It was ready.  Behold this spicy treat.

Walking The Line - Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese

There is a fine line between tomato soup and tomato sauce. I learned this when I made tomato soup that in the end was almost certainly tomato sauce. So while I wouldn't recommend making this tomato soup, I would recommend making this (with a few alterations) as tomato sauce.

Mother found the recipe here and we went to work.

We picked up some canned San Marzano Tomatoes at the fancy Metropolitan Market in the Proctor District of Tacoma. Some basil at Ralph's in Olympia. Some crab to add from Olympia Seafood Company in... yep, you got this one.

The first step is to take the tomatoes, halve them,  add some basil, oil, salt, pepper and roast them for about 90 minutes.

Now, this is the point where I would change some of the directions.

The recipe called for skim milk... I would more likely use a cream, or at least half and half.  I also think it probably meeds a few more spices than just basil. Anyways, what I got was a very thick and hearty tomato sauce. It was tasty, but at the end of the meal it seemed a little bit like I had opened a can of some good pasta sauce to dip my grilled cheese in.

The grilled cheese, was a tasty mix of Beecher's Marco Polo cheese and bread picked up from the 5th Ave Sandwich Shop. It takes a long time to cook, but the combo is hard to beat.