Fresh Pineapple and Shaved Ham Pizza with Mascarpone Cheese

Thinly-sliced fresh pineapple and shaved ham atop a red sauce & mascarpone-spread honey wheat crust. It's the little touches that elevate a common pizza.

For other pizza ideas, please see my Visual Pizza Recipe Index. It's got categories for dough, vegetarian pizzas, pizzas with meat and, where this one belongs, savory pizzas with fruit. I've also got a Friday Night Pizza Night! board on Pinterest if you crave ideas for pizza like I do. Want to know how to use this blog? Click here.

I'm sharing a pizza today that, for a change from my usual pizza recipes, is a topping combo found in standard pizza joints. No Beet Greens & Scrambled Egg Pizza here. No Shaved Kohlrabi Pizzas. Nope, I'm keeping it simple today with ham & pineapple on red sauce. Except, as you'll see, it's the little things that matter. Little touches that make your homemade pizza just a bit better than delivery.

For this pizza my little changes are using fresh pineapple, using shaved ham, spreading a thin layer of mascarpone cheese on the crust, and using a honey wheat pizza dough.

Let's start with the crust. If you don't want to make your own dough--don't bother. It's a pizza, and if making dough stresses you out then skip it. It's pretty easy to get good pizza crusts in bakeries and grocery stores these days. I threw my ingredients in the bread machine and let it do the work. [I threw a different set of 'ingredients' in my washing machine and let it work as well. I love technology.]

Get some mascarpone cheese. This is what, the third pizza using mascarpone that I've shared this year? THAT'S BECAUSE IT'S NOT JUST FOR TIRAMISU. I've never even made tiramisu, but I frequently have a tub of mascarpone in my cheese drawer.

Use shaved ham. A very thin slice of ham gets crispier in the oven or on the grill, when compared to a standard slice of ham. That little touch adds texture and flavor to your pizza.

Splurge on fresh pineapple when it's on sale. When living in Hawaii I learned to tell a ripe whole pineapple (look for 'eyes' all the same size), but unless I'm grilling spears I buy the pre-cored fresh tubs at the store. Do I ever buy canned pineapple? You bet--great in a dump cake and a smoothie. Fresh is better on a pizza because it is drier and the heat brings out the sweetness easier.

With just a few little changes you can make a terrific pizza at home, better than you could get at a pizza joint. Aren't you worth it?

Eggplant Feta Casserole

Slices of crisp baked eggplant chips layered with feta cheese and smothered under tomato sauce. Served on a bed of spaghetti, this is a vegetarian casserole that will please the whole family.

Sometimes I've got a lot on my mind. Sometimes I don't have much to say.

This is one of the latter times. If you've been getting a lot of eggplant in your Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share like I have, then you may be ready for a new idea without scrolling through a story. If the weather is turning a touch cooler in the evenings like it has been here, you may even be willing to turn on the oven.

If you've got eggplant and you're willing to turn on the oven, this Baked Eggplant Chip recipe from our old CSA farmers of Blenheim Organic Gardens is a must try. I took it one step further and added a layer of feta cheese, because while living in Richmond, Virginia the Greek spaghetti from Texas Wisconsin Border Cafe was one of my favorite take out meals. I often throw a layer of feta between the noodles and the sauce on my plate when our family eats spaghetti just to recreate this memory.

For other recipes using eggplant, please see my Eggplant Recipes Collection, part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks like me eating from the farm share.

Make Your Own Layered Taco Dip Bar

Set out skillets and bowls of your favorite fixings, along with plenty of chips, and let everyone make their own layered taco dip just the way they like.

I think this time of year is an ideal time to strut your stuff. Show off what you've been up to in the kitchen, show off the fabulous job your Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farmers or you cousin's sister's daughter* did in the farm or garden. I think a Make Your Own Layered Taco Dip Bar is an excellent way to do so.

A Make Your Own Layered Taco Dip Bar works for a variety of eaters and appetites. Vegetarians and omnivores alike can heap their plates high, and if you just want a nibble of a few things you're good as well. It can be an appetizer spread or a full on meal. Most of the toppings can be prepared in advance, making this as easy as browning ground beef and whipping up a Fast & Easy 3 Ingredient Bean & Hatch Chile Dip.

You can set up this concept any time of year as fresh vegetables--while delightful--are not integral to the spread. Preserved [I've put up 4 kinds of salsa so far this year] and frozen vegetables work just fine. A Superbowl party, an entertainment industry award event, basketball playoffs, the Stanley Cup . . . [do they do something for baseball?] or just because. Or you could just set up a Make Your Own Layered Taco Dip Bar for a family dinner, like I've shown here.

My brilliant friend Cathy, upon hearing all about the salsas I've been making, suggested I host a Salsa and Margaritas party. I love the idea! Right now is hectic--along with putting up the garden bounty as it comes in fast & furious, I'm spending my energy helping my spouse deploy. The idea of a party is a wonderful thing to clean the house for look forward to, so I've scheduled one for later this year. I'll provide the house, my Cheater Margarita Smoothies and an assortment of salsas [and dogs, I also have an assortment of dogs--but they will be out of the way with the kids]. I will invite my guests to bring their favorite margaritas, guacamole or salsa, chips, or dessert. Let me know if you host one!

For more appetizers, please see my Awesome Veggie Apps and Snacks board on Pinterest. For more Layered Vegetable Appetizers, please check out my Clickable Collages of Recipe Suggestions page and scroll own past the beets. Finally, because I started this blog not to bury Caesar my recipes, I've got both a Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient and a drop down menu of ideas on the right sidebar. Want to know how to use this blog? Click here.