I Miss Pizza Luce: Baked Potato Pizza

Let me share an important lesson I have learned in life:

You Can't Replace Food

When you move or a favorite restaurant closes you can find new foods to love, but you can never replace what you have lost. You will always remember those dishes. Always want them.

I learned a new one this week:

SOMETIMES (the sometimes is important) you can recreate them

I moved from Minneapolis to San Diego. I ate out A LOT, so there are a lot of foods I miss and I can't even come close to fitting all of them in on any given visit. One place that I will always miss is Pizza Luce. Their food, all of it, was delicious. Pasta, pizza, sandwich's, dessert. And they DELIVERED. But of all their super duper good items the one I ordered the most, the one I miss, the one I cannot replace is the Baked Potato Pizza.

Really good pizza crust topped with mashed potatoes, broccoli, tomatoes, cheese, and then spread some sour cream on it when you eat it – it's amazing. So I decided to try and make it myself.

I'm not gonna lie, the first time did not work. But I got it. So let me share.

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups Mashed potatoes (about 1lb. If you are making them just for this)

1 cup broccoli

½ cup chopped tomato

1 cup shredded cheese, I like cheddar for this

your favorite pizza dough

Sour Cream for topping

How To:

Make your favorite pizza dough, or take it out of the package if your scared of yeast like me. I bought mine at Trader Joe's. Don't judge me, I make pie crust.

Roll out to about 12”, building up the edge a bit for the crust. Poke holes all around the middle with a fork.

Bake as directed until the center just starts to turn golden brown. I really recommend using a sheet with holes in the bottom or a baking stone if you want a crispy bottom. And check it about half-way through. If the holes baked closed and your crust is all puffed up, poke it a few more times with a fork.

Meanwhile, steam the broccoli 10-12 min until it is soft.

When the crust is done spread the mashed potatoes evenly over the center.

If you need to make some, a basic recipe is fine. I simply diced my potatoes and boiled until soft, then mashed with 2 Tbsp sour cream and a couple splashed of milk until they were smooth and creamy.

Sprinkle broccoli and tomatoes over the potatoes.

Cover everything with cheese.

Continue baking until the cheese is melted, about 10-15 minutes.

I might not be remembering the real thing correctly, it has been over a year since I last had Pizza Luce's Baked Potato Pizza, but this really hit the spot for me. This is one less food I have to miss and I couldn't be happier with the results.

Simply the Best (Sorry to All the Others) Tator Tot Hotdish

I have a lot of respect for the casserole. They sometimes get a bad rap for being bland but just like any other food this just comes down to good ingredients, lots of seasoning, and a good recipe. And the right combination can be delicious, filling, warm, and hearty. Plus, you can get most of your cooking dishes done while it bakes.

Warm and hearty are probably two big reasons why casseroles are so popular in the mid-west, where I grew up. I, however, did not eat a lot of casserole dinners because my parents were not from the mid-west and this did not tend to be how they cooked. And the one that fascinated me the most was not even on my parents radar (seriously, they never even had it until I was 25 and made it for them myself!)

Tator-tot Hotdish.

I encountered it at school, pot-lucks, even my college dorm and I thought it was fantastic. When I was in college and living in my own apartment this was one of the first recipes I looked up and started to cook for my-self.

And almost immediately I started putting my own touches on it.

Because I have an aversion to many (but not all) frozen and canned vegetables. And since I can barely stand mushrooms cream of mushroom soup is not really my thing. And I don't even think American cheese slices count as real cheese. And I don't eat meat.

And here is where I make the really big confession: And because I like flavor. Yes, OK, it can be bland. I didn't say the bad rap wasn't ever for a reason, just that it doesn't have to be. I season the shit out of it.

So here is the recipe I have finally settled on:

Simply the Best (Sorry to All the Others) Tator-tot* Hotdish

*It is not necessary to use tator-tots, I'm not advertising for them and obviously thats not what I used in my pics. It's just what we call it in MN.

1 pound Ground Beef or equivalent Veggie Crumbles

½ medium Onion, Chopped (yellow or white)

½ Red Bell Pepper, Seeded And Chopped

1 can Cream Of Broccoli Soup

¼ cups Milk

2 dashes Worcestershire Sauce (optional for vegetarian version- it contains anchovies!)

1 teaspoon Garlic Powder

1 teaspoon Onion Powder

2 teaspoons Cayenne Pepper, Or To Taste (optional)

½ package Dry Onion Soup

¼ cups Chili Sauce

1-½ cup Sharp Cheddar, Shredded, Divided

¾ cups Frozen Peas

1 whole large Carrot, Diced

8-¾ ounces Corn (small Can or use ½ of a regular size can)

¾ cups fresh Green Beans, Chopped To 1" Pieces

32 oz. bag Tater Tots

Preheat oven to 375F.

If using beef brown with onion in a large skillet; add red bell pepper just a few minutes before ground beef is done. Drain any excess grease.

OR

For veggie crumbles heat a small amount of oil in a pan, then sautee onion until almost soft; then add red pepper for last few minutes.

In a large bowl combine meat/crumbles, soup, milk, Worcestershire sauce, chili sauce, dry onion soup mix, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and 1 cup cheese. Mix thoroughly.

Stir in peas, carrots, corn, and green beans. (I do not cook the beans or carrots first so they stay pretty crisp. If you would like softer veggies steam to desired texture before adding to mixture).

Transfer to a casserole baking dish. (I prefer 8″ or 9″ square, but any size will be fine. When mixture is more spread out it will cook faster, but the ratio to the potatoes will be the same.)

Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheese over the mixture.

Top with Tater-tots. I like to lay them in nice even rows, usually a few have to be laid vertically to fit the whole bag.

Bake at 375F until filling is bubbling, usually about 35 minutes for an 8″ square dish. Turn up to broil for a few minutes if you like crispy potatoes on top, but watch closely—they will brown up quickly.

Anythings Game Now: Cheesy Spicy Mashed Potatoes

I mentioned before that I was not sure what to do with this blog; whether or not I wanted to expand its scope outside pie.

I have been putting together a number of recipes lately for Tasty Kitchen, and one food came along and made the decision for me.

I created these mashed potatoes. They taste amazing, are easy to make, and need to be shared with as many people in the world as I can possibly reach.

They include the two best ingredients on the face of the planet: cayenne pepper and cheese. Mixed in with one of that which I will hereby name The Cream Dyad: sour cream.

I thought of these potatoes, and then thought about them for weeks waiting for the opportunity to make them. They were all I hoped they would be. It is so satisfying to not be disappointed by dreams.

The Potatoes:

The Recipe

(Makes 4 Servings)

1lb Potatoes

4 Tbsp Sour Cream

1 tsp Cayenne Pepper

1½ cups shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese – the sharper the better and I recommend orange colored cheese to give potatoes that “yes, I am cheesy” hue.

Milk (a splash may or may not be needed)

Scrub potatoes and peel if desired. Cut into 1″ cubes.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Boil potatoes until soft, about 15 minutes. Drain.

Start mashing potatoes, going until you have achieved a rough lumpy mash using whatever method you

prefer. (I just use a pastry cutter and a fork).

Thoroughly mix in sour cream. If the potatoes are not creamy enough, add a splash of milk and stir to combine.

Stir in cheese, adding it in batches of 1/4-1/2 a cup at a time. Keep stirring until completely and evenly combined.

Add cayenne pepper and stir. (This much pepper will produce a mild level of heat for spice aficionados while still preserving the cheesy flavor, so scale back a bit if this is too much for you.)

Creative leftover idea:

I had a bunch of these to enjoy a second night, and wanted to do something different with them. So I made my favorite mashed potato dish – potato tacos!

I stuffed them into flour tortillas, folded in half and broiled to get the tortillas warm and a bit crispy. Then I topped them with some more sour cream, shredded lettuce, and tomatoes.

It was Yummy. But warning, as with all things cayenne spiced, they got hotter with time.