I don’t know about you, but when I’m eating out, I like to have fun with my food. Sure I want it to taste good and be healthy, but give me an interior with a bit of whimsy, a plate with a little something fancy on it, or a menu that will keep me entertained. I want something out of the ordinary from my real-life cooking experience at home from kitchen to dining room table.
Since this blog is not about interior design and websites don’t come with taste buds (too bad!), let’s go with the menu and have a little fun writing. There are four foods that I would identify as inspiring the best names on menus across the country: burgers, salads, wings and pizza. In the spirit of party staples that can be delivered at home while blogging in front of a computer screen, we'll stick with the pizza.
I see a lot of pizza menus that play with local landmarks, current events, movie or book characters or double entendres to describe their pizzas. They have fun names like Say Cheese!, No Kiss Tonight, or Popeye and Olive Oil. Descriptive and creative, rolled into one.
For today’s writercize, since it's an anniversary of sorts, I’m throwing in a contest. Not only will the winner(s) have eternal bragging rights for winning a writercize challenge, but s/he will be eligible to win a free pizza family meal donated by a very hip, very popular local pizza chain!
(Eligibility nitty-gritty: Must live in L.A. for the pizza prize - I'll pick one local winner and one out-of-towner. Out-of-towners - you're competing for a $5.00 gift card from Starbucks.)
Here comes the challenge.
writercize: Imagine a delicious pizza pie sitting on the counter in front of you. Smell the aroma. See the colors. Taste the first bite. Now pick your toppings and name that pizza. Be as creative as you like. Any ingredient you can fit on top of stretched out dough goes. Any theme is yours for the picking.
Leave your entry as a comment - remember to name the pizza and describe the toppings, and be sure to tell me where you live and how to contact you if you are a winner.
In one week, I will personally select two winners among the entries - one local and one out of town. The winner will be selected on two merits: creativity in the title, and imaginary taste sensation from the combination of ingredients. If it’s just too close to call, I’ll throw the best of the best in a hat and pull one out. Multiple entries accepted. Deadline - midnight Pacific time, Tuesday, September 13.
The local Los Angeles area winner will receive a FREE family meal donated by Fresh Brothers. The prize includes an extra-large thin crust two topping pizza, 20 buffalo wings and a farmer's market salad or Greek salad. Wow, that's a lot of good food!
Fresh Brothers is a local pizza chain with six restaurants in the Los Angeles area run by husband and wife entrepreneurs and social do-gooders Adam and Debbie Goldberg. They are completely plugged into what is current in LA, and offer customers healthy, homemade pizza choices for every diet. Gluten sensitivity? They have a crust for that. Vegan? They have a cheese for that. Picky kids? They have a sauce with hidden veggies for that. The ads are cool, their social media is impressive, the food is good and their community involvement rocks.
When taking a break from running a successful business, Debbie writes a blog called Manhattan Beach Momma and has a blast exploring all that LA has to offer with her twin children.
Do I have your attention?
No sample writercize today - it's all on you guys!
ooooohhh, one good reason to live in la =)
ReplyDeletemy pizza is the sweet and sassy henpecker
it's got chicken, tomatoes, onions, and a dash of franks red hot sauce!
Green T
ReplyDeleteIngredients spread over Pizza in a specific format
Mozzarella, mushrooms, onions and fresh garlic - spread all over, garnished with fresh basil
Blanched spinach with a little olive oil, fresh garlic and a bit of red cracked pepper, placed on top in a "T" fashion. Some like it hotter than others, but it is pretty green and delicious
Alana, This is so fun!
ReplyDeleteNom Nom...
My pizza is called "The Hurricane". Inspired by all the storms the East Coast has been having.
Description: In honor of downed trees, debris, and flooding, I give you: broccoli seasoned with lemon pepper, chopped mushrooms, over marinara sauce and Mozzarella/Parmesan cheeses, drizzled with BBQ sauce in a swirling hurricane pattern.
OK, I'm ready to eat! BTW, I'm East Coast, so I'll need the Starbucks (wink).
How exciting! Not only do I enjoy writing about food, but pizza is one of my all-time favorite things to make! I try to come up with new recipes at home all the time. Today I am offering a few new recipes (with Florida-inspired names)......based on what I've done before, I know these pizzas will be GREAT, even though I have not made these particular pizzas as described just YET. But I totally plan on it! In fact, your blog contest has inspired me to host a big 'pizza party' at my house soon, featuring all these pizzas! I have total faith in them, especially since I have been making homemade pizzas for years! OK, I'd tried to post a comment with all 5 of my pizzas earlier but it did not take, so now I will try to split it up into a couple posts! So here we go.....
ReplyDelete"THE SUNBURN" - A spicy little number. Youch, that's good! On a hand-tossed, crispy crust. In honor of "Hooter's" restaurant, which originated in Clearwater, Florida, top with either shredded buffalo chicken or slices of chicken sausage. The sauce is a tomato-cream sauce, mixed with copious amounts of hot sauce (like 'Texas Pete') and some melted butter & red pepper flakes. For a bit of a 'cooling effect', top it all off with some dollops of whole milk ricotta (mixed with a few shreds of finely minced celery first). Then finish topping with shredded mozzarella & shredded muenster, with a light sprinkling of blue cheese crumbles. YUM!!
"THE REEF"- No need to dig out the snorkeling gear when you can just have this pizza!- Topped with creamy alfredo sauce, a few dollops of ricotta, shredded mozzarella and then some shrimp, scallops and crab (or 'Krab'), a 'smattering' of very finely-diced celery...and then fresh out of the oven, sprinkled with some fresh, diced avacado.....this pizza tastes as if it were delivered by Neptune himself!....
....more pizzas to come! :)-Katwin2010
.....More pizzas by "katwin2010"...the remaining three:
ReplyDelete"THE ROAD GOES BOTH WAYS" - For all the complaining northerners loitering around, just a reminder that you aren't being held captive...LOL. Enjoy this 2-sided pizza with a tropical, Florida-style twist on one side and a style reminiscent of NY pizza (or at least our closest approximation) on the other. (For the real deal, NY pizza, head due north of Tampa, about 1,111 miles). Otherwise, enjoy!! Side#1: Since NY pizza seems to be largely about the crust, I was pleasantly surpised to learn that their crust is 'high-gluten', just like the one I use all the time....meaning "bread flour", not "all purpose"! Depending upon how thin you press it, this crust can make a wonderful, "hand-tossed" style or a really "thin-n-crispy" style crust!! It seems the NY pizza is somewhere around the hand-tossed style, just slightly larger, and pressed thin enough that the slices become nicely "foldable". No problem!! ....top with a marinara sauce with a bit of sweetness to it....and for truly NY style pizza, top with a dry, whole milk mozzarella that has been hand-grated. Beyond that, you can top with whatever other usual pizza toppings you like. May we suggest pepperoni and black olives? On side #2: Go ahead and use the same, semi-sweet marinara sauce on the whole pie. On side #2, to represent the tropical side of Florida, add pineapple bits, diced/chopped sliced ham, a little finely diced green bell pepper and sweet Vidalia onion, then top with shredded mozzarella and shredded provolone. It is easy to see that both sides of the road can be quite tasty!
"90 MILES TO CUBA" - The first flights from Tampa to Cuba are heading out...but you needn't purchase a ticket when you can just have this delicious pizza instead! ....Top the pizza with a creamy bechamel sauce that has a little dijon mustard in it. Top that with shreds of Cuban roast pork, shreds of thin-sliced, baked ham and shredded swiss and mozzarella. Upon coming out of the oven, spritz lightly overall with a squeeze of fresh lime juice. 'Disfruta de esta deliciosa pizza!'
"YOU CAN DIET TOMORROW" - Who the heck cares if it's swimsuit season? Knock back a couple margaritas and enjoy a big slice of this delicious pie! Reminiscent of Chicago-style deep dish pizza. You'll need 2 recipes of dough for this. Divide the dough into halves, but make one a little larger than the other. Press the larger peice of dough out into a lightly-greased springform pan, all across the bottom and up the sides. Fill the pizza with a generous amount of zesty marinara sauce, pepperoni, slices of italian sausage, shreds of baked ham, shreds of Cuban-roast pork, green bell pepper, onion, minced garlic, black olive halves, briefly-sauteed mushroom slices, large dollops of whole-milk ricotta, shredded mozzarella, shredded provolone, grated parmesan, pecorino-romano & asiago. Top with the second, smaller round of dough and seal like a 'pie'. Cut some slits in the top. Brush the top with olive oil and some melted butter and bake. Swim with a T-shirt if you must, but don't forego a slice of this decandent pizza!
OK, there you go! LOL. I hope it wasn't too much. Can you tell this is a topic I like? Thanks for the contest....what FUN!! I am having to post my comments as "anonymous" till I can figure out what is going on with my Google acct. You can reach me at Katwin2010@hotmail.com. I am also a member of "Writers Post" and "GBE 2". Thanks so much, this has been a lot of FUN!!
Book-Lovers Pizzas :O)
ReplyDeleteThe Chick-Lit: Whole wheat crust, fresh tomatoes, roasted garlic, and low-fat mozzarella. Comes with a hot-fudge brownie sundae and a 1-liter bottle of Diet Coke.
The Romance Novel: Oysters and wild mushrooms on a heart-shaped crust.
The Hollywood Tell-All: Sun-dried tomatoes, extra ham, limburger, and duck. Paparazzi snaps your photo when you pay the delivery guy and publishes the amount of your tip on the pizzeria’s bulletin board.
The Thriller: Spicy pepperoni and double jalapeno peppers.
The Self-Help: You are provided with a ball of dough and an assortment of toppings to create a meal to reflect your personal tastes. Pizza-master will then assess your selections and make appropriate suggestions based on your responses to a quick check-list of lifestyle questions. (In-house only/not available for delivery).
The Textbook: Sweet marinara, sausage, onions, and mushrooms.
The Short Story: Individual pan pizza with your choice of toppings.
The e-book: Colorful, non-tangible depiction of a pizza, available online only at our website. Free download.
I'll just get one locally, Hawaiian - like the pineapple.
ReplyDeleteLOL I love the fellow readers' responses--so clever and funny, not to mention mouth-watering. I honestly can't compete with those but the thought of free pizza, wings, AND a salad are tempting...
ReplyDeleteThe Cheesy Bitsy Hameroni
ReplyDeleteIs a kids pizza made of fresh and simple ingredients: mozzarella cheese, bits of smoked ham, and a sprinkling of pepperoni bits.
Whoopie Pizza Pie
ReplyDeleteSay what? That's right... vanilla bean and cocoa bean makes for a mean pizza lovin' machine! This beauty features a true half & half delight. A thin flakey crust with toppings that highlight the best of both worlds. A rich creamy vanilla sauce infused with white honey and dotted with vanilla bean on one side...and a rich chocolate cream sauce on the other topped with dark chocolate shavings. This pizza will put you in a lovin' mood for sure!
Michelle L.
Wow - I am starving and impressed by all your feedback! It's so difficult to pick a winner, but ...
ReplyDeleteStarbucks Gift Card goes to Dawn Hamsher with the very timely Hurricane Pizza, which not only sounds delicious but seconds as an visually artistic rendering of its name!
Fresh Brothers Family Meal goes to Michelle L. with the uber-sensuous Whoopie Pizza Pie. Sounds like the perfect dessert to top off that main course of Hurricane.
Excellent, excellent writing all - thank you for your participation and I look forward to seeing your entries in future contests!!!
Thanks, it was a lot of fun....congratulations to Dawn & Michelle! :)-Katwin2010
ReplyDelete