We’re overdue for a good food post on this blog.

Now that I’m adjusting to life with more food restrictions than I anticipated, I’m slowly reintroducing all the other foods that I couldn’t have on my diet. Pizza was a major no-go during that time- I couldn’t have the crust (gluten), couldn’t have the sauce (onion, garlic, + tomato paste), couldn’t have the cheese (dairy), and don’t get me started on the toppings.

It’s a shame that this temporary situation literally had me dividing every aspect of a good slice down to a science, because in my mind, pizza is a unifier. It’s probably the first thing you think of when planning food options for a large event. Every time my siblings or I head home for a visit, we know that a giant BBQ chicken pie from our local pizza joint is waiting for us on the dining room table.

(Photo: Deborah on Foursquare. It’s a behemoth.)

Now, as most of you (hopefully) remembered, Mother’s Day just rolled around. My mom’s over on the East Coast, so a drive to the house wasn’t in the cards this year. But it got me thinking about all those late nights pulling into the driveway after a 3 hour drive, knowing that a slice with my name on it was waiting for me at the table. I know I can’t make a perfect replica. BBQ sauce is still a wary ingredient that I haven’t brought back into my life just yet.

Then my mind wandered into other memories of my mom- her penchant for waking us up at the crack of dawn on the weekends, specifically. You’d think that as a morning news anchor, I’d have always been the early-morning riser.

Alas, you couldn’t be further from the truth. As soon as we were old enough to work, my mom put us on the schedule at the local resort and campground and had us working the breakfast shifts. Monday through Friday during the summer, weekends during the school year. The stories I have from both places are never-ending… maybe I’ll save those for another day. And even though it was years ago, the smell of certain breakfast foods will still take me right back in time to those exhausting summer mornings.

One summer at the campground, the season was winding down- and so was our kitchen’s pantry supply. We had a small camp of about 25 or so people that needed to be fed for two weeks. There was no set menu, so we decided to get creative. Frozen waffles became churro waffles one morning, and another day we scrambled up a mean quiche. Heaps of homemade whipped cream helped us go through gallons of heavy cream that would’ve otherwise sat and soured. It was the most fun we had in the kitchen all summer.

As I sat on my couch, dreaming and drooling over culinary concoctions from years’ past, both of my reminiscent thoughts collided into a genius idea: I should make a breakfast pizza.

**HEADS UP! The following recipe has been modified from a recipe originally published by Rachel on Dinnerly. This blog post is not sponsored by Dinnerly.**

======================================

Ingredients:

-1 lb pizza dough

-4 oz shredded cheese of choice (I used Cheddar Jack)

-4 oz thick-cut bacon

-2 tbsp maple syrup

-everything bagel seasoning (or whatever you feel like seasoning the crust with)

-2 small Yukon gold potatoes

-about 5 stalks asparagus

-chive blossoms (chives are fine)

-2 eggs

-all-purpose flour

-vegetable or canola oil

-salt and pepper

 

Tools:

-non-stick skillet

-baking sheet or pizza pan

-basting/pastry brush

-oven-proof bowl or baking dish (optional)

-mandolin (optional)

 

Instructions:

  1. Bring the pizza dough to room temperature. An easy way to do that quickly is by lightly oiling an oven-proof bowl or baking dish, adding the dough, and pre-heating your oven to 200° F. Turn off the oven, put the dough inside, and wait about 10-20 minutes before taking out the dough.
  2. Preheat the oven to 500° F with a rack in the lower third. Lightly oil baking sheet/pizza pan.
  3. Slice bacon into 1/2 inch pieces. Cook in non-stick skillet over medium-high until golden brown and slightly crispy.
  4. While bacon cooks, trim ends off asparagus and cut into 1-inch pieces. Finely chop chive blossoms (or chives). Use a mandolin or knife to thinly slice potatoes.
  5. Transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Reserve bacon fat in small bowl.
  6. Add maple syrup to bowl with bacon fat; combine.
  7. Sprinkle flour over clean surface. Roll or stretch dough to fit baking sheet/pizza pan.
  8. Transfer dough to baking sheet/pizza pan.
  9. Brush maple syrup mixture over all of the dough, including the edges.
  10. Sprinkle everything bagel seasoning (or whatever seasoning you’re using) over 1-inch edge of dough.
  11. Bake crust in oven for 8 minutes.
  12. Add cheese, crack eggs over top. Layer potatoes in single layer over cheese. Add asparagus and chive blossoms (or chives) over top. Season with salt and pepper.
  13. Return to oven for 5 minutes. Add bacon; cook for 5 more minutes or until eggs are done.
  14. Remove from oven and enjoy!

I paired my slice with Artivem Mead Co.’s Magnificent Bird of Paradise Strawberry Mango Mead. Springtime flavors on the plate and in my glass. Cheers!

Pictures of the process, if that’s your jam: