A recent Tuesday found us on the patio of Luigi's Pizzeria for our daughter's bimonthly Brownies meeting. The girls were there to tour the restaurant and make their own pies. The troop traipsed through the kitchen and added sauce and cheese to the pies Luigi threw in his wood-burning oven for us.
They were delicious. The crust had a good snap to the bottom, the right amount of chew inside, and even a hint of char. As we sat aside Luigi's bocce court, munching our pies, Luigi brought out a fresh batch of pizza dough, hacking off a hunk for each girl. He invited them to roll the dough balls into any shape they wished, and he'd bake them up before we left.
The girls got to work making doughy snowmen, hearts, and even one dough rat. My daughter was too busy chowing down to roll hers into anything. That worked out fine, as Luigi was hit with a dinner rush, and no longer had the time to bake the girls' creations. He sent each girl off with her dough, extracting promises from the parents to throw them in the oven at home.
My daughter and I made good on that promise a day later, as a morning treat before school. I woke her up a bit early to roll her dough into the foundation for a breakfast pizza. We didn't let the dough rest out of the refrigerator long enough, so it was a bit uncooperative, refusing to form anything even remotely approximating a circle. My daughter didn't seem to mind.
Once she had stretched the dough, I brushed it with a bit of olive oil and tiled it with smoked gouda. She then had free range to sprinkle on her choice from some toppings I'd prepared the night before: bacon, sautéed spinach and mushrooms, diced potatoes, and sliced red onion. She chose a healthy dose of bacon, some potato, and a grudging handful of mushrooms and spinach. The onions sat untouched.
I cracked an egg into the center, much to her bemusement, and threw it in the oven (preheated to 500 degrees). 12 minutes later, breakfast was ready. My daughter was thrilled to be eating pizza for breakfast, and was amazed that we'd fried an egg on the top of it. I think Luigi would have approved.