Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy

Well, that was certainly one anti-climactic weekend! We’ve all spent the last three days scrounging around in the supermarkets for bottled water, batteries, granola bars and canned meats in anticipation of Tropical Storm Isaac. “Prepare now! “Do not wait!”, we were told. I don’t usually get too hot and bothered about these things. After living through almost forty hurricane seasons in Florida, I’ve learned not to panic. But, even I was nervous this time. Luckily for us, instead of roaring through our area, Isaac limped by with barely a whisper. Honestly! We didn’t even get one respectable thunderstorm out of it. And the worst part is, I am now stuck with a case of instant ramen noodles, four cans of Beefaroni and six cans of Spam. What to do? What to do?

Using up the ramen won’t be a problem. I can add the noodles to all kinds of things, like soups and stirfrys . The Beefaroni, however, might be a bit trickier. Beef Chow Mein-aroni, anyone? But as Mr. SGCC is a somewhat of a Spamaholic, the glories of cooking with Spam are already well established in my kitchen. Culinary delicacies like Spam and eggs, Spam in the Blanket and Spam Mac and Cheese are already in my repertoire. And, let’s not forget my most favorite Spam recipe of all: Spam Fried Rice!

As I was musing about what to do with my bounty of Spam, I did the obvious – asked my Facebook friends for suggestions. After all, that’s where I got the great idea for my famous Meatloaf Cupcakes. I wasn’t disappointed, either. Within five minutes, someone suggested I make a Hawaiian pizza. Hmmm. Brilliant! I could swap out the ham with Spam, and I already had the rest of the ingredients in the fridge. I even had a tube of refrigerated pizza dough in there. So, last night for dinner we had Faux Pho with ramen noodles and an incredibly tasty Hawaiian Spam Pizza.

The foundation of any pizza is, of course, the crust. Normally, I would either buy fresh pizza dough from my favorite Italian bakery or make my own using my favorite recipe. But, the last thing I want to do on a sweltering Monday night in August is turn on my broiler for an extended period of time. When I’m hot and bothered, it’s all about the easy. Thank goodness, the good folks at Pillsbury understand that! You can always use any kind of pizza dough your little hearts desire. Just make sure to adjust your cooking technique accordingly.

In addition to the Spam, I topped my Hawaiian pizza with barbecue sauce, red onions, peppers, scallions, fresh pineapple and lots of cheese. A pizza just isn’t a pizza to me without the cheese! I used a combination of shredded mozzarella and pepper jack for ultimate meltability with a little kick.

Also, whenever I make a pizza using fresh veggies, especially onions, I like to mellow them out first by sautéing them. If I don’t, I find that they sometimes get singed on the outside, yet are still raw on the inside. Blech! So, I caramelized the onions and peppers over medium heat for about ten minutes until they were nice and soft, but still held their shape.

Oh, what a good idea this was! My Hawaiian pizza was out. of. this. world. delicious! All I can say is that Spam and pineapple are a sweet and salty match made in Heaven. Seriously! They’re “run off to Vegas and get married” meant for each other. But, you be the judge. Make a Hawaiian Spam Pizza and see for yourself. You don’t have to thank me. Your culinary delight is thanks enough.