Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Pizza - My Ultimate Comfort Food

Boy have I come to hate the term "empty-nest."  After a lot of tears, I am now settling into "my new normal."  My sadness at the loss of daily interaction with my daughters has given way to excitement for them.  I look forward to the phone calls and text messages which keep me in the loop with what is going on in their lives.  It looks like I will survive! 

Pizza is my ultimate comfort food and I always seem to crave it when I am feeling depressed.  Well, I have had pizza a lot lately!  My daughters and I went to lunch at Pete &  Elda's in Neptune, NJ before they left for school.  The girls have gone there since they were babies.  Matt and I went there once a week when we were dating.  The place is insanely crowded even at the oddest of times which is a testament to how popular it is. The crust is cracker thin and the sauce is like nowhere else.  I think that it is a love/hate thing with Pete & Elda's pizza, but we are in the love group.  It almost shouldn't be called pizza since it is so different.  It just is Pete &  Elda's - a Shore classic.  An order of garlic bread with cheese and fried calamari - perfect! 

On move-in day at my younger daughter's school we went for pizza before heading home.  We had a delicious clam pizza.  It tasted especially good after our dining hall lunch - my daughter has no worries of the freshman fifteen!  I need to send lots of care packages...
Matt and I had a nice dinner for two last night and what else did we have?  PIZZA! 
Pizza with Figs, Prosciutto, Gorgonzola, Balsamic, and Arugula

Thank you to Matt for putting up with a basket case!  We won't be having pizza tonight!

11 comments:

  1. Those first 48 hours are tough, but, as you know, once you get through them it is much easier to deal with the new normal. I loved the pies you featured for us tonight. I could enjoy anyone of them. They really looked delicious. I hope you are having an easier day. Blessings...Mary

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  2. Mine are starting Kindergarten and 2nd grade so I have a ways to go thankfully! All of the pizzas look delicious, especially the fig one.

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  3. I always thought it was funny that you pay for the pizza with a seperate bill for Carmen's pizza, and the bar bill is another ticket for Pete & Elda's!
    I had no idea they had a fig pizza!!!!!
    I will be at the shore next week, and you know I will be ordering that pie!

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  4. Oh - I remember the empty nest -mine didn't last long as Kirsten transferred to the U as her school was too small. And now there's grad school - so I have a full house again! The pizza looks delicious - much better than most that exists in MN.

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  5. Awww, I can imagine how hard it is now that your girls are away! Pizza definitely sounds like it was in order. ;) It looks like some amazing pizza too!

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  6. Think of this as your time now, do some things you've always wanted to, challenge yourself, it's a new an exciting time! Believe me, I've been there. As for the pizza's that fig one is to die for, I'm sure Stacey will go after that for sure!

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  7. The empty nest is not easy...I am virtually holding your hand...I understand! You are a regular pizza artist!!! I got such a craving when I looked at those photos.

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  8. Pizza is my comfort food too. As far as I'm concerned u can never have too much pizza.

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  9. Oh I just had pizza tonight. and we ate it for comfort purposes as well. I was interested to see the figs on the pizza. I had a large amount of figs and wasn't sure how to preserve them or different ways to eat them, so I must say this is the first time to see them on pizza. Did u like that combination? Maybe I will give it a try.

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