Some things are so obvious that I don’t know if I should write about them or not. But I’m nothing if not a master of the obvious, so I’ll go ahead and talk about English-muffin pizzas. When I was a boy, my mother used to make them for me, and the other day I was at home, the kids were out, and I needed to make myself lunch. I stopped at the store and bought a package of Thomas’, the only ones to use as far as I’m concerned, and started cooking.
The trick, I’ve learned, is to take care when layering the ingredients. I put a bit of commercial marinara sauce on the muffin, then the mozzarella, then a bit of parmesan, and then a touch more sauce. I dust the whole thing with oregano, what GI’s returning from Italy at the end of the Second World War called “the pizza spice.” And, this time around, I had a bit of leftover Bolognese sauce, so I mixed that in with marinara sauce, and it made them even more delicious.
I offered some of the pizzas to Santa Maria. She ate half of one, but they’re not really her thing, so I gobbled up the rest. And then I made more. I ended up eating the whole package of muffins. Santa Maria was shocked, but I really love them.
English Muffin Pizzas
- As many Thomas’ English Muffins as you’d like to eat
- Marinara sauce from a jar (or homemade, if that’s your thing)
- Mozzarella slices
- Parmesan slices
- Oregano, to taste
Layer the sauce, cheeses, a bit more sauce, and the oregano on one half of a muffin.
Heat under the broiler until the cheese is melted and bubbly, just a few minutes.
You’ve transported me back to my childhood! Growing up, on Sunday’s my family ate our big meal between noon and 2 pm. So, when the evening rolled around, we would have a little something to hold us through the night…one being English muffin pizzas. We always had left-over sauce in the fridge so we weren’t “lucky” enough to use the jarred Ragu that other kids got use, we begged, it was so UNFAIR that we ALWAYS had to use Homemade sauce! LOL! If we were lucky, we would put our pj’s on, “roll out” the TV to the formal living room and watch Disney while enjoying our tasty treat! Great post!
Dear John,
This post reminds me of my dad making cheese toast for me when I was kid. That’s the only dish he could whip up for me when hunger attacked. I grew up loving it but I knew I had to make healthier. So now I add some par boiled corn kernels, sun dried tomatos, sliced button mushrooms, diced spring onions and green peppers and lots of crushed black pepper.
Times have changed with my dad. When its just me and him, we now have my dying-to-be-healthy cheese toast, some kind of salad and a bottle of red wine, watching re-runs of CSI 🙂
I shall definitely try this version. Hope my dad approves. 🙂
Merry X’mas and a Happy New Year to you and the family!