Parmigiano Joys.

As I mentioned awhile back, I've been doing quite a bit with the South Beach program over the past several months, still off wine, but hoping to start drinking it again in June after another panel of blood results come in.

One of the joys of the program has been to learn about various foods I haven't really studied before -- beans and eggplant dishes, in particular.

Several years ago I mentioned an elegant use of Parmigiano cheese that I learned at the CIA's Boot Camp, a bowl made out of cheese for outdoor dining. Simple to make: put a layer of parm on a flat pan and melt it. When it is warmed through but not yet running, tip the pan over a bowl. The cheese will harden in the shape of the bowl. It looks great, and can be eaten along with the munchies it contains.

Yesterday, I used the same technique, but this time leaving the cheese flat. When it was done, I added a layer of tomato sauce, a bit of mozz, and some basil leaves. A few minutes under the broiler, and I had a totally Phase 1 compliant "pizza".

Best, Bob

[Jenise]

Bob, frico bowls I've done. But I never thought to put the one of these back in the oven--the heat from broiling didn't soften it? I'd have bet it would be limp again.

I was surprised, Jenise, but the tomato sauce protected the parm -- of course, I didn't use a stone since the parm was already cooked. My broiler seems to cook at 550F; the mozz melted in three minutes and I had heated the sauce.

If we go with sausage, or some other toppings, I'll heat them as well. But both of us love thin crust pizza with relatively little topping. What I especially like about this version is I can make Janet's the regular way and mine with the parm -- no extra work, really.

Thanks for the phrase "frico bowl" -- I forgot what they were called. I wonder where the "frico" comes from? My Italian/English dictionary gives "cooked cheese" as a translation -- is that right?

Best, Bob

[Jenise]

I was surprised, Jenise, but the tomato sauce protected the parm -- of course, I didn't use a stone since the parm was already cooked. My broiler seems to cook at 550F; the mozz melted in three minutes and I had heated the sauce.

If we go with sausage, or some other toppings, I'll heat them as well. But both of us love thin crust pizza with relatively little topping. What I especially like about this version is I can make Janet's the regular way and mine with the parm -- no extra work, really.

Thanks for the phrase "frico bowl" -- I forgot what they were called. I wonder where the "frico" comes from? My Italian/English dictionary gives "cooked cheese" as a translation -- is that right?

Best, Bob

Best I understand it, yes, frico means cooked cheese. I do know that although we associate the term with the crisp version, a soft, runny cooked cheese also qualifies as 'frico'.