Another pita possibility

If you thought one pita recipe this week was plenty, tough.

This pocketless pita bread is proving endlessly versatile (OK, two recipes isn't endless, but still).

Well, I tried something new today--a pizza recipe.

"Didn't you just have pizza yesterday?" my boyfriend asked when I told him about it.

"No," I said. "That was different."

Well, it was. The last recipe was all veggies and dressing. Yesterday's recipe was all pizza sauce and cheesy goodness.

So, I took a "loaf" of pita bread (basically, one piece) and spread my Trader Joe's pizza sauce all over it. I could have used my special spicy pasta sauce instead, but I knew my boyfriend would frown at the idea of using pasta sauce on a pizza. Then, I covered the sauce in a thin layer of cheddar that I grated myself.

To add the finishing touches, I sliced some cigiellegne (baby mozzarella balls) and arranged them on top of the pizza. I popped the whole thing into the oven for four minutes at 450 degrees (the oven was partially pre-heated), and it was perfect.

Total yum. I recommend you try it.

That's-a pizza pie!

Getting free stuff is always nice. Imagine my pleasure when I got a letter in the mail one day shortly after moving into my new apartment and discovered it included a gift certificate for a free large pizza at Rocco's Little Chicago, a pizza joint here in Tucson.



After a few weeks of sitting on the free booty, we called a quorum of friends and went to try it out.

The service wasn't particularly fantastic. The waiter seemed flustered and forgot to return with a lemonade refill for someone at our table. One of the regulars at our table said you have to get "the blonde" waitress, who is apparently very attentive and helpful.

We ordered a couple of appetizers, some beers and sodas, and two large, deepdish cheese pizzas.

The beer list changes every week, but we tried a Bitburger, Summer Solstice and Heileman's Old Style. I always enjoy a Bitburger, and this one wasn't bad. The person who got the Summer Solstice was trying to learn how to appreciate beer, and she ended up switching with the more experienced beer drinker who got the Old Style. I thought they both tasted like water, but everyone's beer taste buds differ.

The appetizers weren't bad. I tried the mozarella sticks, which were delicious and hit the spot after an evening of hunger. They weren't sensational, although I can't say I'd had mozarella sticks for a long time before trying them. From what I heard around the table, the medium hot wings were very tasty but a bit too spicy and the ranch dressing was delicious, and the BBQ sticks were fantastic.

The pizzas were monstrous: two-and-a-half inches of Chicago-style (sauce on top of the cheese) bliss. Very yummy, and worth the long-ish wait. They were quite filling, and at a table of five guys and three girls, we still ended up having two big pieces left over.

We didn't have time to sample from the dessert menu, which included cheesecake and giant cookies. Next time.

As for price: the free-pizza coupon helped a lot. Our original bill came to $72 (that's without the 15% gratuity mandatory for parties of six or more), and after the free pizza came off, it was $50 even (including tax and tip). A bit pricey for some college students, but manageable in a large group.

All in all, the meal was delicious and worth trying again.