Louisville's Food Culture

Louisville, Kentucky is definitely on top of good nutrition for it's residents. City gardens and outdoor fruit and  vegetable markets abound during fair weather. Most local restaurants are proud to say their produce in gown within the immediate area. That goes for their wines and Bourbon whiskies too.

In addition, our bed and breakfasts pay very close attention to what they serve our guests. At the Aleksander House, we always use the freshest ingredients and make sure our fruits and vegetables, as well as our breakfasts meats, are not only fresh but of the highest quality.

To Die For Gourmet Vegetarian Pizza

This pizza was developed by a very close friend, another inn keeper, and myself a few years back. She's a wonderful cook and has taught me a lot. I hope I've done the same for her. Anyhow,  one summer my granddaughter came to visit me with her little girlfriend. My innkeeper friend, we'll call her Donna,  invited us all out to her bed and breakfast, in the country, for lunch.

We arrived early afternoon and Donna showed the 10-year-olds around her inn before they wandered outside to check out her dog, cat, and the swimming pool.  I was curious about what we were having for lunch, so Donna told me about the wonderful recipe for pizza she got from her daughter. Both Donna and I are very much into healthy cooking and eating so combining a bowl full of veggies, cheese, and a whole wheat crust seemed like a great idea. The girls wouldn't realize they were eating Spinach and whole wheat with all that cheese.

Donna had cut up some vegetables and caramelized the onions. She put the cheeses in little bowls and set out a Boboli whole wheat crust. She is so organized! Then she asked me to assemble the whole thing.
Following are the ingredients and method we used to produce that  fabulous bit of heaven. We all gobbled it down like we hadn't eaten in weeks. It was so good.

After that wonderful summer day, at Donna's, she and I got together and re-did the ingredients and method for making this delicious pizza, made some changes and printed out a recipe card so we'd be able to duplicate it. I've printed the recipe below so all of you can enjoy it.

 RECIPE

 1 Boboli whole wheat pizza crust

*1 tub Boursin cream cheese

Place pizza crust  in a pizza stone (preferably) or a metal pizza pan. Spread the Boursin cheese over the crust, using a flexible spatula. Top with the following ingredients in order:

Sliced fresh mushrooms

Sliced (thinly) red peppers

Sliced (thinly) fresh tomatoes

*1 med. onion (caramelized)

Chopped fresh basil

Chopped fresh oregano

Shredded Asiago cheese

Grated Parmesean cheese

Roasted garlic, thinly sliced lengthwise

Bake in a preheated oven at the designated temperature and length of time on the Boboli package, or until crust is lightly browned and cheeses are thoroughly melted. Slice into eight pieces, serve immediately and enjoy!

*Note: Alternative to Boursin cheese: J.L. Kraft "Spreadable Cheese" (Parmesean, Asiago & Romano with Garlic and Herb flavor)

*Note: To caramel onion, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a ten- or twelve-inch skillet. Slice the onion as thinly as possible and add to heated olive oil. Stir until onion is caramel in color and glazed. It should taste sweet.

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How to make a great omelet

There are many different ways to make omelets. We make them at the bed and breakfast all the time. Our guests vary widely when it comes to their "favorites".

We usually do vegetable omelets unless we are told not to include veggies, only cheese. But most of our guests like vegetables added. It's a good way to get part of your healthy day's vegetable requirements.

I always ask if there are any vegetables that they don't like. Green peppers is the most frequent reply to that question. We always have onions, tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms, brocolli, asparagus, and green peppers on hand. Most guests pick two or three of these and like cheese added. We usually use a good Italian or Mexican melting cheese.

In addition to the omelets, we add bacon, ham or sausage on the side unless our guest happens to be a vegetarian. To complete our morning offering, we include toast (usually whole wheat or sour dough), home made muffins and juice (orange, apple, or cranberry.) Most guests are completely satisfied when they leave the table.

It's easiest to learn how to make a good omelet by watching. I've included a good video here. You can add any veggies you want to what they've done in the video. Just click on the picture.




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