Heaven's Scent Pizza

   It's been a month now since dad passed away. Wow, it goes quickly and it takes time. Such a paradox. He was proud of himself to have outlived all his brothers and his father but time finally caught up with him. The last of that generation of 4 boys and yet, one sister still lives, his sister Karen survives him. It has to be lonely in some ways being the last one but their legacy will continue in all the children and grandchildren and even some great grandchildren. The Larsen heritage will live on in so many souls.
   Dad enjoyed reading my pizza blogs to mom I've been told. He was proud of us all although he rarely mentioned it. I could tell by his actions though. Their occasional day trips up to Elk Grove to visit for a day or two were always fun and welcome. It also gave me a captive audience when pizza making 3 times a week was a new adventure and I was able to share my latest creations with them. Dad wasn't one to go out to eat as he enjoyed mom's home cooked meals and I think my pizza as well. I know he did mention it one Sunday morning when I got up before them to turn on the oven and get it up to 550º so I could bake them a breakfast pizza. He had never tried one nor had most of us until pizza became synonymous with the word "Vince".  I had been getting somewhat creative and was discovering breakfast pizzas. If I look back into my blogs I seem to recall I did one on just breakfast pizza. I had patterned it after a favorite breakfast of mine from a coffee shop named Perko's. It was a grilled English muffin with sliced ham or bacon, scrambled egg, and a slice of melting cheddar topped with hollandaise sauce. They called it the Benedict Scramble. Twice a week I would eat those for about 10 years along with a few cups of coffee.
   What I kept desiring I think, was the hollandaise sauce. I'm sure it was packaged institutional stuff but I enjoyed it anyway. Hollandaise sauce was to be the base sauce for my fledgling breakfast pizza. I made mine fresh though using lots of egg yolks for that deep yellow color and egg flavor. Next I laid down the mozzarella shredded cheese blend and the used thinly sliced proscuitto sparingly as it is quite salty. On a large family style pizza I would make about 4 wells in the cheese and around the proscuitto to crack an egg into each well into the oven it would go and I would watch carefully as the eggs would begin to cook. About 12-13 minutes later it would come out piping hot with that heavenly aroma, then serve it to mom and dad, Sheri and myself. Dad wasn't ever quick to say how he felt about us, even if it was good, but he was the first to speak up that Sunday morning to compliment that Sunday morning breakfast pizza. I can still see him sitting there munching it down and enjoying it like it was meant to be enjoyed.

 

My Eggs Benedict Breakfast Pizza

   Dad was too ill this summer to really take a good luck at our newly purchased pizza trailer but he did get to taste our wood-fired pizza at least once for which I am glad. I don't think he had ever tasted wood-fired pizza before except maybe in the Army Air Corp during the 2nd Big One. Naaaah, probably not.

Dad became a B-29 mechanic in the Pacific during WWII

Mom & Dad's 50th

A little wine tasting with mom

The Viking's 75th birthday

His favorite son and daughter-in-law (wink, wink)

Dad enjoyed all the family especially during the holidays.

Dad enjoyed spending time with family

Presley loved his Bestafarr  and misses him too.

   I have lost a blog reader, a pizza fan, a friend and a great dad. I hope he still gets to read these blogs on the other side. Maybe I'll have a contingency of pizza blog readers on the other side if he gets to read them out loud to his brothers. Hey dad, this one's for you!