By Sarah Bender

Recently, when cleaning out some drawers in my room at my parents’ house, I came across a page torn out of an old magazine – and on it was the first recipe I ever made when I was 12 years old: Cheesy Pizza Soup. The recipe came from an issue of American Girl magazine (I was an avid American Girl reader back in the day) and as I reviewed the recipe I remembered so clearly, just how excited I was to make the meal. 

It was on a Saturday evening during the winter – the kind of day that’s perfect for eating a hot and hearty meal.  My mother helped me lay out all of the necessary ingredients and equipment required to make the Cheesy Pizza Soup – and then I got to work, with my father by my side as my sous chef.   I remember the pride I felt as I worked with my dad to prepare the meal – and then, even more, how good it felt to share it with my family.  It was the first time that I had not only picked what I wanted for dinner – but I had supplied the recipe and then made it from start to end.  It was a great feeling.

Throughout the years since then, I’ve developed a real love of cooking, and have become a fan of collecting recipes and adding them to my recipe book. Whether it’s clipping them from magazines such as Fine Cooking and Cooking Light, downloading them from MyRecipes.com or dog-earring the pages of my Joy of Cooking cookbook, I am always on the hunt for a new challenge or even a new take on an old favorite. 

Regardless of where the recipe comes from or what it is, I revel in the feeling of excitement I get prior to each round of cooking.  There’s nothing I love more then preparing a meal for my friends and loved ones – or cooking something fabulously complicated for myself, just to say I did it.

This past November, I took my first culinary class at the Institute of Culinary Education here in New York City – and I loved every moment of it.  It was as if I had found my niche.  I was surrounded by other individuals who seemed to feel the same as I do – enough so to devote their entire Saturday (or at least five hours of it) to study the proper techniques for fine cooking and learn how to make new meals for our friends and loved ones.  We prepared a range of recipes – sautéed lamb chops, braised leeks, grilled London broil, roast chicken, beet salad, seared tuna steaks…the list goes on and on.  With each lesson that passed, I added these new meals to my personal recipe book – growing the collection that began long ago with my Cheesy Pizza Soup recipe. 

My culinary skills have come a long way over the years, or so I like to think, but I still feel the same excitement every time I cook as I did on the chilly Saturday evening when I first made my Cheesy Pizza Soup for my family.  It’s a very simple recipe – but regardless, it is one that will always have a place in my recipe book.

Cheesy Pizza Soup from American Girl magazine

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• Butter or margarine
• 1 10oz. tube refrigerated pizza dough
• 1 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
• ¼ Tsp Italian seasoning
• 2 slices Mozzarella cheese
• 1 10¾ oz. can condensed tomato soup
• 2 Tbsp grated Mozzarella and Cheddar cheese mix
• Green salad

Equipment:

• Baking sheet
• 2 10 oz. Pyrex bowls
• Cutting board
• Ruler
• 7-inch saucepan lid
• Knife
• Pot holder
• Spatula

1)     Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease baking sheet with butter or margarine.  Grease the outsides of 2 Pyrex bowls.  Place bowls upside down on baking sheet.

2)     Unroll pizza dough on cutting board. Gently stretch until its 14 inches long.  Use the saucepan lid as a guide to cut 2 7-inch circles in the dough.  Lift each circle and lay it over a bowl.  Press the dough down to make it even.

3)     Sprinkle leftover dough with Parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning.  Cut dough into small pizza-shaped wedges for croutons and strips for breadsticks.  Place down pieces on baking sheet next to bowls.

4)     Bake 10 to 12 minutes until dough is firm and brown.  Remove baking sheet from oven. Use the pot holder and spatula to gently remove bread bowls from Pyrex bowls.

5)     Remove croutons and breadsticks from baking sheet and let cool.  Place 1 slice Mozzarella cheese inside each bread bowl.  Bake for 5 minutes.

6)     Prepare soup by following directions on the label.  Pour the hot soup into bread bowls. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Serve with breadsticks and green salad topped with pizza dough croutons.

What I’m:

Reading: The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs

Eating: A slice of fluffy light butter cake with orange butter cream frosting (recipe from Baking by James Peterson)

Drinking: A tall glass of milk (to go with my cake)

Watching: Giuliana & Bill, season 2

Listening to: ‘Today was a Fairy Tale’ by Taylor Swift…on repeat