**Newsflash!**

The website and blog might be intermittent this afternoon/evening as we prepare to launch our FRESHLY BRANDED new 0nline presence! Evening blogstalkers should be able to see something around 7 p.m. tonight… the rest of you will have lots of newness in the morning. See you then! Now, back to your regularly scheduled blog:

We love food.

We love cooking food, and talking about food, and reading about food, and hunting for the best food.

In 2011, we’ve vowed to somewhat alter our approach to food. We’re not getting any younger, and the older we get, the harder it will be to get into the shape we want to be in. We want to set a better example for our children, in eating well, and having a healthy relationship with food.

I’m inspired by a few other photographers when it comes to food. Yeah, it’s not all about weddings. 🙂 Justin & Mary Marantz have blogged recipes numerous times, and the food always looks so beautiful and wholesome. It looks like Paula Deen lives in their kitchen.

Jenna Cole has blogged a ton on her personal site about her food choices, like cutting back on meat, and eating local produce. I’m in awe of her resolve, and her creativity in never making the same dinner twice.
In 2011, the McGowans are going to eat healthier, more creative, and more beautiful food.
BUT…

…

The fact of the matter is, we didn’t get to be shaped like this by focusing our diets on celery and whole grains. Left to our own devices, we’re most attracted to foods you’d see featured on “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives” or “Man vs. Food”.

So, while we ARE going to make a concerted effort to trim our waistlines and curb our unhealthy habits in 2011, we’re also honest with ourselves. We are who we are, and we love what we love.

On only the second day of this new year, we caved, and decided to experiment with something that DEFINITELY did not meet our new diet goals.
The creation? PIZZA BURGERS.

Enjoy the photo journey as the McGowans clogged our arteries with pure, unadulterated yumminess. This blog post contains ZERO family secrets, no calorie cutting tips, and this is a terrible thing to serve for parties. Still… it’s so delicious, I have a feeling you’ll find a time to cook it yourself. 🙂

To start, I whipped up some pizza sauce. I don’t ever keep track of my measurements when I’m cooking… it’s a personal flaw. But starting with basic tomato sauce, I cranked a few turns on a “mixed Italian herbs” grinder, added some fresh garlic, some salt, and some sugar. The result was rooowdy.

While Mack’s homemade hamburger patties are really amazing, we didn’t want to spend the time on that this particular evening. We went with an excellent backup plan… these Black Angus patties, with vidala onions smushed right in. Mack puts Worchestershire sauce and some other mystery seasonings on these frozen patties to give them an extra kick, and plops them down on the trusty George Foreman.

Dorothy was getting pretty hungry, you can see!

Once the patties get cooked down a bit, we added a good layer of pepperoni to the top, and cooked them a little longer.

Of course, a pizza burger can’t be complete without some shredded mozzarella cheese!

We buttered our buns (HA!), and toasted them on the grill for a while so they were good and crispy. (These buns are a bit small for my taste, but they’re what we had, and as you might have guessed by now… this wasn’t planned real far in advance. 🙂  )

The crowning glory… my sauce!

Ok, so it’s not gorgeous, but it looks yummy, huh?

Jack gives it a taste test, and a big thumbs up!

Pizza Burger night in the McGowan House was a huge success! Coincidentally, this blog was super fun to write. I have a few more heart-attack-in-every-forkful recipes I can share… is anyone interested?