• fresh pizza dough (I used store-bought from my local grocery store)
• olive oil
• cooking spray
• all-purpose flour
• 3 cloves of fresh garlic
• 8 ounces of mozzarella cheese
• 3 tablespoons of parmesan cheese
• 3-4 plum tomatoes
• 2-3 large, fresh basil stems.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  While your oven is heating, spray your pizza pan with cooking spray and lightly dust with all-purpose flour.  Roll out your pizza dough while simultaneously dusting the dough with all-purpose flour.  Once your pizza dough is sized and stretched to the appropriate shape of your pizza pan and you have formed a crust around the perimeter of the pan, prick the dough with the prongs of your fork and lightly drizzle the entire pizza dough with olive oil.  Next, finely chop up your 3 garlic cloves and sprinkle all over the dough.  Generously dust the pizza dough with the mozzarella cheese. Thinly slice your 3-4 plum tomatoes and place them on your pizza dough and then roughly chop your 2-3 large basil stems, place on the pizza.  Lastly, lightly sprinkle the top of finished pizza with the parmesan cheese.  When finished, your pizza should look like this.

Place your pizza in the oven and bake for approximately 20 minutes, checking on it regularly until it looks done.  Your house will smell wonderful as this tasty treat bakes.  When the crust is browned and cheese is melted, your pizza is done.  It is honestly such an easy pizza to make and for only 10 minutes of prep time you have a homemade pizza on the table in 30 minutes – quicker and cheaper than ordering out. This is the finished beauty. Our next NYC inspired menu item is the New York Style Cheesecake.  One of my most favorite recipes is the classic Philadelphia Cream Cheese recipe which you can find here http://www.kraftbrands.com/philly/recipes/Pages/Recipe-Detail.aspx?recipeId=104996#category=816&subcategory=16193  I opt to not top mine with strawberries but drizzle it with chocolate syrup instead and use the strawberry for a garnish on the side.  Here is  how my cheesecake evolved.

And finally, if you have never had a New York Egg Cream now is the time to try one.  Loyalists will tell you to never make an egg cream without Fox’s U-Bet Chocolate Syrup.

Egg creams are super easy, although it takes a little practice to make the perfect foam at the top.  All you need for a classic Egg Cream is:

Approximately 1/2 cup cold whole milk* (must be whole, reduced fat milk of any kind will not foam correctly)

1 cup bottled seltzer

2 tablespoons chocolate syrup.  I used Fox’s U-Bet because I love to stay true to the original.

When completed, your Egg Cream should look sort-of like this, although my foam wasn’t as rich as I like.

My entire family enjoyed this menu and the leftover pizza tasted even better the next day.  This would be a great menu for Sunday football.  BUT if you decide to have a New York themed meal for Sunday football you have to promise me you won’t root for the Giants!

Enjoy and GO BIRDS!