Cooking with Kids: Brittany Rauzan

Web Extras: Marketplace, Bridal, Headlines by Email, Postcards

Cooking with Kids: Brittany Rauzan

Thursday, May 11, 2000

Age: 9

Parents: Chas Rauzan and Jacquelyn Gregory-Rauzan

Community: Upper St. Clair

School: Third grade at The Ellis School

Hobbies: Lacrosse, Tennis, Cooking, Swimming and Basketball

Favorite food: All kinds of pasta

Favorite TV show: The cooking show "Two Fat Ladies"

What she wants to be when she grows up: A scientist

Kitchen tip: Always let someone else put the food in the oven.

Italian Jellyroll

Meal times are quality times for this cozy family of three. Brittany attends an academically demanding school, Mom and Dad both work full time, and everyone cooks. They're also not afraid to get creative in the kitchen. Dad made this recipe up one night when he and Brittany were putting dinner together. It's a pizza-with-everything lovers' dream. Thinking it looked a little complicated, we assisted our 10-year-old tester with the chopping and initial mixing. Then we were called away by one of those emergencies that come up every five minutes or so when you have children. When we returned, he had finished the layering and rolling and had it in the oven. The crust was brown in 15 minutes; we had a short lesson on testing for doneness (don't trust the top crust, always check the bottom to be sure it's browned, not mushy), and served the delicious result with some leftover spaghetti sauce for dipping.

2 Refrigerated Pizza Crusts (we used Pillsbury) 1/4 pound pepperoni, sliced thin 1/4 pound hard salami, shaved 1/4 pound baked ham or cappicola, shaved 1/4 cup chopped black olives (optional) Small can mushrooms (optional) 8 ounces ricotta cheese 1/4 pound Provolone cheese, sliced 1 1/2 pounds shredded mozzarella cheese (we used 8 ounces, shredded, which was plenty) Olive oil or flavored olive oil

Unroll pizza crusts. Brush with olive oil. Combine olives, mushrooms and ricotta cheese. Spread half of the mixture over each of the pizza crusts. Place the pepperoni, ham, provolone and salami in layers on top of the ricotta cheese. Top with shredded mozzarella. Roll the crust lengthwise in a jellyroll fashion, tucking in the sides as you roll the crust. Place seam side down on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Allow to cool and slice into 2-inch pieces.

To submit a recipe to Cooking with Kids, please send the recipe, along with the name of the child, a head shot (preferably a school picture), and a telephone number where the child can be contacted to: Cooking with Kids, c/o Kelly Burgess, Post-Gazette Food, 34 Blvd of the Allies, Pittsburgh 15222. Questions? Call Kelly at 724-443-2362 or Suzanne Martinson, 412-263-1760.