I lived near Seattle, Washington from 1990 to 1994, in a town called Kirkland. During this time, I discovered the Pizza Bank restaurant, and the wonderful, unique, and delicious pizzas they make there. (pizzabankrestaurant.com). I remember the crust having the perfect “crunch” when you bite in, not too thin, not too thick, and the cheese was abundant, stretchy, and really just “to die for”! The sauce was a perfect Italian marinara. I usually don’t eat all of the end crust on a pizza – except for this one. I never left any on the plate! Thankfully, the restaurant is still there! You have to check it out if you are in the Seattle area.
This was truly the best pizza I have ever had. My favorite pizza on their menu was a Hawaiian pizza called the “Hawaii 5-0”. It had ham, pineapple, and sliced almonds! I’ve never had this anywhere else, but these 3 flavors were SO GOOD TOGETHER! The current menu still lists the Hawaii 5-0, but does not mention the almonds any longer. Not sure when this may have changed, but I’m making this pizza exactly the way I remember it!
I used my own pizza dough recipe – see my prior blog post on “Homemade pizza”. You can use any pizza dough recipe you like, or even purchase pre-made pizza dough.
Ingredients:
Pizza dough
olive oil
Tomato sauce/marinara
Oregano
Garlic powder
1/2 lb sliced ham (chopped)
10 oz pineapple chunks (chopped)
3/4 c sliced almonds
1 – 1 1/2 lb shredded cheese (mozzarella, sharp cheddar, and parmesan mixture)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Press dough onto a pizza pan coated with olive oil. Top with marinara or tomato sauce. Sprinkle with garlic powder, and oregano.
In a large bowl, combine ham, pineapple, and almonds. Mix together with cheeses in a large bowl. Pour mixture onto the prepared pizza dough, and spread to the edge of the crust.
Pil
Bake at 350 for 30 min. Check for doneness, by lifting edge of crust to confirm it is lightly browned on the bottom. Depending on your oven, you may need to lower the rack to achieve this, or raise the rack if it is browning too quickly on the bottom. Pizza will be lightly browned, and bubbly on top when done. Slice and serve!
