English Muffin Pizza Joes

Fifteen years ago today, our first child, Solomon, emerged into the world.  Solomon was a placid baby. We would take him for long walks under the blossoming cherry trees and afterward he would sleep for hours on the front porch in his softly padded stroller. As Solomon got older and spent longer stretches of time awake, he developed a vivid imagination and intense curiosity that would keep him raptly focused on his beloved wooden trains and figurines, creating complex worlds and accompanying narratives for them. He didn't always engage fully with other kids at school or on the playground when he was very young. He was a quiet guy, a patient observer with a lot going on inside. From when Solomon was a baby, through toddlerhood and elementary school, he never had much of an appetite, which often had me fretting about whether he was getting enough calories and nutrition. (Okay, fretting is an understatement.) Of course, he was fine. Now a freshman in high school, Solomon is a self-motivated student, a bass guitarist, and an athlete. He recently joined the high school volleyball team, which practices two hours a day. He also rides his bike to school, takes PE every day, is on a soccer team, and practices parkour somersaults in the basement. As a result of all of these activities, he is burning massive amounts of calories. Consequently, his appetite is (finally!) growing.

After school, he consumes fruit, veggie, chia, and protein smoothies, nutrition bars, chips with warm cheese dip, and peanut butter banana shakes, and yet still has an appetite at dinnertime. Sometimes if he's still hungry after dinner, he'll scoop himself a bowl of his favorite ice cream, Ben & Jerry's Phish Food.

Now that he's hungrier, it's such a pleasure cooking for Solomon, watching him enjoy second helpings for the first time, and having him request his favorite meals. His recent favorite dinner was inspired by one of the 2011 finalists for the National Beef Cook-Off, which I demonstrated for a crowd at the DC Convention Center last year as part of the Metropolitan Cooking and Entertaining Show. This cross between three kid-pleasers -- pizza, cheeseburger, and Sloppy Joes -- made Solomon's list of all-time favorite recipes. It's such a simple concept, it's a fun mini-meal for all ages, and the flavors really work well together. Vegetarians can leave the meat sauce off and just make regular mini English muffin pizzas with sauce and cheese, or use meatless crumble. For Solomon's birthday, well serve it with his favorite vegetable, green beans, and with extra-gooey chocolate brownies for dessert. Happy Birthday, dear Solomon! It has been delightful to watch you (and your appetite) grow.