Cards Pizza

Dad and I are playing cards tonight. Just the two of us. Right now. We take turns picking what game we play. So far he's won every game out of 5. We used the Elvis cards. Elvis has been bad luck for me tonight and I'm the one who bought the cards at his museum in Tupelo! No loyalty!

We come from a long line of card players. We love Pitch, 10-20, Golf, Gramma Grace's Rummy (which means there is cheating), and Crazy 8's. We've branched out into Uno and SkipBo. I'm sure I'm leaving a lot of games out, but those are the main ones.

I do recall playing Old Maid as a child. If I was the old maid, I cried. Everyone either felt sorry for me or was just plain disgusted with me, so we pretty much quit playing that.

We usually eat cashews while we play. Or pistachios. Or both! One or all of us are always on a diet, so we push the nut bowls around the table to get them away from us since we have no nut self-control whatsoever. And we drink. We come from a long line of drinkers, also. Except me. And your Aunt Beth. I don't know what happened to us, but we don't drink.

If you get sick of just eating cashews, you can always try this recipe. It's great to eat when you're playing cards because it's not messy. This is something my step-mom, Cojo, came up with. It's one of the very few ways my dad will eat vegetables. Bonus!

Cards Pizza

1 package of prepared crescent roll dough
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
about 3 Tablespoons salad dressing that you like, we've used Ranch or Blue Cheese
chopped fresh vegetables of any kind

Place unrolled crescent dough on a pizza pan or stone and bake at 350°F until lightly browned, about 7-9 minutes. Cool. Mix an 8-ounce package of cream cheese with enough Ranch dressing to make the mixture spreadable. Spread on the cooled crust. Add your choice of fresh raw veggies on the top (we chop them fairly fine.) We like the following: broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, all color peppers, artichoke hearts, carrots, red onions. You can add whatever you’d like. Slice the pizza into squares, 1-2 inches across. Serve on little plates. Your card players will keep their fingers clean.

Love,

P.S. I asked my friends what card games they play and here's the list. I'm determined to try all of them, except Bridge. I am staying far away from Bridge! I once received a book on how to play Bridge as a gift and I decided then and there I would never play it. Cards are supposed to be fun. I am a terrible card player, but I have fun at it and books are out of the question for me on this subject.

List of Games My Friends Play:

Phase 10

Poker

Blackjack

Go Fish

War

Scopa

Dutch Blitz!

Gin

Kings in the Corner

Spoons!

Spite & Malice

Canasta

Bridge

Euchre

Hearts

Hands and Feet

Pinochle

Nervous

Peanuts