Our First Homemade Pizza Party

Our trip Rome

My favorite way to spend a Saturday night is with a bunch of friends at a low key dinner party.

Last Saturday, a few friends came to visit our new home and celebrate a few January birthdays. Instead of hitting one of the (few) local restaurants we have, I decided to host a homemade pizza party. We stood in the kitchen, flung pizza dough, drank wine and experimented with three different pizzas. What I loved about it was that each pizza went in at a different time, allowing everyone to have a sampling throughout the night instead of chowing down on just one flavor.

Because we spent most of the afternoon at the park with the dogs, I didn’t particularly like the idea of having to make homemade dough. So we went with my staple, quick and easy backup. Did you know that Publix (or your local supermarket) often carries balls of pizza dough in their bakery? We picked up three balls of dough (probably enough for 8 people), removed them from their packaging and placed them in individual bowls covered loosely with saran wrap. This allowed the dough to rise, while we spent time outdoors enjoying the unseasonably warm February afternoon. Note: if you cannot find this pre-made pizza dough, check the freezer section or you can try the Pillsbury pizza dough by the biscuits….

Our Pizza Chef

First and foremost, preheat your pizza stone or rectangular cookie sheet at 400 degrees.

A few other items to make your life easier: a pizza stone (for restaurant-like crust), cornmeal (to keep the pizza from sticking), and a friend who worked as a master pizza maker in college...if you can't find one of those, not to worry!

So fill up your glass of wine and let's make some pizzas...

Red Pizza

Red Pizza

{what you need}

1 cup red sauce, homemade (recipe to follow…store bought is fine too)

1 package sliced pepperoni (if you are feeling authentic, have the butcher slice you some large rounds in the deli counter)

1 can (small) black olives, sliced

1 jar pepperocini peppers, sliced and finely minced

½ small white onion, chopped

2 cups shredded mozzarella

{what to do}

• Grab one ball of dough and with a floured surface and hands, begin stretching the

          dough in a circular motion {utilize your pizza expert, here}.

•  Place the stretched dough onto the preheated stone and begin topping. Here is the order that Team Red Pizza used…sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni, olives, peppers, onion and repeat once (minus the sauce step).

•  With pot holders (because that stone is piping hot) place the pizza in the oven and bake for 10 minutes, rotate the stone and bake for another 8 to 10 minutes or until the crust has started to brown and the cheese is bubbling.

• Slide the pizza onto a flowered cutting board and let cool for a few minutes.

Red Sauce

Courtesy of Giada de Laurentis

{what you need}

2 (28 ounce) cans whole tomatoes in juice

1 bunch fresh basil, stemmed

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 small onions, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 Tablespoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon sugar

salt and pepper to taste

{what to do}

·      Blend tomatoes (and their juice) and the basil until almost smooth. Set aside.

·      Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.

·      Add the onions and garlic and sauté until tender, about 12 minutes. Stir in the tomato puree, oregano and sugar.

·      Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Decrease heat to medium and continue simmering until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.

·      Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper.

*** I make a big batch of this and freeze it to have on hand for last minute pasta or pizza nights.

Slice, serve and refill your wine glass.

While the Red Pizza was cooling, we started preparing our second pizza—BBQ chicken.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

BBQ Chicken Pizza

{what you need}

1 rotisserie chicken (BBQ flavor, if available)

1 cup BBQ sauce, I used Stubb’s

1 ball fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced

½ red onion, sliced

1 cup shredded mozzarella

¼ cup cilantro, chopped

{what to do}

• Shred the rotisserie chicken breasts and place meat in a bowl with ½ cup of the BBQ sauce…I did this earlier in the day so I didn’t have to mess with chicken remains in front of our guests (yuck).

•  Place the slices of mozzarella directly onto the dough.

•  Top with remaining ½ cup BBQ sauce, chicken, red onion and shredded mozzarella. Repeat the cooking technique (mentioned above).

• Remove the pizza from the oven and top with the chopped cilantro before serving.

Slice, serve and refill wine glass.

White Pizza

White (vegetarian) Pizza

{what you need}

Olive oil

1 jar seasoned artichoke hearts, quartered

1 small jar green olives, sliced

2 cups shredded Italian blend cheese
1 cup feta cheese

{what to do}

• Drip olive oil on the surface of the dough.

• Top with artichoke hearts, green olives and finally cheese.

• Repeat cooking process, slice and serve.

***If you wanted, you could have three cups in the kitchen and at the end of the night let guests vote for their favorite pizza by placing a slip of paper into the appropriate cup. We loved all of ours equally and were so full that we couldn’t possibly decide!

Bon Appetit!