Monday, January 12, 2009

Pizza!

My youngest daughter Kaitlin, sat me down one evening last week. She told me she missed the meals I used to make all the time for dinner. She asked me to start incorporating some of her favorites into my weekly rotation.
I missed some of the meals I used to make for them too. They used to help in the preparation in a lot of these meals. Pizza is one such dish. I don't have any pictures of either of the homegirlz making their pizzas. They made me promise not to take any pictures of them and I had to honor their request. We had a blast making pizzas Friday night.
A couple of fun things about making pizza at home is you are only limited by your imagination and everyone can make their pizza their way; there's no right or wrong.
I've posted this dough recipe before when I made Garlic Knots
This is a very easy and delicious pizza dough recipe.

Pizza Dough -

1 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees F)1 envelope active dry yeast1 teaspoon honey2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour1 teaspoon salt, yellow cornmeal, for sprinkling the baking sheet

In a large bowl, combine the water, yeast, honey, and 1 tablespoon oil, stirring to combine. Let sit until the mixture is foamy, about 5 minutes.

Add 1 1/2 cups of the flour and the salt, mixing by hand until it is all incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Continue adding the flour, 1/4 cup at a time, working the dough after each addition, until the dough is smooth but still slightly sticky. You may not need all of the flour.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth but still slightly tacky, 3 to 5 minutes.

Oil a large mixing bowl with remaining olive oil. Place the dough in the bowl, turning to coat with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise until doubled in size, about 1-1/4 hours.

This makes dough for 1 (15-inch) pizza.

We made a standard red sauce pizza with pepperoni, mushrooms, bell pepper and red onion.


Lauren, my oldest daughter said, "Mom, you HAVE to make these everyday for us to eat!".


These are some of the ingredients I like on a pizza.




Brush the pizza dough with extra virgin olive oil. Spread roasted garlic Alfredo sauce on the pizza in lieu of red pizza sauce. This pizza was garnished with 1/2 cup thawed frozen spinach, 4 or 5 cloves of smashed garlic, sliced red onions, sliced orange bell peppers, sun dried tomatoes, mushrooms and feta cheese flavored with tomato and basil. YUM!!!!



Lightly grease pizza pan and sprinkle pan lightly with corn meal. Bake at 425 degrees for approximately 15 minutes.

I do want to eat this every day!


28 comments:

tavolini said...

I want to eat that everyday, too!!! Pizza is my all time favorite food--yours look FANTASTIC :)

Its so fun when everyone participates in making the meal!

Jersey Girl Cooks said...

Making pizza is fun. And even though it's extra work, the dough is always better home made.

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

I love homemade pizza and yours looks really good! Now, I'm hungry...

Cheers,

Rosa

April said...

Sometimes going back to the oldies but goodies is a great thing!! The pizza looks fantastic!

Marjie said...

I don't like making pizza because it's so labor intensive, but sometimes I'll make the crusts, then let everyone finish their own. Chopping and lining up the ingredients is a pain, but the little guys love it so! Pizza crust is another great excuse for having a bread machine.

Pam said...

We made homemade pizza last night too. I love the bottom pizza with feta cheese. YUM.

Lucy..♥ said...

Your pizza looks soooo good!! Seems I'm creating a pattern of making pizza for Sunday evenings.

jesse said...

YUM!! I loooove feta cheese on my pizzas too. Your family is so lucky!

Carol Murdock said...

Katherine....wow! Great blog. I'm so glad I stumbled on here! You are now going to be my meal planner and cookbook! I'm adding you to my blog roll pronto!

Dewi said...

Your pizza looks scrumptious Katherine! I agree that pizza is the best way to get your children exited to be in the kitchen to help.
Cheers,
Elra

gigi said...

Yum and you make it sound so easy! One day, I will try this, I promise and you'll be the first to know when I do!

Jennifer said...

I am starving, that looks soo yummy!

Debbie said...

The pizza looks delicious. I have not made pizza in a long time and even when I did I used the store bought dough. I should try yours but first I have to get over my fear of yeast!

Greg C said...

You must have read my mind. I am planning on making pizza this week and yea me, I have all the ingredients. I will let you know how it comes out.

Laurie said...

We make homemade pizza every Friday night because it is a kid favorite here too. It's also a great way to use up the week's leftovers.

And your chicken dish below looks awesome!

Reeni said...

When I was a kid we had a tradition of making pizza every Saturday night. They will keep the memory forever. Yours look so yummy! Great toppings!

Tatersmama said...

I haven't made pizza in ages, so I might give this a go at the end of the week!
I love feta cheese, so this gives me an excuse to indulge. :o)

Aggie said...

Oh, I could totally eat like that everyday! I love your toppings. mmm...

Maria said...

I am glad your daughter requested this one! The pizza looks superb! I love meals from my childhood too! The classics are the best!

The Blonde Duck said...

I'll eat it everyday with you.

Anonymous said...

I'm starting a diet today and you're not helping me. LOL The pizza looks soooo good, and the chicken dish on your last Post looks to-die-for. Sure wish you were here to cook for me. . .It's meatloaf at my house tonight.

Andrea said...

Love homemade pizza...it's fun AND delicious!! :)

pam said...

Nothing better than homemade pizza!

Joie de vivre said...

Oh wow. Those look wonderful! Perhaps you can have a pizza night once a week in your rotation?

Peter M said...

I can't think of one kid that doesn't like pizza. I had some too 'cause I'm still a kid!

Sara said...

I love homemade pizza, I make it all the time. Lately I've been experimenting with a whole wheat pizza crust.

Tiffany said...

Oh,you would have to post this on the day I start a low carb diet. =) I love homeade pizza and love that it gets BigDaddy in the kitchen with me.

La Bella Cooks said...

That is one of the best looking pizzas I have seen in a long time. Homemade is always the best as it seems you can enjoy it without all the greasy guilt you sometimes get from the local pizza places. Mind sending me some? Any left??