Pizza!!!




Three pizzas

       I love PIZZA. I'm crazy about it. When I was little my Italian grandmother would take left over bread dough, spread some marinara, and cheese, and viola, little mini pizzas for PJ.

      When I typically make dough, I make enough for 2-3 pizzas. I am usually feeding some friends or family members who really enjoy homemade pizzas. For this one weekend I decided to make three very different styles: a traditional Margherita, a very rustic, herb, ricotta, and one that we used to get served in the school cafeteria. (Don't ask, it was just one of those things that I liked).

3 Types made tonight:

Traditional Margherita: Marinara, Mozzarella, and Basil. (That is all). Once you spread out your pizza dough just top with some homemade marinara sauce or a good store bought one that you like. Sprinkle out some fresh mozzarella, and top with fresh chopped basil.

Lunch Lady Taco: In high school our cafeteria used to make a taco pizza I loved, so I have recreated it and named it Lunch Lady because my Aunt Eleanor was our lunch lady. Spread store bought taco sauce, 1/2lb taco seasoned beef that you have cooked earlier, and cheddar cheese.

Rustic White/Rustico Bianco: Herb ricotta, (oregano, thyme, and garlic), 1/2 lb Italian sausage that you cooked earlier, sliced mushrooms, and fresh chopped baby spinach.

How to cook:

       I turn my gas oven up to the highest setting, typically 500 to 550 F. I place a wrack covered in tinfoil on top and place a pizza stone directly on the bottom of the oven. I let the oven preheat for about 30 minutes. I then use a pizza peel that my uncle made me and slide the pizza directly on the stone. It cooks in roughly 3-5 minutes. When you pull it out, it has that charred bottom and a nice light brown crispy looking crust. Almost like having your own stone pizza oven outside. One of these days I will build one and have it at my house. Buon Appetito!

P.S. the pictures do not do them justice. I need to work on the photography of it all.

Pizza Margherita

 

Lunch Lady Taco

 

Rustic white/ Rustico Bianco