Pizza party

"Pork and Pepper" (prosciutto and arugula)

I absolutely love pizza. Whether thin crust or thick, lots of topping or a little, it is one of my favorite foods. My brother-in-law is a bread maker, and he also makes the best pizza dough. I happened to have some of his dough in the freezer, so I decided to thaw it out to use to make four kinds of pizza for a dinner party. 

The key to assembling the pizza is to stretch out the dough on a pan dusted with flour, put the sauce down first, then whole basil leaves, freshly grated parmesan cheese (or put it on top after the pizza comes out of the oven), mozzarella, toppings, a little more mozzarella. Bake at 450 degrees on a sheet pan (or a pizza stone if you have one) until golden brown. My pizzas took between 15-20 minutes each.

Set out all the toppings

Stretch out the dough on floured pan.

Add thin layer of sauce and basil leaves.

Add mozarella, toppings, and a little more mozarella.

Bake until golden, then top with freshly grated parmesan.

For the barbecue chicken pizza, use barbecue sauce as your base (I like Sweet Baby Ray’s), then add mozzarella, chicken, and onions (either sliced red onions or caramelized onions).

For the "Pork and Pepper" pizza pictured above, add the arugula and a drizzle of olive oil after the pizza comes out of the oven.

4 pizzas we made:

“Michael’s Favorite” (Kalamata olive, caramelized onion, and basil)

“Pork and Pepper” (Prosciutto, arugula, and basil)

Mushroom, ham, and basil

Barbecue chicken

Recipes:

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Caramelized onions

Cook one thinly sliced yellow onion in about 1-2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-low heat. Add about 1 teaspoon of salt. Cook very slowly and stir occasionally. You do not need to add anything else. If you cook them slow and low, they will caramelize.

Pizza sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
6-8 large basil leaves
3 stems oregano
1 large (28 oz) can whole tomatoes, pureed in a food processor (or use crushed tomatoes)
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, basil, and oregano. Cook for 1 minute, and then add tomatoes and a pinch of salt. Cook over medium heat for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste after 20-30 minutes to check for seasonings. Add sugar if it seems to acidic. Remove herbs and transfer to a bowl to cool.

Other ideas for pizzas:

Heirloom tomato and basil

4 cheese (goat cheese, ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan)

Chicken and roasted garlic (roast head of garlic with top cut off in foil packet with olive oil for 1 hour at 350 degrees)

Barbecue chicken