Pizza

This isn't just any ol' pizza. It's REALLY GOOOOOOD pizza! I saw this post and just had to make it. I've thrown toppings on a Boboli pre-made crust and have used a lot of the Pillsbury pizza crust from that little silver and blue can but I've never EVER made my own pizza crust from scratch. I was inspired to try my hands at it. Meghan made it look so easy, and with my new KitchenAid stand mixer, I knew it would be possible.

"Captain Hook" makes making dough easy peasy.

The homemade pizza crust (originally found here) was super tasty. It made a thick crust so next time I'll make 2 thin crust pizzas or save half the dough for another day. I'll also roll it out so that it bakes "flatter."

Pizza prepped and ready for the oven.

Mini Heirloom tomatoes, Italian sausage, turkey-roni, onions, yellow peppers, garlic, Italian seasonings and mozzarella cheese.

Yummers!
Hubby loved it and the boys did, too. They said it was the best pizza ever. :)

Slightly thicker crust than I like but everything was still AWESOME!

My slice square had extra tomatoes (hubby doesn't care for them) and lots of red peppers.

Next time, in addition to the sauteed veggies, I'll add some raw veggies (onions and more bell peppers) as well as artichoke hearts and sundried tomatoes.

Che Pizza è Deliziosa!

Yes, this was a delicious pizza indeed!

Ingredients:

Pizza dough

~8 oz pizza sauce (You can buy pizza sauce but homemade tastes so much better.)

1 package ground turkey sausage, cooked and crumbled (~4 ounces - Recommended: Louis Rich)

Turkey pepperoni (Recommended: Hormel)

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/2 yellow pepper, finely diced

1/2 yellow onion, finely diced (sweet or regular)

Mozzarella cheese, shredded

Parmesan cheese, grated

Pizza/Italian seasoning, to taste

Cornmeal, ~1/4 to 1/2 cup

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium/high heat. Add the yellow pepper and saute for 3 minutes. Then add half of the onion (equivalent of 1/4 onion) and garlic and saute until softened, about 3-5 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 500F. I did not heat my *pizza stone for 30 mins. as original recipe suggested.

*Another Pampered Chef tangent: Their stoneware is awesome. Cooks/bakes food evenly and quickly. Great stuff! I used my large bar pan and it's the perfect size for pizza.

3. Generously apply cornmeal to a large surface (like a cutting board) and roll out dough into a large rectangle if using a bar pan (or a circle if your pizza pan is round). Using ample cornmeal is essential to eventually sliding the pizza onto the pizza stone.

4. Add pizza toppings. I added in this order: sauce, pepperoni, sausage, sauteed onions, peppers, garlic, mozzarella cheese, grated Parmesan cheese and then a sprinkle of Italian seasoning.

5. Bake for 8-12 minutes or until cheese is melted and browned.

6. Remove pizza from oven, cool for 5 minutes, slice and enjoy!

Source: adapted from You're Gonna Bake it After All

Pizza Dough/Pizza Crust

The first time I ate homemade pizza was in Lake Tahoe about 12 years ago. We were staying at a beautiful condo in North Lake with some friends. Eric, our chef friend, put together the most fabulous pizza I had ever eaten. Red onions, mushrooms, yellow peppers and garlic. So fresh. Truly the best I've had. Well, at least until tonight.

I've made pizzas using Boboli pre-made crusts and Pillsbury's dough-in-a-can but I wanted to give homemade pizza dough a shot. I wanted to recreate that Tahoe treasure from way back when and it was an opportunity to try out my brand new KitchenAid stand mixer as well. Plus, Meghan, at You're Gonna Bake it After All made it sound like a really easy process.

Introducing...

My mesmerizing mixer and the extras that it came with.

Thanks, Mom, for my Christmas present!

Making pizza dough was a great way to test out the spiral dough hook accessory. My boys (ages 8 and 6) named it "Captain Hook."

The dough is pressed into the pan.

(Next time, I will roll it out and then put in the pan.)

So back to the pizza crust...

Ingredients:

1/2 cup warm water (~110F)

1 envelope (~2 1/4 teaspoons) instant yeast (AKA Rapid Rise)

1 1/4 cups water, room temperature

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

4 cups (22 ounces) bread flour, plus more for dusting work surface and hands

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

olive oil or nonstick cooking spray for greasing bowl

corn meal, for dusting pan

Directions:

Make the dough:

1. Fill a 2-cup liquid measuring cup with warm water and sprinkle yeast on top. Allow to sit until yeast dissolves and swells - ~5 minutes. Meanwhile, add flour and salt to stand mixer bowl and stir with paddle accessory to combine.

2. Add room temperature water and oil to the yeast/water mixture and stir to combine. Slowly add liquid ingredients and continue mixing at low speed until cohesive mass forms. Stop mixer and replace paddle with dough hook. Knead about 5 mins. or until dough is smooth and elastic.

3. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand a few turns, shaping the dough into a smooth, round ball.

4. Place the dough ball into a deep, oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in warm area (away from draft) until doubled in size approx. 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Bake the dough:

*Note: The original recipes calls for a pizza stone that is preheated to 500F for 30 minutes and the pizza is then cooked at this temperature for 8-12 minutes. I have a Pampered Chef Large Bar Pan and I absolutely LOVE it! I used that in lieu of the pizza stone since I don't own one of those. The crust was tasty and baked nicely in my bar pan. 

If you don't have a pizza stone, follow the temp/time listed below:

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Lightly grease a sheet pan with olive oil, dust with corn meal.

2. Press the dough to deflate it. Divide dough into desired portions and place them back in the bowl, covered with a damp cloth to allow dough to rest for at least 10 but no more than 30 minutes.

3. Press dough out into desired shape. Brush lightly with extra virgin olive oil. Pre-bake crust for ~5-7 minutes.

4. Remove crust and top pizza as desired. Bake pizza for 5 minutes, then raise oven temperature to 500F for 3-5 minutes, or until crust is golden.

**This recipe made a lot of dough. Next time, I will make 2 thin-crust pizzas or save half the pizza dough for another day.

Source: You're Gonna Bake it After All and Brown Eyed Baker

Pizza Sauce

When you make homemade pizza dough, you gotta make homemade pizza sauce, too. The sauce recipe I found is so easy and delicious. It has the right consistency and has great flavor. I always make the sauce first so the flavors come together nicely while I make the dough. By the way, DO NOT be intimated by making pizza dough. It's easy if you have a stand mixer because it does all the work for you. Homemade pizzas are THE BEST! Make one today!!!!!!

HOMEMADE PIZZA!!!!!!!

Canadian Bacon, Crushed Pineapple, Red Onions, Red Bell Peppers, and Yellow Pear Tomatoes.

Top with crushed red pepper....YUMS!

Pizza Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 1 c water
• 1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tbs dried oregano
• 1/2 tbs dried basil
• 1/2 tsp dried rosemary, crushed (I make it without and it tastes fine.)
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper

Directions:

1. Mix together the tomato paste, water, and olive oil. Mix well. 
2. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.
3. Let stand several hours so flavors blend together. 
4. When pizza dough is ready, spread on dough.

 Source:  allrecipes.com