Friday Night Pizza

We make pizzas on Friday nights.

 It all started with Friday Night Movie Night.  The kids love it.  We would (yes, most of this is past tense) pick up a new movie, from Costco or Redbox, depending on the remaining numbers in the entertainment budget, eat pizza, pop some popcorn, lay out the blankets and pillows, turn down the lights, and make our family room a movie theatre.  Sometimes I even made a batch of gourmet popcorn, like white chocolate drizzled popcorn, or nutty caramel popcorn.  Then, as time went on, we got a little slacker about the whole thing.  We might skip the blankets and pillows because it was a big mess to clean up.  The lights would stay on so the adults in the family could get something done while the kids were occupied.  We would forget to pick up a movie, so we would dig through the old favorites and find one we hadn't watched in a while.  And then, forget the gourmet popcorn, we wouldn't even have a standby bag of Orville Redenbachers lying around, so we would go without!

Somewhere in there, as the coolest movie nights ever slipped away, the dinners picked up.  We would order pizzas many Friday nights.  Our favorite pizza establishment is Papa John's and they don't deliver to my house, so Royal would have to pick it up on his way home from work.  Nothing for me to complain about, unless he wasn't leaving work until later and pizza turned into a bedtime snack for the kids.  So, I made a batch of pizza dough and Friday night dinners never looked so delicious!  We throw on fresh mozzarella, our favorite toppings, and fill the house with that fresh Italian aroma.  In the summer, we grill it, and fill the neighborhood with that aroma.

I never cared to make my own pizza because a) you can pick it up anywhere and b) it takes time for dough to rise! But, it couldn't be easier to make, or more tasty, and you just have to think a little bit ahead.

The kids love pepperoni.  I love classic margherita.  I picked up a nice basil plant at Trader Joe's and planted it in the backyard so fresh basil is just steps away.

Want some?  Go make homemade pizza!  Make it every Friday night!  Throw on a movie for the kids and go have some fun with homemade pizza dough and any topping you can dream up!

Pizza Dough

1 packet active dry yeast

1 Tbsp sugar

1 c warm water (110 degrees)

2 1/4 c flour

2 Tbsp olive oil

good-sized pinch of kosher salt

Mix together yeast, sugar and water in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Let stand a few minutes until foamy.  Add the rest of the ingredients and using flat beater or dough hook, mix on low a minute or two.  I like to throw it on the counter with some flour and hand knead a few times to create a nice smooth ball.  Throw it into a greased bowl, cover and let rise an hour.  My kitchen in the summer takes 45 minutes...a cooler kitchen might take a little over an hour.  It will easily double in size.  

Roll out on a well-floured surface.  Top it with pizza sauce, cheeses, and your favorite toppings.  Bake on a pizza stone in a 425 oven for 10 minutes.  I have a few homemade pizza sauces I love, but my family votes for the bottled kind.  Contandina makes a decent one.  Or, Trader Joe's.