PIZZA NIGHT!

Every Friday night is pizza night in our household! Its one of my specialities. Making good pizza crust despite it’s limited ingredient list can be tricky.  I am partial to a good crunchy thin crust pizza, and it took me years to figure out how pizzerias were successful at getting that wood fired, crispy crust. I am known to throw a pizza on the Kamado grill, which by far is the best pizza in the world. The smokey notes are unbelievable.. and your able to recreate the extreme hot temperatures of wood fired grills at your favorite pizza restaurants. But for today, I am going to give you my semi homemade version…that could win any contest.

Crust Preparation

 

For those of you lucky enough to have Publix Supermarkets in your area, stop into the bakery and pick up one of the bags of refrigerated pizza dough. It is hands down the best crust, if your not going to prepare it yourself.  Use a generous amount of flour and roll pizza dough out to about a 1/4inch. In my neophyte years, I had been known to place crust in a greased pan, producing the soggiest, saddest crust. I have since learned to place the crust on an UNGREASED pan or pizza stone, but make sure you have enough flour on the bottom of  the dough from rolling it, so the crust won’t stick. Place in a HOT (500+) oven near the bottom rack. To ensure a crispy crust I have been known to parbake the crust for a few mins, when cooking a pizza with higher moisture content such as veggie pizza. Just make sure to poke sufficient holes in the crust with a fork so it will remain flat.  The oven temperature is key to experiencing a good pizzeria style pizza. If the oven is hot enough it will create a sufficient char that adds to the nostalgia of a wood fired pizza.

Sauce

Some of the best sauce I have made was from tomato paste. Using a standard Mason jar, add 1 can of tomato paste, 2-4 tablespoons of sugar(it can be very acidic), fresh basil, and 1/4cup red wine, minced garlic, salt, and water to the neck of the jar.  When in a time crunch this sauce made by Classico(pictured above) is a great substitution. Add 1 tablespoon of sugar, fresh basil and a splash of wine. Its Perfection.

Meats

Were a meat lovers family, so pepperoni and sausage are staple. But if choosing to forgo meats, portobello mushrooms are a great meaty alternative. I have had great success with quickly sautéing veggies in olive oil and a little salt to remove moisture, thus preventing soggy pizza crust.

Cheese

Good quality cheese is your best bet when making homemade pizza. Buy cheese in blocks not pre shredded, they taste so much better. Fresh mozzarella can be used, cut it in pads and place on pizza. I usually forgo fresh mozzarella and use a standard block mozzarella and combine it with a sprinkling of cheddar cheese. Trust me, the flavor is unbelievable.