Pizza, Pizza!

Pizza is so readily available and affordable, why make it at home? It's a great way to put a quick, cheap meal on the table, and use up items from your fridge and pantry. The key is having a good crust, and you can experiment from there. Then next time you go out for pizza, use their menu to give you ideas of good flavor combinations to use at home.

Instructions - The Dough
After trying many different pizza dough recipes, I found that the simplest one was the best. Of course, it comes from Giada! The biggest hassle with making your own pizza is having to wait for the dough to rise. You can buy pizza dough yeast that is quick rising. OR, make your dough the night before and refrigerate it in plastic wrap so all you have to do is pull it out of the fridge.

Giada De Laurentiis' Pizza Dough Recipe

Instead of kneading the dough by hand, if you have a stand mixer with a dough hook, let it do all the work! Giada separates her dough into three portions. I've been dividing it into two and making two big pizzas or one pizza and one batch of bread sticks.

Once you have your risen dough, you need to shape it. I've been practicing my dough tossing techniques, thanks to Tony Gemignani's instructions on YouTube. You can also use a rolling pin to form your dough into the desired shape and thickness. Before you put it on your baking sheet, spray the sheet with non-stick spray or toss a light layer of cornmeal on it to allow the pizza to easily slide off.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees while you work on your toppings.

Topping Options
Everyone knows it's sauce, cheese and toppings. From there, possibilities abound! Here's some of my favorite combos:

Old Smokey - Roasted tomato sauce, cooked crumbled sausage, chopped red and green pepper and onion, half shredded mozzarella cheese, half shredded smoked gouda.

White Goat - Olive oil and minced garlic base, caramelized onions (sliced yellow onions slowly sauteed over medium heat in butter), sliced mushrooms, half shredded mozzarella, half shredded hard goat cheese (I like one called rosy goat, which is encrusted in rosemary).

Tomato Pesto - Pesto base, half shredded mozzarella, half shredded parmesan, topped with fresh tomato slices (patted with paper towels to remove excess moisture). After removing pizza from the oven and letting cool for a few minutes, top with fresh basil leaves. Basil will turn black if it is cooked or put on top of an oven-hot pizza.

Offer fresh shredded or grated parmesan, dried oregano and crushed red pepper for serving.

Bread sticks - Shape dough to desired shape and thickness. Place on a greased or cornmeal-lined baking sheet. Combine 2 T. melted butter and 2 T. olive oil. Mix in desired seasonings, such as dried Italian seasoning, crushed garlic, etc. Brush oil mixture on top of of dough. Top with parmesan cheese if desired. Once removed from the oven, cut your dough into the desired shape.

Bake pizzas or bread sticks approximately 15 minutes. Cooking time will depend on your individual oven and the amount and type of toppings you choose. Keep an eye on them the first time. You want your crust to firm and browning, but you don't want your cheese to burn!