Friday, December 30, 2011

Friday Night


Friday night pizza, is there anything better?? Pizza, popcorn and scary movies. Friday night camp out in the living room. As far as the dogs are concerned, it's nothing short of Shangrila!

I learned to make pizza early in the married years from my mother-in-law. Through the years, tweaked recipes and pure trial and error I have a combination that wins every time. I like having flavor in the dough, eat the center, dip the crust!

My recipe for pizza and movie night!

Pizza Dough
2 pkg dry yeast (just shy of 2 tbl if you use bulk yeast)
2/3 c warm water
2 tea sugar2
c cold water
3 tbl corn oil (or oil of your choice if you like)
2 tbl sugar
1/2 tea BOTH garlic and onion salt
2 tbl dry oregano (more or less to taste) OR italian seasoning, my preference is the Tuscan Style Costco sells.
6 1/2-7 c flour
Toppings of your choice, and lots of cheese! Generally I use 1.5 lbs shredded Mozz cheese per full size cookie sheet pizza.

Method:
*note* I use the kitchen aid and get to skip the bowl and spoon. :)
Sprinkle yeasst over warm water and stir in the sugar.
Let stand about 5 minutes or until very bubbly.
Combine the remaining ingredients with about half the flour, beating to a smooth batterbeat in the yeast mixture and then with a sturdy spoon, work remaining flour.
Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until it feels elastic, stretchy.
Not too stiff, not stick and gooey, it will be a bit tacky to the touch.
Place in a large plastic food bag or oiled bowl and let rise until doubled, cover so the dough doesn' t dry out.
When doubled, punch down and shape it to fit two 15" round pizza pans that have been oiled and dusted with cornmeal (I just use cookie sheets)
Add the sauce and toppings
Bake at 450 for about 20-25 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

You can freeze the dough if you like, just freeze before the rising process.

Pizza Sauce
1 (8oz) can tomato sauce,( usually I take a can of diced tomatoes, drain and puree in the blender with the herbs)
1 tbl Italian seasoning
Mix together and let chill in fridge for about 3 hours or more. If you want to short cut the spices, I've used Costco's Tuscan Style Italian Seasoning most of the time and it turns out great.
"Please??!!"
Following removal from the oven, allow the cheese to set just a bit to make the cutting easier, start the movie night!
Depending on the genre for the night, this may also include a blanket large enough for everyone to duck under...only to peek out again.
Big floor pillows, blanket piles, sleeping bags are a must! Don't worry, the canines will always manage to find a place to squeeze into and drift off into a blissful slumber....