pizza

It only makes sense to start with pizza. My love for pizza is unparalleled. I take my pie very seriously and have been known to polish off upward of six slices in one sitting, should the mood strike. I recently started making my sauce from scratch which is a) shockingly easy, and b) delicious! It's always a treat to indulge in some expensive mozzarella once in a while, which we did here. I used whatever veggies we had left in the fridge which included: onions (always), peppers, zuchinni and mushrooms. I also remembered to throw on some fresh basil from my herb garden but was disappointed that we couldn't really taste it.

Pizza Sauce

1 can of tomatoes *
1 garlic clove, minced
good shake of dried basil, oregano, parsley
1 heaping spoonful of brown sugar
good glug of olive oil
salt & pepper
sprinkle of hot chili flakes
a bit of water if it seems too thick and depending on how you like your sauce

Put all ingredients in a saucepan on medium heat. Stir well. Bring to a boil and let cook for a few minutes. Reduce heat and let simmer until you are ready to use it. If you are organized, you can make the sauce the day before, or the morning of and the flavours are great. I usually forget and have it simmering while I roll out my dough. Still tasty.

*diced, whole, your choice depending on what kind of sauce you want. sometimes I use whole and roughly chop them, sometimes diced


Pizza Dough
makes 2 doughs | preheat oven to 450F


3 cups of flour
2 pkgs of instant yeast
2 t salt
1 t white sugar
olive oil
2 cups water

My pizza dough is always temperamental. I have used this recipe for over 10 years, and still find great variation in how my dough turns out. The good news is that it's always delicious, just unpredictable.

Measure flour into a large bowl. Turn the tap on to hot to get your water nice and ready. Add yeast to the bowl and mix it a few times with a wooden spoon to disperse the yeast. Add salt and sugar. Measure out 2 cups of hot water and pour it in. Mix things around a bit and add a good glug of olive oil. I usually use my hands to mix it up as it becomes a clumpy mess on my wooden spoon. We now live in a building with granite countertops and they are a dream for mixing and rolling out pizza dough. Once you get it manageable in the bowl, pour it onto the countertop and mix it and pound it until you have a really nice ball of dough. This is the tricky part. You may need to make adjustments as you go, adding a bit of flour if too sticky, or a bit of water if too dry. Knead the crap out of it, you can't overknead pizza dough.
Once well kneaded, put the dough ball back into the bowl and cover the bowl with a dishtowel. Let sit for at least 1 hour, the longer the better.

Divide your dough and put one on a floured countertop. I use a marble rolling pin to roll it out. Because of the weight of the rolling pin, it only takes a few good rolls to get it nice and flat and fitting onto the pan.

I've recently started using a pizza stone to bake pizza and would highly recommend getting one!

Put your dough on your cooking surface (using olive oil to lightly coat a pan or cornmeal to cover a hot pizza stone), add your sauce, grate your cheese, and throw on your toppings! I usually sprinkle olive oil and salt & pepper over the finished pie before it goes in the oven.

Bake at 450 for 20ish minutes.