Recipe #6: Friday night pizza night

Pizza is a must in life and I officially declare it a superfood! Bringing back memories of college snow-days, we dined at Papa Keno's last week and I feasted upon the "Melvin", a tasty combination of pineapple, Canadian bacon, spinach, jalapeños, and blue cheese. Hello, delish! Homemade pizza is the ultimate clean-up crew, providing an excellent dumping ground for leftovers of all tastes and flavors. Pizza happily accepts all major food groups: dairy, fruits, vegetables, meats, and grains.

Our dinner on Friday night consisted of a simple fresh tomato salad (courtesy of Gran and Grandpa's garden) and pizza. We topped our pizza with a fantastic homemade sauce that my Mom concocted, loaded with tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and zucchini straight from the garden. Then we added some fresh herbs (basil, oregano), thinly sliced peppers, and olives. Mmmm, mmmm, good!

Fresh tomato salad:

Chopped tomatoes

Fresh basil

Kosher salt

Balsamic vinegar

Feta

Pizza Dough (the proportions look a bit odd - I've cut a double-recipe in half in order to make only one pizza crust)

1 1/8 tsp active dry yeast

1/2 cup + 1/6 cup warm water (for the 1/6 cup, I simply eyeball half of 1/3 on my measuring glass)

1 1/2 tsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 T. olive oil

1 cup white flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour (can adjust white to whole wheat ratio depending on preference)

• Dissolve yeast in warm water (let sit for a few minutes)
• Add sugar first, followed by kosher salt
• Add olive oil
• Mix in flour and knead until well combined
• Coat bowl with olive oil, seal tightly with plastic wrap, and allow to sit in warm place until doubles in size (I usually allow an hour for this; to speed up process, preheat oven to 150 degrees and then turn off before placing bowl w/ dough in oven)
• Once doubled in size, punch down; cover bowl with dish towel; allow to sit for 15 minutes
• Preheat oven to 475 degrees; grease pan and dust with corn meal
• Stretch dough on pan to desired thickness; brush with olive oil; press dents into dough with fingertips; allow to sit for 10 minutes
• Add toppings: sauce first, cheese next, toppings last
• Bake for 12 minutes