Pizza for Dinner

Since it has been almost a year since my last blog post, it may seem odd that I am posting about what I made for dinner. I have been organizing and cleaning out lately (or at least thinking about it). In an attempt to organize my recipes and become better at meal planning, I thought I would try using the blog. If you are not interested in reading about what we eat, no worries.  

It is mostly for me! 

This is my third time making White Pizzas with Arugula from Barefoot Contessa Back to the Basics: Fabulous Flavor from Simple Ingredients, by Ina Garten. Besides the white pizzas, I also made several red sauce pizzas.  

I used to be afraid of making pizza dough and would just buy it frozen, but it turns out that it is not very difficult to make or time consuming. I will have to get back to you as to whether or not it saves money to make it yourself.  The last time I made the dough I put one ball in the freezer to see if it would be good taken out and used at a different date. I wrapped the dough in clear plastic wrap and placed it inside of two zipper bags (just to be on the safe side), and I am happy to report that the frozen dough did not appear to be any different than the dough that I made today.  

I used Trader Joe's Pizza Sauce ($1.99). One jar is enough sauce for making pizzas twice. Next time I would like to try making my own pizza sauce and see how it compares in taste, price, and time (Easy Pizza Sauce). Leave a comment if you have a pizza sauce you like to make.

The pizzas are cooked at 500 degrees for 15 minutes (or until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown). Be careful when you are opening the oven because 500 degrees is very hot!

The red sauce pizzas were on the small side, so I cut them into thin strips. The options were cheese, pepperoni, and veggie (mushrooms, peppers, onions). I used all of the dough (what the recipe makes plus one more small ball), and it feed three adults and one child with leftovers.

Kid-friendly? Yes! Lydia ate several slices of the cheese and a small slice of the white pizza and the arugula. 

Ingredients: 

Pizza Dough

1 1/4 cups warm water

2 packages dry yeast

1 tablespoon honey

Good olive oil

4 cups all-purpose flour, extra for kneading

Garlic Oil

(for the white pizza - tastes and smells delicious)

Olive oil

4 garlic cloves, sliced

Thyme

Red pepper flakes

Toppings

Mozzarella cheese

Goat cheese

Ricotta cheese (not in the recipe and not my favorite; just use a little)

Italian Fontina cheese (what the recipe calls for)

Pepperoni

Mushrooms

Bell peppers

Onions

Arugula Salad

1/2 cup good olive oil

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

8 ounces baby arugula

I did not serve anything on the side tonight. Since the white pizza has an arugula salad on top, I counted that as the veggie. If I was going to serve something else with it, I might just do a fruit salad. I am also planning on serving the white pizza as an appetizer for the dinner I donated to the CFTS cake auction fundraiser. 

I am new to taking photos of food, and I know that it is an art. Bear with me as I learn to take good photos!