Make your own pizza night

I love hanging out with old friends around Christmas. Luckily, 2 of my best friends were free at the same time that I was, and they were able to come over for dinner! I decided to do a make your own pizza night. I started with an appetizer of Wingless Buffalo Chicken Dip:

(Source: my mom’s friend from work. I will post the recipe soon!)

I cheated a bit, and bought a pre-made dough ball from Wegmans. There was just no way homemade dough was happening yesterday, and Wegmans dough balls have never done me wrong!

With my husband, there were 4 of us, so I split the dough ball into 4 sections, and everyone got to make their own pizzas! We all decided we felt like thicker, puffy dough, so we didn’t bake the crusts by themselves at all. We just topped and popped into the preheated oven onto preheated stoneware (450 degrees.) I included pizza sauce, shredded mozzarella and provolone, shaved asiago, grated parmesan, pepperoni from the deli counter, proscuitto, fresh arugula, and mushrooms (these I sauteed in a little butter and olive oil with some fresh thyme, coarse salt, and ground pepper for about 10 min. and let cool). I also had some hot red pepper flakes out on the counter, and some olives for snacking.

I also put out a mixed green salad with raspberry vinaigrette. Dessert was not photographed… I made some molten chocolate cakes that I overcooked (only I would overcook a cake that by nature is supposed to be undercooked in the center, haha.) They were tasty!, but not quite as intended. 🙂

Here are a few action shots of the pizza making…

My friend Lauren, concentrating:
 

Hubby Ben:

Me (Things to note: 1. There is, as always, flour all over my shirt. 2. My friend is on the phone. Apparently I was taking too long with my dough? ;), and 3. I really need a hair cut.
 

Finally, my friend Jen, who truly never cooks. Her pizza came out really great!! We’re proud of you Jen! 🙂

Jen’s awesome pizza:

Hamburger Grape-Tomato Pizza

I had to put a hyphen in Grape-Tomato because the first time I said this out loud it really sounded like Grapes and Tomatoes, not Grape Tomatoes. 🙂

It’s a recipe from Everyday Food May 2008, and also marks my first experimentation with a pizza dough ball. I bought it at Wegman’s from their pizza shop, and they sold me a frozen one so I could keep it longer. I was a bit afraid, having heard lots of horror stories… but I have to say, the dough rose just enough, cooked the whole way through, and tasted like pizza dough should taste. Yay!

Hamburger Grape-Tomato Pizza
2 teaspoons vegetable oil, such as safflower
All-purpose flour, for work surface
1 pound frozen pizza dough, thawed
3/4 cup store-bought marinara sauce (I used store bought pizza sauce)
1 cup grated provolone cheese (4 ounces) (4 oz. seemed like A LOT, so I didn’t use that much)
1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, halved (I used grape tomatoes)
1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced (optional)
1/4 pound ground beef chuck
Coarse salt and ground pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Rub a large rimless baking sheet (or a rimmed on, upside down) with oil. On a lightly floured work surface, use a rolling pin and your hands to roll and stretch dough into a 15×11 inch rectangle (if dough becomes to elastic to work with, let it rest a few minutes). Transfer to prepared sheet.

Spread sauce evenly over dough, leaving a 1-inch border all around. Top with provolone, tomatoes, and if desired, onion; scatter beef over top. Season with salt and pepper.

Bake until crust is golden, beef is cooked, and cheese is melted, about 20 min. Serve immediately. (We actually saved 1/2 of it for the next tday and reheated it in the oven. It was a bit dry the 2nd day, but just as yummy!)

Only problem: it WOULD NOT become a rectangle. HAHA! Anyone want to vote for what my pizza looks like? Maybe a state, or a country….? 😉

And one last picture, that I think looks kind of like a planet, or craters on the moon. (Yes, I know the thing that looks like the moon is my flash reflecting in the stove.) Perhaps I need a new hobby.