President's Day Pizza Pie

Pear-Blue Cheese-Pecan Pizza

Pepper Jack Pepperoni Pizza

Because I was lucky enough to enjoy President's Day off, I had more time to cook something fancy for dinner.  I started this pizza project on Sunday night, so I could make a really tasty pizza crust for Monday. Also, because I forgot to buy the pizza dough from Trader Joe's on Sunday and had all other ingredients. Whoops!


I actually started searching for pizza dough recipes on Saturday evening with the intent of making pizza on that night. But the recipes seem sooo complicated and the quick and dirty versions didn't look like they would make good crust! What's a girl to do?! Searching under "best ever pizza dough recipe" via google, choose a semi difficult (READ: MOSTLY JUST A LOT OF WAITING FOR THE DOUGH TO RISE) recipe. Making the dough was actually a piece of cake. Especially with my new kitchen aid mixer, all I did was watch the mixer knead the dough for 5 minutes. Easiest thing ever. Afterwards I simply tossed the dough in the fridge for 1 day prior to baking. See, that's a lot of time for me. And a lot of planning ahead. But it worked out just great and I was able to make his & hers pizza for Jason and me for Monday's dinner.

Click here for the pizza dough recipe I used from Food & Wine's website.

Don't judge the awkward shape of the pizza! (I haven't mastered tossing the rolled dough onto the baking stone yet)

My pizza was a take on California Pizza Kitchen's Pear & Gorgonzola pizza.  I used sliced pear, stinky blue cheese crumbles, pecans and a bit of mozzarella for toppings. Once it was done baking, I tossed some mixed greens with balsamic vinaigrette and topped on my pizza. The verdict: delicious! (And way cheaper than CPK!)

Also, don't judge the baking stone! (Apparently you're not suppose to wash it with dish soap)

Jason prefers a traditional pizza of cheese, more cheese , pepperoni, tomato sauce, and more pepperoni. So I sauced up his pie with marinara sauce, jack cheese, pepperonis and lots of mozzarella. The verdict: delicious! (And greasy, but still not as greasy as your regular take out pizza!)

And what about the dough you may ask? Is it worth the wait? The answer is yes. It's the best pizza dough I've made. It's light and crispy and best eaten as a thin pizza crust.

The moral of this pizza tale? Planning out your weekly dinners takes only a little bit of effort, but that extra planning will still result a pretty quickly made delicious dinner! Prep time for pizza making the day of baking: 15 minutes. (Roll out the dough, pre heat that oven, slice the pears and gather the misc. ingredients). Cooking time 7-10 minutes each pizza if making individual pizzas or about 10-15 if making one bigger pie.

So the next time you want to order a pizza or buy a DiGiorno, just make pizza dough.  The toppings are half the fun and you'll have a healthier pizza if you choose since you're in charge of what and how much goes on top. Happy pizza making!