It would seem to me that fast food has somewhat started a general decline in flavour sensations. I remember being excited growing up when my family would have a rare fast food dinner.
These meals of McDonalds Happy Meals, KFC Chicken Dinners or even just ordering a pizza would be an adventure.
And now, if a particular craving just happens to hit me, the food doesn't even near in comparison. The burgers are greasy, the pizza leaves me queasy, and the chicken is gross (Rhyming is not easy!)
Im not saying that I wont get a panging and order those foods again, but the adventure of creating them yourself is fun all on its own! Burgers and Chicken are pretty run of the mill, but a homemade pizza is fairly rare, especially if making the dough for yourself!
And trust me lads, if you're looking for a good date idea, staying in with your lady and making pizza together is one of those original ideas that girls love. Lets just call it a nice side dish ;)
This recipe came to me from my amazing Italian Aunt, who i am so fortunate married into the family! There is nothing quite like homemade Italian food!
Now toppings are your own choice and based on your own preference. You can create yourself a meat lovers, a simple veggie or even a Tropical BBQ Chicken Shrimp with Dates, Figs and Olives if you so choose. Just remember that this all needs to cook inside of the oven (Or BBQ if its nice out!) so don't pile the toppings too high or the dough wont cook.
Homemade Pizza Dough
Fast Rising Yeast - 1 Tbsp
Warm Water - 1 Cup
Salt - Pinch
Sugar - Pinch
Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
Flour
Mix the first five ingredients until the yeast is dissolved. Make sure that you use warm water, as it will help the yeast to rise.
Then start stirring in flour until it forms a ball in the bowl. This dough should not stick to the inside of the bowl or the spoon once enough floor has been added.
Take some flour and spread it on a clean counter surface and start kneading the dough. You should knead it about 15-20 times, adding more flour if it remains sticky.
Scrape out the remaining bits of dough from the bowl, and toss away. Then take the bowl and place it over the dough on the counter. You will want to leave it to rise for about 40 mins.
I like waiting 40 mins because its a fairly large pizza, especially if you are cooking it for two.
So now lads and ladies, you have 40 mins to spare while the dough rises..... I told you it was a good date!
Once 40 mins have passed, I just spread the dough out on a pizza cooking sheet. I am in no way an expert on how to toss a pizza to create that perfect circle shape, so I just did the best I could!
I then added tomato sauce, mushrooms, pepperoni, pineapple, onions and some red and green peppers, all topped with some cheese for my own personal pizza!
I cooked it in the oven at 350, and checked every 10 minutes or so to see if it was cooked. Make sure you test the very center of the pizza to make sure the dough has cooked through before eating it. Nothing sucks like thinking your meal is finished, sitting down to eat and finding that parts of it are still cold.
This may be more time consuming than simply just ordering a pizza, but the fun, taste and uniqueness easily out way the time. Dig in and enjoy!
