If you have seen some of my previous posts you might remember Dinner #1: Spaghetti.  For many years I relentlessly cranked out the same dishes (with some subtle variations) week after week.  Getting kids to eat healthy food was a real trick. 

Pizza was always Dinner #5.  Friday, the last day of the work week, was a day when I knew I could really relax and spend some time in the kitchen. 

I still come home Friday evenings and think, “how about pizza?”  

This time, I made three pizzas. Hamburger with mushroom and onion, Pepperoni and Italian cold cuts with spinach, mushroom, and tomato.

A quick rundown of some of the ingredients and then straight to the pizza…

Ingredients

Capocollo and Calabrese.   These Italian cold cuts are perfect for pizza and many grocery stores sell them packaged together, in 6 to 12 ounce portions.  They are a little pricey by weight but I don’t spend more than $5.00 and they can make two large pizzas!

Pepperoni.  Oh, no!  I accidentally picked up turkey pepperoni at the store.  I don’t like turkey pepperoni but, I put a char on it and pretended I was eating the real deal.

Mozzarella.  I bought “fresh mozzarella” at the store on an impulse.  It’s a step up from the brick of mozzarella but I’m not so sure that it’s worth the cost.  Real, fresh mozzarella is a treasure.  I want to make my own! Freshly grated Parmesan is always a good thing!

If you want to see how I make pizza dough, check it out here. 

Portions are arbitrary when it comes to pizza.  Put whatever you want on your pizza and use as much as you want, but use some common sense.  My cautionary advice is, if you think you’re putting on too much cheese, you are.  If you think your pizza toppings are excessive, they are.  Simplicity is key to really good pizza.