Search for:

Take Out, Made In

Amoeba is a pizza lover.  Pepperoni pizza is his secret passion — well, maybe not so secret since he indulges in it publicly — and he needs a regular fix of red sauce, crisp crust,  spicy pepperoni and stringy, melt-y cheese.  But we’ve yet to find a pizza place in Friday Harbor.   Well, there is a restaurant that sells fancy little pie shaped things it calls pizza, but Amoeba was less than impressed.

So, how is Amoeba to get his regular pizza fix?  Will he have to learn to like the fancy little pizzas that are more about presentation than flavor?  Or will he take the two hour (round trip) ferry ride and pay the $40.00 round trip fare (includes car & driver, passengers cost $11.20 extra) to Anacortes and then drive 20 miles to the nearest Pizza Hut?  That seems a bit cost prohibitive, doesn’t it?

I suspect that delivery is also out of the question.  So, what is a good Quilldancer to do if she wishes to keep her Amoeba happy?  Well, this Quilldancer (the only one I can answer for) decided she should learn how to make pizza, including creating her own nice crisp, thin crusts.

Pizza

Okay, so the crust didn’t come out so thin. It’s my first try, give me a break! The whole thing got eaten. Plus, Amoeba pronounced my trail a delicious success. Not only that, it was surprisingly fast and easy to make! And, we figure this pizza cost less than $12.00 — definitely cost effective.  Plus, it only took about a half-hour to put together, and clean up was easy.

Pizza Dough Recipe

  • 1 envelope of dry yeast
  • 1/4 teaspoon of sugar
  • 3/4 cup of lukewarm water
  • 1 3/4 cups of unbleached plain flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt

Preparation

  • Combine the yeast, sugar and warm water. Stir and set aside for 5-6 minutes (at least until yeast “bubbles”).
  • Combine flour and salt.
  • Add the yeast mixture to the flour mixture. Mix with a spoon until you have a neat ball.
  • Prepare a lightly spinkled surface with flour. Turn out dough and knead for 2-3 minutes. Flour your hands if the mixture is sticky.
  • Shape by hand to fit your pizza pan. (I do this on lightly floured wax paper for an easy transfer.)
  • Place in 12” lighly oiled oven pan. Press out dough to form a slight lip.
  • Prepare and apply your sauce and toppings of choice.
  • Cook in a pre-heated oven (500F) for 8-12 minutes.

I topped our pizza with pepperoni, diced onion & bell pepper and 8 oz. mozzarella cheese.  I used Boboli Brand pre-packaged pizza sauce.   And I used a cookie sheet because we don’t own a pizza pan (yet).

26 Comments

  1. I grew up eating homemade pizza. My dad’s uncle owned a pizza place and my dad worked there for years. We’ll order out pizza more times than not-but I’ve yet to come across any take out that holds a candle to the homemade stuff.

  2. Looks good, Quilly. Tonight, I’m cooking a frozen Tombstone pizza supreme — the kind with lots of veggies and olives…and pepperoni, too. Other times, we like Pizza Hut best. I am such a lazy cook in general. How I manage to throw a dinner party is beyond me.

  3. We own a pizza pan — have to make pizzas from scratch because our son can’t have gluten. At first it felt like a real chore, but now it’s no problem, and it’s nice to have custom made, and fresh!

    1. Susan — would you like to share your crust recipe? I have a friend recently diagnosed who is really struggling to find acceptable alternatives to foods she loves.

    1. Bill we had pizza for lunch and pizza for afternoon snack, and then salad for dinner. Two meals wiped it out. And when people write about their meals they always make me hungry!

    1. Linda — I am glad God spared you that complication, too. I have a friend who was recently diagnosed and she is really struggling with her new parameters. Plus, her family sees no reason why they should have to eat the way she does and the husband insists she cook traditionally for the family all the time. So almost every mealtime she has to cook two different menus, one which is full of foods she loves but cannot eat.

  7. My mom used to make buns every Saturday, and from the same dough she made pizza. I love home made pizza, but have never made one yet. The place we order from is sooo much better than I could ever make! 🙂

  8. My son who is teaching himself to cook has made homemade pizza a couple of times, and it’s really good. I haven’t tried making i yet. Pepperoni is my favorite topping, especially when combined with sausage.

  10. You can tell him that whenever he decided to come back to the East Coast I will make him some lovely (if I do say so myself) homemade pizza, providing I get to use his Mum’s kitchen. But I dont see that being a problem since I am related to them. 😀

  13. You go pizza girl! Hubby isn’t crazy about any of our local pizza places but he loves the pizza from East 20 Pizza in Winthrop…makes me hungry just thinking about it!

Comments are closed.