Pizza Pizzaz!

Hey all! So I've been getting into the cooking mode, after I bought Ree Drummond's Pioneer Woman Cookbook (I love her! And the recipes are scrumptious and easily doable, especially for poseurs amateurs in the cooking department like yours truly).

To date, I've tried 18 of the recipes in her book (I've also tried her recipes found in her blog but not included in her cookbook). This woman is my hero (next to my mom, my sister, and my mom-in-law) ;)

So. Pizza.

I've never made pizza--homemade pizza--in my life before PWC (Pioneer Woman Cooks, get it?). I have used to have a deathly fear of anything that says dough and use active dry yeast. I mean, when I hear yeast, I think infection. Ok, sorry, grossing you out.

*clears throat

Back to Pizza. This is simply a no-brain-cells-needed, use-whatever-topping, and kid-approved pizza ever. And it's all because of the crust.

PIZZA CRUST

1 tsp or 1/2 packet active dry yeast (do not be afraid of dry yeast, people!)
4 cups all-purpose flour (if you're a health nut, I'd assume using whole wheat flour is okay, but since I'm not a health nut and therefore have never substituted any other kind of flour in lieu of all-purpose, I can't say if it's any good. But hey, experiment people! You just might discover something wonderful)
1 tsp kosher salt
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

See? 4 ingredients. How easy is that?

1. Pour 1-1/2 cups warm water into a bowl. Sprinkle the yeast over the water.

How warm should the water be? Well, honestly, I don't really know. The first time I did this, I got extra cuckoo in the head, wishing I had a thermometer. I know, I know. Kooky, that's me. But with a shrug, and a what-the-heck, I turned the faucet to warmish hot, but not all the way hot, and settled for that. It worked great.

2. Combine the flour and salt in a mixing bowl.
3. With an electric mixer on low speed, drizzle in the olive oil.
4. Go back to your yeast mixture and gently stir it, then drizzle into the flour-oil mixture; mix until the dough forms into a ball. Pioneer Woman says you can also mix by hand until the dough comes together. I have carpal tunnel syndrome so I used the mixer.
5. Drizzle a little olive oil into a clean bowl and toss your ball of dough in it, turning it over to coat in oil. Don't go overboard with the oil, just a little drizzle will do nicely.
6. Cover the bowl with a moist kitchen towel and set in a warm place (not drafty) for 1 to 2 hours. (Or cover with plastic wrap and store in fridge for up to 2 days).

This is the fun part where you pretend its magic and the kids ooh and aah over the dough being three times bigger than it was before.

And that's it, my good people who-are-kind-enough-to-read-my blog, you've got PIZZA DOUGH.

To make the pizza, preheat your oven to 500 degrees F. Divide the dough in half. Grab a cookie sheet or rimmed baking sheet or a pizza pan (whatever you have hiding in your drawers...er, kitchen drawers). Lightly drizzle olive oil on the pan. Plop that dough in the middle and start stretching (not you, the dough!) using your fingers. Press, press, press.

I usually use a plain cookie sheet (one that can stand up to 500 degrees F) and just press and stretch that dough to fit the whole pan. So I end up with a rectangular pizza, but I'm not much for accurate geometry. You are most welcome to make a circle if that's what you please. Heck, if you really really really are in the mood for some kookiness, you can shape it any way you want (like oddly-shaped pancakes the kids ask for on Sunday mornings), as long as you get the dough nice and thin. Thin crust is great, baby!

And then. And then, the moment of truth. Toppings!

Go crazy. Whatever satisfies your palate, I grant you permission. For my version, because my dear hubby is unkooky like me, I used store bought Pizza sauce (Ragu), pepperoni, mozarella cheese (not the grated ones; I got me a fresh one and I grated it myself. Makes a world of difference!), and diced green olives. The kids are all about plain sauce and cheese, and maybe a little bit of pepperoni. (Seriously, I need to get my gene pool checked. No adventure-seeking eaters here. *pout*)

Bake the pizza for 8-10 minutes, until the edges turn into that yummy golden brown color.

Voila! You just made yourself a fresh, homemade pizza. Forget delivery, forget frozen freezer-burned versions. Grab some drinks. Line up your complete 1st, 2nd, and 3rd season Mad Men DVDs, and let the night roll away.

Someone obviously couldn't resist.