Rosie Makes A Pizza.

I'm cooking for myself today.

 I've been jonesin' for pizza  

for a while now,

and finally broke down today and made one.

Pizza is not in Mr. Hawthorne's diet.

If he's going off his diet,

which he occasionally does now,

he's going off for fried oysters,

not for pizza. 

But for Rosie today,

it's pizza!

And golly gee, 

I've missed pizza pie.

 I'm making a baby pizza today.

This would feed two perfectly,

but since Mr. Hawthorne is not partaking,

 I can doctor it up later when I have it as

Pizza Moreovers.

Ingredients for pizza dough:

1 package yeast

1/2 cup warm water

1 tsp sugar

1 cup + bread flour

1 TB oil

salt and pepper

fresh parsley and oregano

 I poured the yeast into the warm water.

 And gave it a little something to eat.

Sugar.

Leave it alone for the yeast to proof.

 While the yeast was proofing,

I started on my sauce.

 Sauce ingredients:

1  8-oz. can tomato sauce

some onion

some pepper

some fresh parsley and oregano

 Chop the onion, pepper, parsley, and oregano.

 I sauteed the onion and pepper in a little butter for a minute.

 Add in the tomato sauce.

 Rinse out the can with water.

Get every bit.

  Add in the herbs.

 Give the sauce about this much of fennel seeds.

 

Fennel in.

 Bare simmer, stirring occasionally,

for 30-45 minutes,

scraping down sides.

 My yeast has proofed.

Add in 1 cup of flour.

 

 Toss in the herbs

and add freshly ground salt and pepper.

 Lightly flour a board.

Action shot!

 

Turn the shaggy dough onto the floured board.

 Squish dough out, make a well,

and give it about a tablespoon of olive oil.

 And work it,

kneading,

for a few minutes. 

 You want a nice, fairly smooth ball o' dough.

 Oil a bowl,

roll the dough in the oil,

cover with plastic wrap,

and let rise.

 I'm using pepperonis on one half of my pizza.

Here's Rosie's Pepperoni Tip:

Slice the pepperoni, place on paper towels,

and nuke for about 25 seconds.

Depends on the power of your microwave.

Look at the towels.

Nuking gets a lot of the oil out

that otherwise would be pooling on your pizza.

 Cornmeal on my work area.

 I just punched the dough down.

I'm hungry and in a hurry to eat.

This was less than an hour rise.

 Form the pizza dough.

 I let the dough alone to rise a bit.

I have oregano and parsley on the right.

The nuked pepperoni in the back,

and behind the pepperoni, hiding,

are slices of Thanksgiving ham.

To the left of the pepperoni,

I have pineapple slices,

and cheeses off to the left.

 

 Here's my dough, risen a little.

 I transferred the dough to my pizza paddle

and slid it into a 450 degree oven

onto my pizza stone.

 10-12 minutes,

until crust is lightly browned.

 Please watch your dough.

At this high a temperature,

things can go askew quickly.

It's like when you're toasting nuts.

If you can smell them,

then they're already burned

 I gave my toasted pizza dough 

a glop of the tomato sauce.

 I like a thin crust

and a thin sauce.

 On the top side,

I have nuked and de-greased pepperoni slices

with chopped red onion.

The bottom is Thanksgiving ham strips,

chopped pineapple, sliced red cherries,

diced peppers, and chopped red onion.

 Here's the "Hawaiian" part.

 And here's the more traditional, pepperoni part.

 Cheddar cheese over the pineapple and ham part.

 Mozzarella over the pepperoni side.

  Fresh parsley and oregano strewn over top.

 This went back into a 450 degree oven

onto the pizza stone

for about 12 minutes.

 You want the cheese bubbly and nicely tanned.

  

 I love the cornbread enhancement on the crust.

This looks beautiful.

 Pepperoni and mozzarella side.

 Cherry, pineapple, and ham.

Oh my!

My itch for pizza has been scratched.

For now.