Easy, Cheesy Party Pizza

Just because pizza is party food doesn't mean it has to be saturated in grease and come from a cardboard box. Making pizza for parties is a tradition my mom started when I was in middle school, and it's become a staple for birthday parties, holiday parties and just-because parties.

It's always amazing how making food from scratch changes the chemistry of gatherings. Rather than everyone rushing to the pizza box, eating standing up then throwing their plates away and moving on to the next activity, the focus of the night shifts to the communal activities of making food, nourishing our bodies together and enjoying one another's company.

Pizza in particular is an amazing catalyst for community-style parties, because it's a longer process (you can only bake one pizza at a time!) and because everyone gets to take part by choosing toppings, watching and even engaging in the process. My kitchen-friendly friends often enlist to chop fresh vegetables, mix sauce and even assemble the pizzas. Overall, pizza-making parties can become reminiscent of gatherings which used to be traditional in Midwestern homes decades ago - like the kind my grandmother used to hostess.

Enough about food-making and community. Here's the recipe. (Makes 3 large pizzas or 4 thin crust)

Pizza dough:

1/2 cup warm water

2 tsp honey/brown sugar

4 tsp (2 packages) baker's yeast

Activating the yeast. This is the trickiest part - follow these directions exactly, and you'll be fine. The water needs to be barely cool enough for you to hold your hand in it; if it hurts your hand, it will hurt the yeast. *Note: if you're using a metal or glass measuring cup, fill it with hot water to warm it first, otherwise it will lower the water's temperature.

Quickly dissolve the honey/sugar in the warm water, then dissolve the yeast in the sugar water. Mix out all the lumps with a wooden spoon, then set the mixture aside for 5 minutes, or until about 3 inches of foam have formed.

While waiting for the yeast to activate, mix:

4 cups flour (I like to use 1/2 whole wheat flour)

3 tbsp. olive oil

1 cup warm water

3 tsp salt

Once yeast is activated, add the yeast mixture to the flour mixture and knead (if you're using a mixer, use a dough hook for this part. If you're kneading by hand, use a very lightly floured surface) until satiny and smooth.

Grease the bottom of a large bowl and place the dough in it, then place the dough in a warm place where it will not be bumped. A warmed oven is ideal, but DON'T forget you've put it there (that's the story of how I ruined my mom's favorite tupperware bowl).

Let the dough raise for 1 hour, or until tripled in size. Punch the dough down and knead the air out of it, then split it into sections (3 for regular large and 4 for medium thin crusts) and start rolling.

Tips on rolling pizza dough: squish each ball into a flat circle and knead flatter with your hands. Roll with a wooden or marble rolling pin on a lightly floured surface, turning over ever 3-5 rolls. The dough is very elastic, so it will take some muscle to get the dough the size you want. I like to toss mine intermittently to aerate the crust and make the rolling process go faster.

When the dough is a circle 1 inch bigger than your pizza pan, sprinkle your pan with corn meal and shift the dough onto the pan. With your finger, dampen the outside edge with water, then fold 3/4 inch in and press down with your fingers - like a pie crust. Now you're ready for sauce.

Fresh tomato, red peppers, poblano peppers, bella mushrooms, basil leaves and parmesean make this a high-powered Margarita pizza.

See? It's not hard.

Sauce:

1 14oz can tomato sauce

1 6oz can tomato paste

2 tblsp. parsley flakes

2 tblsp. oregano

3 tsp. salt

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 - 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese (fresh is best!)

Mix these all together and spread thinly on rolled pizza dough, being sure to reserve enough for the remaining pizzas.

You can substitute this tomato-based sauce with pesto and olive oil for a delicious, mediterranean twist.

Toppings: Everyone likes different toppings, but here are a few of my favorites:

sliced tomatoes

spinach leaves

artichoke hearts

black olives

basil leaves

broccoli

fresh cooked sausage

fresh fried & crumbled bacon

sliced baby bella mushrooms

sliced green peppers

red peppers

poblano peppers

canned banana peppers

Beware of piling ingredients too high, or the crust will be doughy in the center. Try to limit yourself to 3-5 of your favorite ingredients, and resist the urge to go crazy with the mozzarella. Also, water-laden vegetables like spinach and tomatoes tend to create a soggy top if too many are used.

Some toppings are fun to hide beneath the mozzarella cheese, like tomatoes and basil leaves. I like to grate fresh parmesan cheese over all the toppings to help them stick.

For meat-lovers, fresh fried sausage, red peppers, poblano peppers and parmesan.

Bake at 400 F, or until the edges of the cheese begin to brown. Let sit for 5 min before serving.

*Note: if you're using a pizza stone (which are awesome), be sure to pre-heat the stone to avoid doughy crusts. Always make sure baking surfaces are adequately dusted with cornmeal. A properly cooked pizza can be removed from a hot stone with a peel or flat-edged cookie sheet.

What do you think, friends?

Thanks, guys.