Recipe: Pizza Party Information & 4 Pizza Recipes for Barbara

PIZZA PARTY
Source: Cooking Light by Jeanne Lemlin

There's bound to be something to please everyone when pizza's on the menu.

From traditional parlor versions to upscale pies topped with chic ingredients and cooked in wood-fired ovens, pizza is one of America's favorite foods. I love all kinds of pizza, especially those homemade creations that exude an unmistakable freshness. In fact, I often turn to pizza when entertaining because I know it will please everyone. When I'm creative with toppings and use combinations that are at once exciting and substantial (as I've done in the recipes here), I can satisfy any guest, even one who's always considered pepperoni as essential to pizza as the crust.

I wasn't always at ease cooking pizza for a crowd. My relaxed attitude developed only after discovering some tricks. For me, the key to easy entertaining is advance preparation, and this is especially true when making pizza. I make the dough early in the day (or even a few days before), roll it out, and place the disks in the freezer). I prepare toppings--grated cheese, cooked vegetables, chopped herbs--in advance and keep them in separate containers. When it's time to cook the pizza, all that's left is the assembly. That's a snap.

TIPS FOR A CRISPY CRUST:
Cooking pizza on a pizza stone yields a crust with a dry, crisp finish. If you don't have such a stone, cook the pizza on your darkest baking sheet to produce a crisp crust.

Place your pizza stone in a cold oven and let it heat up as the oven temperature increases. Preheat the stone for about 20 minutes.

If you're using frozen pizza dough, thaw it on a pizza peel or baking sheet lightly dusted with cornmeal. Make sure it slides easily on the peel, adding more cornmeal if necessary. If the dough sticks at all, you'll have a tough time sliding it onto your pizza stone.

Once the stone is preheated, slide out the oven rack. Hold the peel at a 45-degree angle above the stone, then pull the peel toward you, letting the pizza slide off onto the hot stone.

Author's Note: Jeanne Lemlin won a James Beard Award for Quick Vegetarian Pleasures and is the author of four other cookbooks, the most recent of which is Vegetarian Classics .

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PEPPERONI PIZZA
Servings: 8

1 loaf frozen bread dough*
4 oz pepperoni, sliced thin
8 oz pizza sauce
1/2 medium bell pepper, chopped
16 oz mozzarella cheese
1/2 medium chopped onion

Grease 2 pizza pans and the loaf of frozen bread dough. Thaw bread, and cut in half.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place one piece of bread dough on each pan. By stretching, patting and pulling, spread dough over pans.

Spread on sauce and sprinkle on cheese and other ingredients.

Bake for 15 minutes or until cheese melts.

*Note: for thicker crust use 1 loaf of bread for each pizza.

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PIZZA HUT PIZZA CRUST
Servings: 6

4 cups flour, divided use
1 1/3 cups warm water
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp sugar
1 pkg dry yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 tsp oregano
1/3 tsp garlic salt

Mix 1 cup flour and remaining ingredients in food processor; beat 1 minute. Add flour gradually and process until dough leaves the side of the container.

Place in greased bowl, turn to grease top, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in refrigerator overnight.

Divide dough in thirds. Press with heel of hand onto greased pizza pan until crust fills pan. (Unless, of course, you are talented enough to toss it into the air.)

Bake in 350 degree F oven for 5 minutes. Cool and freeze.

WHEN READY TO MAKE PIZZA:
Remove from freezer and quickly cover with pizza sauce and toppings. Bake on oven rack without pan.

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PIZZA UNOS DEEP PAN CHICAGO STYLE PIZZA
Source: The Pizza Book: Everything There Is To Know About the World's Greatest Pie by Evelyne Slomon
Servings: 6

FOR THE CRUST:
1 cup warm tap water (110-115 degrees f)
1 pkg active dry yeast
3 1/2 cups flour, divided use
1/2 cup coarse ground cornmeal
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
FOR THE FILLING:
1 lb sausage, removed from the casing and crumbled
1 lb mozzarella cheese, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (28 oz) can whole tomatoes, drained and coarsely crushed
3 tsp dried oregano (or 5 fresh basil leaves, shredded
4 tbsp freshly grated parmesan

TO PREPARE THE CRUST:
Pour the warm water into a large mixing bowl and dissolve the yeast with a fork. Add 1 cup of flour, all of the cornmeal, salt, and, and vegetable oil. Mix well with a spoon. Continue stirring in the rest of the flour 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl.

Flour your hands and the work surface and knead the ball of dough until it is no longer sticky.

Let the dough rise in an oiled bowl, sealed with plastic wrap, for 45 to 60 minutes in a warm place, until it is doubled in bulk.

Punch dough down and knead it briefly. Press it into an oiled 15-inch deep dish pizza pan, until it comes 2 inches up the sides and is even on the bottom of the pan. Let the dough rise 15-20 minutes before filling.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

TO PREPARE THE FILLING:
While the dough is rising, prepare the filling ingredients. Cook the crumbled sausage until it is no longer pink, drain it of its excess fat; set aside.

TO ASSEMBLE AND BAKE:
When the dough has finished its second rising, lay the mozzarella cheese over the dough shell. Then distribute the sausage and garlic over the cheese. Top with the tomatoes. Sprinkle on the seasonings and parmesan cheese.

Bake for 15 minutes at 500 degrees.

Then lower the oven temperature to 400 degrees and bake for 25 to 35 minutes longer. Lift up a section of the crust from time to time with a spatula to check on its color. The crust will be golden brown when done. Serve immediately.

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TRADITIONAL PIZZA DOUGH 1
Source: Pizza Cookery by Ceil Dyer
Makes enough dough for one 12 to 14 inch round pizza, two 7 to 8- inch round pizzas or one oblong pizza, or one dozen appetizer-sized pizzas.

1/2 cup water (110 to 115 degrees), divided use
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 pkg active dry yeast
1 tbsp olive oil (room temperature)
1 1/2 cups plus additional unbleached flour
additional water

Pour the first 1/4 cup of water into a medium bowl and add the sugar and salt, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Sprinkle the yeast over the water mixture, stirring once to blend and let sit for 5 minutes until the top is bubbly and the yeast has bloomed.

Stir in the remaining 1/4 cup warm water and the oil.

Place the flour in a large bowl and add the water and oil mixture to it. Stir, adding enough flour to make a soft dough that will pull away from the sides of the bowl. If it is too dry, add a little water a tbsp at a time.

Turn the dough out on a well-floured work surface, sprinkle the top with a little additional flour. Knead until it becomes very springy, elastic and very smooth. It should be light in weight, if it is heavy, you have use too much flour and it will not raise properly. Form into a smooth ball and let rest on the work surface while you wash and clean the large bowl.

Spray the dough ball with a non-stick spray. Put the ball of dough into the large bowl and turn it over to get some of the spray on the top. Cover with plastic wrap or a warm, damp, clean dishtowel. Let the dough rise in a warm, draft free place until double in volume, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. If the dough rises before you are ready, punch it down in the bowl by kneading making sure all of the air is gone. Turn it over and reshape it into a ball and let rise again. If the top is dry, use a little olive oil to grease it. You can punch the dough down and cover the bowl and keep the dough refrigerated for up to two days before letting it rise at room temperature.

WHEN READY TO BAKE:

FOR A THIN, CRISP PIZZA CRUST:
Punch the dough down and turn out and spread over a pizza pan or baking sheet or a bakers peel. Cover with filling and topping, baking at once.

FOR THICKER, SOFTER PIZZA CRUST:
Punch the dough down and turn out shaping as above and then cover lightly with a clean dishtowel. Let rise about 30 minutes before covering with filling and topping.