First of all, I’m still neutral on the whole Kitchenaid stand mixer issue, at least as far as pizza is concerned. I’ve learned to really enjoy kneading by hand. However, I do avoid making more than a single recipe (three 12-inch pizzas) if I’m cooking alone; we do make a double batch if Ben and I can both do one at the same time. Since I’ve learned how easy and delicious (and cheap!) homemade pizza is, well... we’re eating a lot more pizza! A stand mixer would probably encourage me to make multiple batches at the same time, which would be nice. But, that said, making crust by hand certainly hasn’t slowed down our consumption. We probably make this now once a week. Extra crust freezes wonderfully —we just thaw it on the counter the morning we want to make pizza and the results are great!
I’m still loving homemade sauce, using Hunt’s Organic crushed tomatoes and extra virgin olive oil. As a saucy pizza lover, I’ve had to learn not to over-sauce my crust, which I think is what led to the so-so results when my mom was here.
The biggest discovery, which was, frankly, kind of disappointing from a “foodie” perspective, is that while margherita-style pizza with fresh mozzarella is wonderful, we all prefer our pizza topped with regular-old, Kroger-brand, pre-shredded part-skim mozzarella. I used it the first time simply out of frugality, because I was making three pizzas, and fresh mozzarella is $8/lb. at the local cheese importers, and I seem to have some innate cheese spending limit. However, we all ultimately admitted that the part-skim shredded stuff was more satisfying and provided better all-over coverage without being too cheesy. We’ll definitely still make margherita-style pizza from time to time, particularly when we have basil in our garden this summer, but for day-to-day, the cheap generic stuff it is!
In terms of toppings, we’ve tried: canned mushrooms (a throwback to my old K.C. favorite, Original Pizza!), Kalamata olives (a favorite), fresh basil (always excellent), Volpi sausage (good but pricey), Hormel “natural,” nitrite-free pepperoni (fine) and fresh spinach (disappointing, because you expect it to taste like basil!). I try to always serve our pizza with a veggie-filled salad, so the meal’s more well-rounded.
In terms of gear, I’m starting to despise my 12-inch round pizza stone. It’s fairly impossible to get my amoeba-like 12-inch pizza centered on the stone without some of it dribbling over the edge. Next time I go shopping (which is never), I’m getting myself a larger, rectangular pizza stone. They’re about $40 and will be well worth it!
All in all, I will say that this one recipe has changed the way we eat more than any others during the past few years. No more Friday night happy hours at Proto’s, no more ordering in Nicolo’s delivery, and certainly no more $7 Amy’s frozen pizzas.
Oh, and one last thing. I STILL don’t have a real rolling pin. I used to have one of those French rolling pins (with no handles), but it gradually warped over time and no longer makes meaningful and consistent contact with whatever I’m trying to roll. So (this is so sad), every time we make pizza, which as I mentioned is weekly, I have to dig out Sophia’s kid cooking set rolling pin, which she uses to play with Playdoh, scrub it down and let it air dry. Seriously, how hard would it be to just bop over to Target and buy myself a simple, grown-up rolling pin with handles? But no, I’m still using the four-inch kiddie rolling pin, which makes rolling the dough... challenging. If there is a culinary gear god out there somewhere, please remind me to get myself a rolling pin next time I’m at Target. The current state of affairs is just plain pathetic!
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