Pizza Night

Friday night has always been pizza night in our house.  By Friday, I'm usually so tired of cooking dinner, and coming up with something to make, that we'd just hit our favorite pizza joint.  Eating out has definitely become one of our generations' past-times.  Growing up, eating out was a treat for our family.  Most nights my mom cooked.  Going to a restaurant was big deal, even something as casual as McDonald's was a momentous occasion.  Today, my kids are jaded.  They don't get excited at the prospect of getting ice cream, or going out for a bite to eat, because it's so commonplace for them. 

Until now...My husband and I are trying to budget our money better and have decided to limit eating out (or ordering in) to once a month.  We've issued this decree before, but we're serious this time (didn't we say that the last time?)  In the process of making more meals at home, I can also have more control over what my family eats.  I know what goes into everything I make.  I don't know what's going into that pizza made down the street.  And the horror of reading the Sunday paper's restaurant inspections and seeing a bad review of somewhere we've recently frequented - not going to happen when we're eating in!

We can still have pizza night, and we can even turn it into organic pizza night for less than a frozen pizza from your nearest grocer.  Homemade pizza is super easy to make, and great fun for the kids.  You can cut your dough into several small pizzas, giving everyone the chance to create his or her own dinner.  Put some toppings on the counter (like uncured pepperoni, peppers, onions, mushrooms (all organic of course)) and you have a pizza bar...

I've tried a ton of pizza dough recipes, and this one has become the one I use this recipe almost every Friday.  It's quick, simple and yummy!

Quick Beer Pizza Dough, from King Arthur Flour
2 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 1/2 cups semolina*
1 tablespoon Pizza Dough flavor, optional (I never use this)
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups room-temperature beer
*Substitute unbleached all-purpose flour if you don't have semolina (I never have semolina)

Directions
1/Mix and knead together all of the dough ingredients - by hand, mixer or bread machine - until you have a smooth, soft dough.  (I use the bread paddle on my Kitchen Aid mixer)
2/Cover the dough, and allow it rise for 30 minutes, or for up to 2 hours.
3/Preheat oven to 500 with the pizza stone (if you're using one) on a lower rack.
4/Divide the dough in half.  Shape each half into a 10" or 12" round.
5/Place the dough on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet.
6/Transfer dough, parchment and all, to the baking stone. Or place the pans in the oven.
7/Bake 3 to 4 minutes.  Remove from the oven, top as desired, and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, until the bottom crust is crisp and cheese is bubbly and browned.

Sauce
You can use a store-bought pizza sauce, or make your own organic sauce. 
1 can (14 oz) organic tomato sauce
1/2 can organic tomato paste
Oregano, basil, garlic, salt and pepper to taste
I simply mix this together in a small saucepan, bringing to a light simmer, allowing the flavors to blend.  This will make enough for two 10" pizzas. 

A little bit about King Arthur's Flour (my favorite line of baking products!)
They are America’s oldest flour company, founded in 1790. To put it into context, George Washington had just been elected to his first term in office.
King Arthur Flour became an employee-owned company in 1996, when Frank Sands instated the employee stock ownership program (ESOP). They are now 100% employee-owned, and have always been 100% committed to quality.
Their headquarters in Norwich, Vermont, is a 16,600-square-foot timber-frame structure called, appropriately, Camelot. Vermont Public Radio also calls Camelot home.