3 Reasons for Making Pizza at Home

Friday night is pizza night in our house. Homemade pizza. Yes, we make pizza together and then settle in for a movie on the couch. It's a tradition that started with my husband's family, and he's been doing it for more than 30 years - not a bad tradition to marry into since I've always been a fan of pizza.

But the idea of making pizza is slightly intimidating for those of us who are used to pizza arriving in 20 minutes or less, usually on a night when there aren't 3 hours available to prepare a meal (yes, that's how long it takes from start to finish). You may be asking why anyone would venture to make pizza when it's so easy and convenient to have someone else do all the work... well I have my reasons why, as it turns out, pizza night is worth the time and effort.

1. Stress reduction - after a long week of work, it's great to take out your agressions on a ball of dough. Sometimes we cheat with a pre-baked crust like Boboli, but the best pizza dough is made by our Breadman Pro bread maker (which is sorta cheating, too, but...). It's very forgiving when you take a rolling pin to it, punch it and pound on it until it's flat. Drinking a glass of Malbec while doing so also helps to reduce stress.


2. No need to compromise - ordering pizza should be easier but there's always discussion about what to get ("no anchovies, please...," thick or thin, meat lovers, cheese lovers or veggie lovers?) and compromising can be a challenge. In making homemade pizza, anything goes. Everyone has equal opportunity to "decorate" their own (or half of their own) pizza with whatever they so choose. Last night, in fact, I topped my thin-crust pizza with handfuls of cheese, leftover ham, fresh pineapple and sliced red pepper, cooked until golden brown, while my husband opted for olives, mushrooms, peppers and ham. YUM!


3. It's just more fun - we actually have fun making pizza. It's fairly low stress which means you can't screw it up, even if you're not much of a cook. This is also nice because I've often left out key ingredients (e.g. baking powder when baking cakes) or added the wrong ingredient (e.g. salt when it calls for sugar) because I was busy talking to guests or family while cooking. Pizza night is a good opportunity for families and friends to hang out together, get creative in the kitchen, drink a glass of wine and enjoy the delicious fruits of their labor.

Buon Appetito!