Because of my high standards, I don't eat much pizza. I haven't attempted to make pizza at home in about four years because the last time I tried it, it was a goopy, soggy mess - no better than takeout. I took a long break after that. However, last week I got inspired to give it another go. My main inspiration was a new pre-made pizza crust I found while shopping: a THIN crust from Pillsbury!
So I did my best, said a pizza prayer, and it turned out AMAZING!!!! Brent liked the homemade pizza better than his usual Papa John's. It was high quality and as healthy as a pizza can be. To make it healthy, I used lowfat cheese, turkey sausage, and veggies. I am in love with Jennie-O turkey. I use it for everything from pasta to tacos.
While making my pizza, I discovered two tricks that I think will make your homemade pizza better. I know everyone likes their pizza a certain way, but this is how I like mine :-)
Trick #1: Make all toppings extra thin. I started with a thin layer of store-bought marinara sauce. Then I sprinkled a thin layer of cheese. You don't want goop. Next, I cut paper-thin slices of roma tomatoes and completely covered the pizza with the slices. They added a wonderful tomato taste, but they didn't make the pizza soggy because they were so thin. I also cut my mushrooms thin and put a single layer over the pizza. Finally, I topped the pizza with browned sausage and a final sprinkle of cheese to hold it all together. Here is what the pizza looked like before going in the oven.
Trick #2: Cook pizza until crispy. I do NOT like greasy or soggy pizza. So crispy is key for me. I started by pre-baking the crust for about 8 minutes (3 minutes more than the packaged called for). Then, I baked the entire pizza at 410 degrees for maybe 12 minutes - I made sure the mushrooms were cooked. Then, I put the broiler on HIGH for about 4 minutes. This made the cheese deliciously crispy and browned the sausage nicely. I think the broiling step is the final touch. Here's what the pizza looked like before we devoured it!
3 comments:
I make pizza all the time with the Pilsbury crust. I even used the same turkey sausage! I carmalized onions and peppers as well. It was great!
Katie-I just started reading your blog. I love love it:) Even told a friend at Stanford about your book list for summer. Great job. Hope to be you someday...and congrats on Columbia!
Hi Katie Bear -
I made this tonight for Pierre with a caprese salad and it turned out pretty well. Next time I want to get it crispier.
Thanks for being such a [domestic] diva!
Love,
NG
Post a Comment