AIB Cooking Book - Klaus Meyer homepage

Homemade Pizza Party
(from USA)
By Mary Ann von Glinow
Abstract
This is a healthy dish, not one rolling in oil, as is so often the case with delivery pizzas. And, its fun to
do, and what's more you can have a friendly Pizza Competition among friends if you have at least 2
ovens (or if not, time to wait while the next batch are cooking). A word of warning‐‐the competition
can get nasty, where some "friends" try to win the pie tasting by either raiding your refrigerator for
ingredients (they were supposed to bring their own unique ingredients), or turning up the heat when
no one is watching, so that your pie crusts burns. What ends up at the finish, however, is a friendly
pizza tasting competition, with your friends voting on the best pizza of the evening!
Theory
The theory isn't complicated, but it does depend on context. I like to use what I like, but everyone
can put their unique taste buds to the test here. I had some Cajun friends who loaded up with spicy
sausages, some Jamaican friends that loaded it with jerk sauce, and some California friends who
loaded it with sprouts and fresh pineapple.
International Context
I think pizza hails from Italy initially, but everyone knows that American pizza has taken on vastly
new proportions i.e., all white, no red sauce, green, etc.
Methodology
I tell friends that I will provide the basic ingredients, and
that they need to bring whatever they want to make
their pizza unique and prize‐worthy. I provide pie crusts
(Boboli makes a nice thin‐crust pie), pizza sauce, (again,
Boboli has individual sauces sufficient for one pizza),
fresh mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, fresh garlic, red
bell peppers and shredded mozzarella cheese. I also
have the regulars: sea salt, pepper, crushed red pepper,
and parmesan cheese topping. Each pizza can serve 2
people if you cut it in half (once it is cooked), or if you're
a single person, you'll have great leftovers, that may be
even better the next day.
I assemble all the basic ingredients, and as the people
come in, I get a chance to see what they bring, to spice
their pie up. Some go for a lot of meat. I don't, and thus
what you'll see below are my "special ingredients" that
do not include meat, but I'll discuss more variations
including meat in the discussion section.
Here is what I put on my pizza: start with the thin crust, smooth the tomato sauce over that. Put the
"heavy" ingredients down first, with the lighter ones higher up. I dice or slice onions to cover the pie
liberally. I generally put red bell peppers (slivered, not diced) on next, followed by an ear of fresh
corn (cut right off the cob). I then put jalapeno peppers (very small pieces, almost minced) and lots
of fresh garlic (sliced thinly or minced). I then put chunks of marinated artichoke hearts (these come
63
Ingredients: Host’s Starter Pack
Pizza pie crust,
Pizza sauce
Fresh mushrooms,
Onions,
Tomatoes,
Fresh garlic,
Red bell peppers,
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Sea salt,
Pepper,
Crushed red pepper, and
Parmesan cheese topping
Guest’s Contributions
As they come…