No Delivery???

No problem!

We live pretty much out in the country.  Okay, truth be told my favorite grocery store is only four miles away (or a "good stretch of the legs") and there's another one that's only 1 1/2 miles away so it's not like we're in outer Mongolia or anything (though the kids did refer to it as "Wyoming" when we first moved here...and not in a good way either!)

But we are (or at least were until recently) in the middle of a "Bermuda Triangle" when it came to pizza delivery.  We were just far enough away from at least three different communities to put us out of reach as far as getting a pie delivered.  (I suppose that was actually a good thing - being able to phone in an order for dinner delivery is not something one should really get used to.)

And it's not like I can't make my own.  I've taken a class and I've got a KILLER dough recipe - it's simple, it can make A LOT and it's from Wolfgang Puck so you know it's good.  All prerequisites for our large group "bring a topping, make your own but share with everyone" pizza parties!  They are definitely a lot of fun and while I don't mind the work for those party occasions, it's a bit of overkill for just the two of us and I find that two risings are not conducive to last minute planning.

Unfortunately, that does not diminish my love for the pie.

Recently I came across two fabulous notions that will allow me to get a pizza in the oven and whip up a salad to accompany it in less time that you-know-who's-30-minutes-or-less-promise:

• Dough.  Commercially prepared pizza dough.  Did you know you can buy this already made up?  I mean, I know I had heard you can often buy it right from your favorite pizza place but I'd just never seen it before.  I've used those Boboli ones and even the one in the tube from the tubby doughboy.  They are okay...but not really the same thing (and considering their shelf life are you really surprised?)  My amazing "here she goes again about Full Circle Farm" produce company now carries organic prepared pizza dough from The Essential Baking Company.  All of their Artisan at Home products are incredible and many of them area available from Full Circle Farm (some can even be found at Seattle areas Costco as well).  For ~$4, I can order their Artisan at Home Pizza Dough which is exactly enough to make...

• Skillet Pizza (original recipe Sausage and Spinach Skillet Pizza from Midwest Living).

I printed the recipe originally because I actually had everything in my house...without making a special trip to the store and that in itself it often cause for celebration around here. The great thing about this recipe is that you don't have to cook the sauce - just mix up the ingredients.  I find the sauce recipe makes enough for at least two pizzas so I just put half in the fridge for next week's pizza.  But I have learned a couple of tricks as well...

Terri's tips:

• Of course now that I've discovered how much we love it, my Costco is no longer carrying it...but if you happen to come across some of their bulk chicken Italian sausage - try it!  It's incredibly delicious (and reduces a lot of the fat...and some of the guilt...of eating sausage in the first place!)
• If you're going to use fresh mozzarella, you're going to have to slice it thin.  In order to shred the really good fresh stuff, you've got to unwrap it and let it set (preferably overnight) in your fridge (otherwise your pizza will be "watery" - a little "wet" when it comes out of the oven but if there are any leftovers you won't notice it on the re-heat.)
• Use any vegetables you like - great "clean out the veggie bin meal" (I never make it the same way twice) but a) don't overload; and b) don't be afraid of the spinach.  (I've even used Swiss chard and it's delicious!)
• When working with the store-bought dough,
• Let is set out 1/2 hour before you need it (so it can come back to room temp),
• Roll it out and then (AND THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT!) LET IT REST FOR 10 MINUTES.  I seriously cannot stress this enough.  The gluten in the flour has a "memory" - but it's pretty short-term.  If you don't let it "REST" for the 10 minutes, it will try to resume it's previous NOT ROLLED out shape and this will cause serious "shrinking" - not a good thing!
• To keep the "crust" from rolling back into the pizza, I put a little cheese in it making a "stuffed" crust.  Works like a charm (and tastes delicious!)
• Skillet - I use my 10" LeCreuset skillet for this - basically a cast iron skillet.  I don't know that I would have tried it in anything else (but if you do and it works, let me know!)

So check out your grocery store or favorite pizza parlor and see if you too can buy your own ready made dough and you can have pizza any night of the week - exactly the way you like it!

~later, tw