Practice Makes Perfect Pizza

I can honestly say that where I used to dread Mondays for being the first day back at the work-week, I now actually look forward to them because of Monday Night Pizza. No matter how the day starts or progresses, I can always count on the Pizza Crowd to lift my spirits. Last night was no exception.

I'm usually one of the first people to arrive on Pizza Night since I bring the dough and no pizza night can be complete - or even take place - without the dough. When I arrived on the scene Sara had the table set for six and had the grill going. Our traditional appetizer is grilled sausage with barbecue sauce, sliced into wheels and served on "The Pig" with yellow and spicy mustard. Usually this is where we all tend to go wrong.

We were joined by Kristy and Don, friends of Sara. I hope the spelling is correct! Maybe we should start a guest book so that we can keep track of everyone that comes to Pizza Night.

The one thing you can count on when you come to Pizza Night is that Sara is not dull in her beverage options. Last week she made Peach Fuzzes and last night she had frozen Margaritas. Larry, Jr. joined us a little later than usual as he had to work a little late. When he showed up he took the blender and drink mix away from his father and decided to do it Lazy Larry's style. I believe the word he used was "stout".

So, while we were sitting around, chatting, drinking and nibbling on sausage we were also spectating what I believe will one day be a great cooking show. Sara rolled out the dough thinly and cut off any surplus dough. Then she brushed olive oil onto one of the crusts-to-be and pre-cooked it on the grill. While the crust was browning, Sara prepped the other pizza with Alfredo Sauce and freshly chopped (food processed) spinach. When Kristy asked if it frozen and squeezed spinach Sara replied that she tries to use only fresh ingredients on the pizza. The spinach was followed by artichokes, real bacon bits (see the picture for proof), shredded Parmesan and sliced fresh mozzarella cheese.

Upon completion of the Spinachoke Pizza, the pre-cooked crust was ready to come off of the grill. This crust was thin and crispy like crackers. Sara first sprinkled shredded Parmesan on top and then smeared herb cream cheese over it as the base. In the meantime she was following the cooking instructions of a pouch that she bought from Sam's filled with blackened Salmon.

Now, I know what you're thinking. Blackened Salmon? I don't even like Salmon! But, you might be wrong. You might want to give it a try at least! Usually Salmon can smell quite fishy but the aromas permeating the kitchen from the Salmon-pouch elicited only "yums" from the crowd.

Anyway, now that I've set your mind more at ease, the Salmon was followed by capers - lots of capers for Don who loves capers - and Dill weed. To top it off, fresh mozzarella slices and sprinkled Parmesan cheese.

Usually, in our assembly line, I make the dough, Sara preps the Pizzas and either Todd or Larry, Jr. cook the pizzas. However, neither Larry nor Todd were there for their parts so Sara made do without them. I saw here moving between the kitchen and the grill every five or ten minutes to check on those crusts because she has formed an unofficial anti-burn campaign. The result: OUR FIRST PERFECT CRUST! The bottom was light brown with not a single burn-mark on it. I don't know for sure what Sara did right, but I believe it was lower and slower that won the battle against the burn - or maybe it was just Sara's determination against the burn.

As I mentioned earlier, the table was set for six but by the time the pizza was ready we had two more people than we expected. This is a good thing because it means that Pizza Night is becoming increasingly popular. The oon this is a good thing is that even with two extra mouths we had pizza left. And you know what they say about ther reaswaste, don't you?

Kristy said that it took her a few pizza slices to realize which was her favorite between the Blackened Salmon and the Spinachoke but in the end had to decide on the Blackened Salmon. And she started as one of the Salmon-skeptics! See, I told you that you might be wrong.

Why not come next week and find out what we have in store. Come, enjoy a drink, sausage and a chat and then eat some pizza with us. You can even sign the guest book and add your two cents' worth. We will listen but we might not follow.