Sunday Pizza: 09.25.2011

You know the saying, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder."?  Believe it or not, that is exactly how we all felt and declared Sunday about our weekly pizza get-together.

As the fall approached C and I discussed our strategy for Sunday Pizza.  We decided our first week back to making pizzas we would not have anyone over so we could practice.  (feeling a little rusty after a three month hiatus)  We also decided we would have company over twice a month and decide the weekends more in advance.  This way our weekends are planned better and don't get too busy.

So far we have willingly happily gone against both decisions.  oops.   Last week, our first time back in the kitchen, Z asked to have his friends over.  Which we did and had a blast!  This week, we wanted to hang out with our dear friends Pete and Emily and their son, Elliott.  Two weekends of company in row?!  Oh me oh my!!  Totally, not stressful and worth it!

Elliot is a big time regular on the pizza bench here, here, here, here and who can forget here, and their very first pizzas here.  Wow!  Fun trip down memory lane.  If you click on the links in order you can see them get younger and younger.  Too cute!

Bubbe Fran was over too and commented that the saying is true that kids really do grow so much over the summer.  They needed very little help this time from parents and were actually willing to share.  Awe! More surprising was I caught the act on film camera.

Two new adventures so far this season.  Last week and this week we experimented with a new flour.  It is highly recommended for pizza making and is called "00" flour from Italy.  It is described as Type B flour in that it is mellow and stretches really nicely.  (Yes, that makes American all-purpose flour Type A, not too shocking).  Once we read about it we had to try it!  Not sure about Mr C but I'm pretty Type B.

The new flour is a big hit!  Thumbs up from all the tasters!  C loves how nicely it pulls out into a pizza.  It makes a really crispy, chewy crust.  Truthfully, the all-purpose flour is still pretty tasty but there's no denying this is worth trying at least once.

The next adventure, if you can call it that, is putting pineapple on the pizza.  Z hovered around the kitchen the minute we started this pizza until the minute it came out.  A+ grade!  Ok I'm risking sounding like a wine, well pizza, snob here but oddly the sweetness of the pineapple really brought out the spicy garlicky-ness of the sauce.  Yep I said that.  I get lamer everyday.

Finally, here's a shot of C cutting the last pizza out of the oven.  We have a pizza rocker.  It is hands down the best gift I ever got for him.  A few years ago, I was in Maine with my family and saw it in a kitchen gadget shop.  (My kind of souvenir shopping!)  It is eye-catching but mostly in a "Dear Lord WHat IS that?" kind of way.  We just think it is cool.  What do you like on your pizza?  Let us know and we'll try it... well, maybe.