Friday is pizza night

When I first got married, a very nice lady I worked with (now passed on unfortunately) told me "Friday is pizza night". She meant, you've worked hard all week and put meals on the table every night, so Friday is the night you order or go out for pizza (or whatever turns your crank). I quickly learned, however, that hauling little kids to restaurants was to be avoided at all costs....and thus got out of the habit of dining out. We all love pizza, but I've always been partial to the artisanal style as opposed to the generic pizzaria style. Making my own seemed like a good option. Over the years, I've experimented with crusts, stuffed them with mozza at the kids' insistence, made my own pizza sauce, etc. Here's my favorite combination.

Dough:

1 c. very warm water

1/2 tsp salt

2 1/4 tsp yeast (1 pkg)

1 Tbs olive oil (plus more for greasing the bowl)

3+ cups flour
2 tsp grated parmesan
1 tsp oregano

Combine water, salt, yeast and oil in bowl. Stir in 1 cup flour and mix to loose dough. Add remaining flour, parmesan, and oregano. Stir to mix in or use electric beaters fitted with dough hooks. Turn onto lightly floured surface and knead until dough is smooth and elastic. Form into a ball and place in well-oiled bowl, turning dough to coat in oil. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and set in warm, draft-free area to rise for about 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Divide into 2 equal portions and roll out to desired thickness. (Makes two 12 in round pizzas or one 15 in square pizza.

Sauce:
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

Warm water (enough to fill empty paste can)
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan or romano cheese
1 tsp minced garlic
2 Tbs honey
3/4 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried marjoram
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
1 tsp salt
Mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl and let stand at room temperature for about an hour before using. Enough to cover at least 2 pizzas. Leftover can be refrigerated and used later for chicken dishes or added to soup or pasta sauce.


Toppings:

Add whatever you like and top, or not, with cheese. I like red onion, broccoli, pineapple and pepperoni with lots of mozzarella and parmesan. Another favourite is red onions, thinly sliced pears and brie.