Pizza Party

My husband and I like to enjoy a good pizza now and then... the trick is finding a 'good' pizza.  We fell in love with pizza while on a trip with friends in Venice.  Of course, there are mixed feelings amongst us North Americans when it comes to traditional pizza; pizza the way it is supposed to be.  We, too often, are presented with a pie of sub par ingredients on a doughy wheel.  There are, of course, some people who prefer the Western-style pizza, but we, on the other hand, crave the thin, hand-tossed crust graced with fresh, local ingredients.

While in Taiwan, we revived my husband's family tradition of pizza night.  These nights were enjoyable but severely limited due to our lack of a real oven and quality ingredients.

So, last week, we invited some good friends over for a more laid-back dinner party; a pizza party, to be exact.  I took my first stab at making pizza dough from scratch and was thoroughly impressed to discover that it was not only easy, but delicious too!  (see "Recipes I Love" for a wonderfully simple pizza dough recipe).

The wives whipped together two pizzas; a classic pepperoni and bacon with a fresh tomato base for the men and something a little less traditional....

A medley of portabello and crimini mushrooms blanketed a basil-infused dough bestrewn with a light fig glaze and creamy goat cheese.  We fibbed a little with the husbands and called a straight "mushroom pizza" just to get them to try it.  And they loved it.  How could they not?  It was inventive and delicious.

So I encourage you, the next time you have a hankering for a pizza pie, to treat yourself to something really terrific and make your own.  It's easier than you think!