Pizza, the perfect food :)

You can start with any type of dough you like, and the choices of toppings are completely your own. Here is a version of one of my basic recipes:

1 raw dough (here I use a traditional  pizza dough)

3-4 Fresh tomatoes

Fresh Basil

Fresh garlic (chopped) 

Fresh mozzarella

Extra Virgin olive oil

Corn meal

salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning to taste

I like to bake my pizza in stoneware because I find it comes out crispy and luscious. 

I let the dough rise in my on the counter in a zip-lock bag. If you have under-cabinet lighting, put the dough under the light. If not, just put that baby in a warm spot. Working with cold dough is like trying to blow a bubble with some frozen Bazooka, it ain't happenin'

When the dough looks & feels puffy it has risen. Handle your dough gently or it will be sad and get tough on you, kinda like Cagney in Public Enemy, not pretty. I then spray a some olive oil on the bottom of the pan and sprinkle with a little dusting of corn meal and transfer the dough to the pan.Then I spread the olive oil & chopped garlic over the entire dough and leave it to rise a little more. This is not a necessary step, but if I have the time I like the dough to fluff up a bit more.I top with basil, fresh tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and seasoning.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 25-35 minutes depending on your oven. You can check doneness by seeing if the cheese on top is bubbling and if the bottom is a nice toasted brown color.

*If possible, let that beauty set a few minutes before diving in. This can also prevent the dreaded "burnt roof of the mouth" syndrome which should be avoided at all costs *

Enjoy with thoroughly pampered family and friends,

Fagheddabouit, Judy :)