We are a pizza on Friday night sort of family. Honestly, it was a tradition Trevor and I started even before we were married; but now we have kids who obsessively hold us accountable to the practice.
And it’s not just a “call up Papa John’s” sort of tradition, oh no. Trevor is the pizza dough master. He comes home from working on Friday and immediately sets to work on his pizza dough. (We’ve tried all sorts of recipes. I am proud to say that I contribute to the process: I am the official dough-puncher-downer. I wind up (the wrong way, according to my husband) and I punch that risen dough right through its middle.
The girls always choose a movie, and Trevor will make them their own little pizza, which they “decorate” with black olives–their favorite! We all know, parents don’t really get out on Friday nights, so Trevor and I will often switch up our pizza recipes to spice up the start to our weekend. Toss in a bottle of wine and a grown-up movie when the kids go to bed, and it’s a fancy date night.
Here’s a pizza we tried recently and loved.
Ingredients (excluding dough–that choice is up to you!)
8 oz. whole milk ricotta
8 oz. cheese shaved parmesan cheese
2-3 handfuls of fresh arugula
Balsamic vinegar
Juice of half a lemon
1. Top your uncooked dough with shaved parmesan and bake at 425 degrees until dough is cooked through and cheese is melting.
2. While dough and parmesan are baking, create a balsamic vinegar reduction. (If you don’t know how, it’s easy)!
3. Allow baked dough and parmesan to cool slightly. Add dollops of ricotta cheese evenly across the pizza. Top with arugula and balsamic reduction. Squeeze lemon juice to taste.
(Image via shelikesfood)
