If Heaven Was Made Out of Cheese...

It would taste like my new pizza recipe. I'm not bragging. I didn't invent cheese or pizza or heaven, but I experimented in the kitchen last night and come up with a recipe that so impressed the judges that an encore performance was requested.

I've been testing pizza dough recipes for a while. Some of them are basic and quick, some are complicated and time-consuming, but not one of them has been truly satisfactory. Then I heard my boss say that she puts oregano in her pizza dough, so I thought I'd give it a shot, except that I didn't have any oregano. But I do have Epicure's Pizza spice, which is super yummy but almost too much for my kids when I dusted the pizza with it. So here's the recipe I came up with.

1 cup of warm water (warmer than body temperature, but not hot)

1 pkg. or 2 tsp. of yeast

1/4 tsp sugar

2 1/2 cups white flour (or a 50/50 blend of white and whole wheat)

1 tsp. of pizza spices or dried oregano

1 tsp. of coarse salt

1/4 tsp. of cracked black pepper

2 tbsp. olive oil

1/3 cup spicy red pepper spaghetti sauce

3 cups mozzarella or blend of cheeses

Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water and set aside for 10 minutes. Pre-heat your oven to the lowest setting, then turn it off. Whisk together the flour, spices, salt and pepper. When the yeast is ready, add it and the olive oil to the flour mixture. Blend either with a fork or in your mixer with the dough hook. If using a fork, turn onto a floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes. Form into a ball and place in an oiled bowl, turning so the entire ball is oily. Cover with a clean dish towel and place in the warmed oven for 30 minutes.

After the dough is risen, remove it from the oven and pre-heat to 400F. Roll the dough out and place on your pizza pan, pushing all the way out the edges and forming a crust. Then put on your toppings and bake for 15 - 20 minutes, or until the cheese is nice and brown.

The only think-ahead part of this recipe is the time the dough takes to rise, but I usually do the dishes or get my toppings ready. Both of my kids only like cheese, but this time I used the Classico Spicy Red Pepper sauce and I think it made the pizza. I also really like the pre-shredded cheese packages. Not only are they easy, but the blend of cheese is always something I would either never think of or wouldn't be available up here. Either way, you can use pretty much whatever cheese you have in your fridge.

Some other yummy toppings include:

1. Pesto (as the base), prosciutto, pine nuts, and bocconcini
2. Caramelized onions, portabella mushrooms, and sage with ricotta cheese and no sauce.
3. Back bacon (Canadian bacon), peppers, olives, and a little cheddar mixed in the the mozzarella.

The kids still pick everything off, but at least we enjoy our half of the pie. I love to eat, and I love to cook, so I'm going to start posting some of my favourite recipes. Not that I have time to make them...