You know you might be living in the country if you don’t have pizza delivery. That’s right, dialing for dinner is a pipe dream around these parts. If we ever have kids they’ll have a lot to learn when they go to college!

To make up for our lack of ability to have pizza in under 30 minutes, I’ve developed a routine for making delicious pizza with minimal effort. Both Mr. B and I love this pizza and I end up making it about once a week during the winter. Now typically I’m a big proponent of making things from scratch, and one day I will develop a favorite recipe for homemade dough and sauce. However, this is weekday pizza- not weekend pizza. I don’t know about your weekdays but mine don’t include the time to make sauce and dough! (Yes, I realize I could make all of these things ahead of time and freeze them – I’m working on it!)

First I’ll share the breakdown of the routine I’ve developed to crank out great pizzas with minimal effort, and then I’ll list the recipe in a simplified fashion.

The Routine

1.) Start the night before – take pre-made dough, buffalo style mozzarella, and pepperoni out of the freezer. Place all in the fridge to thaw overnight. (Yes, I realize this totally kills the last minute aspect, but at least it gives me something to look forward to the next day!)

I buy lots of frozen pizza dough from the pizza counter whenever I’m in a Whole Foods. It keeps in the freezer sealed in plastic bags for months. You could also stop by a pizza restaurant that you really like and talk them into selling you dough. Whole Foods additionally carries high quality nitrate-free pepperoni, which can be frozen. Similarly I buy buffalo mozzarella in bulk at Costco whenever I can and freeze it. If you let it thaw for 24 hours in the fridge before using it works out beautifully.

2.) An hour before baking the pizza, turn the oven on to the hottest setting (mine is High Broil) and place a pizza stone on the lowest rack of oven. Let everything get nice and hot for at least an hour.

3.) At the same time you turn the oven on, take the pizza dough and mozzarella out of the fridge. Open the bag of dough to give it room to “grow” a bit. Let it sit out for about an hour before assembling the pizza.

4.) Liberally spread cornmeal on a pizza peel. The corn meal will act as little ball bearings that will roll your pizza from the peel onto the hot stone without sticking, so don’t skimp here!

5.) When you are ready to assemble the pizza, look at the dough. If it looks wet and sticky, toss a handful of flour into the bag and shake it a bit to coat. This will make it easier to handle the dough. Turn the bag inside out, to easily remove the dough, and then hold the dough in your hands. Turn the dough like you are turning a steering wheel in slow circles. Keep doing this until the dough has stretched out to the size of your pizza peel. Then carefully lay it on top of the cornmeal.

This method will create a thicker edge which will become a nice puffy crust in the oven. If you want to toss the pizza around in the air, be my guest. You can clean up the flour on the floor!

6.) Apply sauce (just use enough to create a thin layer or the pizza will be soggy!) and other ingredients ending with the mozzarella on top. Placing the mozzarella on top will allow it to brown nicely and will also help protect other ingredients from burning in the high heat of the oven. Go easy on the quantity of toppings. I always try to restrain myself and regret it if I use too many and end up with a soggy pizza.

7.) Open the oven and pull the rack out if you can. Place the edge of the pizza peel about two-thirds back on the pizza stone, and hold the peel at about a 45 degree angle to the stone. Start jerking the pizza peel sharply toward you to move the pizza off of the peel and onto the stone. If you can get the far edge of the dough onto the hot stone it will typically stick and make it easier to smoothly pull the peel out from the rest of the dough. Be brave here and don’t give up if the first few pizzas look rather misshapen. It took me a while to get the feel of this process.

8.) Quickly close up the oven and let it bake for about 6-10 minutes. Keep an eye on things to learn how hot your oven bakes. The pizza will be done when the outer crust is looking very well browned and the mozzarella is melted and mostly brown. Stick the peel underneath the pizza in a quick movement, and lift it off the stone to cool. Let the pizza cool for about 5-10 minutes before slicing and eating.

You can cook a second pizza immediately following the first one, however the crust will be slightly less chewy because the stone will not have had an hour to re-heat. I use a rimless cookie sheet to take the first pizza out of the oven if I have a second pizza on my peel ready to go. (My father says he has never noticed any difference in the second pizza, but I do!)

Weeknight Pizza
Serves 2-4
(Depends on the size of your appetite and if it’s all you are having for dinner!)

Ingredients:
1.5 lb pre-made pizza dough (thawed for 24 hours in fridge if previously frozen)
8 oz buffalo style mozzarella
3.5 oz quality pepperoni
1/2 cup pizza sauce (a non-chunky spaghetti sauce works in a pinch)
6 leaves fresh basil, thinly sliced

1/4 cup sun dried tomatos, chopped
1/2 bell pepper, thinly sliced
1, 4oz can sliced black olives
thinly sliced red onion (as much as you like)
1/4 cup artichoke hearts, chopped
Cornmeal

Special Equipment:
Pizza Stone
Pizza Peel

Directions: (Read The Routine above for more detailed directions)

Pre-heat oven at hottest setting for at least 60 minutes. Allow dough and cheese to sit at room temperature for 1 hour.

Spread cornmeal on pizza peel. Turn out dough until it reaches desired size. Place on pizza peel. Spread sauce evenly on pizza dough. Evenly distribute remaining ingredients, ending with the cheese.

Use peel to place pizza on hot stone and bake for 6-10 minutes until cheese and crust are well browned.

Remove from oven using peel and allow pizza to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.

The shrimp go marching one by one hurrah, hurrah!

Mexican Pineapple Salad
From Gourmet Magazine, February 2009
Serves 4-6 (as a side dish)

Ingredients:
1 (3-pound) pineapple, peeled, cored, and diced
1/2 pound jicama, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubed pieces
1 (7-to 8-ounce) avocado, cut into cubes (I used two- we love avocado)
1 small red onion, thinly sliced and then chopped (1/2 cup)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

Directions:
Toss together all ingredients with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

For me, the Superbowl represents an annual test of wills, not on the field mind you, rather between the perennial New Year’s resolve to stick to healthy food and the temptation of joining thousands of people around the country in an afternoon of finger-licking, beer drinking, chip crunching revelry.

I must confess that I don’t follow football. I couldn’t even tell you who’s playing in the upcoming game. However, when there is a reason to make over-the-top snack food and lounge on the couch watching crazy ads – who can resist?

This quick and easy recipe for stir fried edamame manages to satisfy the craving for salty, spicy and crunchy finger food while still scoring on the healthy side. When I introduced this recipe to my family, it quickly became a favorite snack. Even my brother, who grew up claiming to like nothing green but jelly beans, will chow down an entire bowl in nothing flat! So add this to your Superbowl line up and feel slightly less guilty about all those chicken wings.

Stir Fried Edamame with Garlic and Chile
Serves 2-4 (depending on how much you like to share!)
Recipe from Gourmet Magazine

Ingredients:
1 lb. frozen edamame (soybeans in shell)
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 Tablespoons oyster sauce
1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon dried hot red-pepper flakes
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
2 teaspoons minced garlic

Directions:
Cook soybeans in a 5-6 quart pot of boiling unsalted water for 5 minutes, then drain in a colander.

Stir together soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, and red-pepper flakes in a small bowl.

Heat wok over high heat until a drop of water evaporates immediately. Add vegetable oil, swirling it to coat wok. Add ginger and garlic and stir fry until fragrant, about 15 seconds, then add soybeans, and stir fry until pods are lightly charred, 2 to 3 minutes. Add soy sauce mixture and stir-fry until soybeans are well coated and most of liquid is evaporated, about 1 minute.

Bacon and Egg Spaghetti