HOMEMADE ITALIAN PIZZAS

Homemade pizzas are so much fun to make! This weekend I made some Italian worthy pizzas with fresh tomato sauce, basil, calabrese salami, cured olives and fresh mozzarella di buffala. I had a friend coming for dinner and really wanted to try something different but fun! I also bought a pizza stone which made the experience so authentic and the pizzas even more delicious!

I like using fresh ingredients, so I decided to make my own tomato sauce. So for the sauce in a pot I put a few tablespoons of olive oil, a quart of cherry tomatoes and two large garlic cloves (very fine), sea salt, pepper and then a bit of basil near the end. I let tomatoes get all blistered and soft and then mashed them around with a fork. Near the end I added about 2 tbsp of tomato paste just to thicken it up a little. It was absolutely wonderful, and the tomatoes and garlic were so fragrant I felt like I was in Italy!

For the pizza dough, I really wanted to make home made dough but I unfortunately was time stricken by the need for a Halloween costume! Reluctantly I used pre-made dough, but next time it’s homemade for me. If you can, homemade dough is just so much better – but in a pinch store bought will do! Make sure the dough has softened, and then roll out using extra flour on the rolling pin and counter. Once you have made your dough into the right shape you can begin the layering process.

First start with your tomato sauce, then layer slices of fresh mozzarella di buffala. Next add desired toppings, olives, calabrese and fresh basil leaves to top it off.

If you are using a pizza stone – put the stone into a cold oven, and let heat up for 20 minutes at 450 degrees. Then place the pizzas on the stone and cook for about 20-30 minutes.

Italian Pizzas

Ingredients:

- 1 ball mozzarella di buffala
- 1 quart cherry tomatoes

- Olive oil

- Salt & pepper

- Basil

- Calabrese salami

- Cured olives

- Pizza dough (store bought or homemade)

photo credit: my own

PIZZA - AT HOME

A Swissmar Raclette is the perfect kitchen tool for a great family night or even with friends for a dinner party. Family friends introduced this tool to our family, and the other night was the first time I tried it out - for a make your own pizza night with the family. There are about 8 raclette dishes which each person uses to make their customized pizza, the grill atop the raclette is needed for slightly cooking the dough first. I had never been at home for these kind of family pizza nights but Sunday was my first. I cannot express to you how fun it truly was! It is great to make your own, and put whatever you like on it! My little siblings loved it because they chose what they wanted to eat - for once!

The individual raclette dishes are hot once they are finished, but there are little stands to rest them on so not to burn the table, and the raclette scraper makes it easy to slip your pizza out from the dish.

It is up to you to decide what toppings you want for your pizza! We went with pepperoni, mozzarella, fresh tomato, basil, sun dried tomatoes, parmesan cheese, pesto, tomato sauce and a vegetable antipasto.

I love oils on my pizza, this quintessence pizza oil is delicious, but I also love a chili oil, a great accompaniment to any pizza. Puff pastry is a perfect pastry to use for the dough of the pizza, it is light and quick to cook. To organize a pizza night, slice the pastry into squares that will fit into the raclette dish. Give the pastry and quick flash of heat on the top part of the grill before piling it high with pizza toppings.

This Swissmar Raclette is fantastic, and can clearly be used for anything - not just pizza. It is great to roast vegetables on and you could even make a mini veggie bake on each raclette dish depending on what you like. It is a great kitchen tool as it lets everyone be creative and eat what they want and the flavours they like!

Here is a picture of the Swissmar Raclette. You can buy them online at Kitchen Niche.

Give this Swissmar Raclette a try! It is a perfect kitchen tool to invest in and I guarantee you a lot of family fun and creativity!

photo credit: my images & kitchen niche