I made this pizza based on this month’s Bon Appetit cheese article. An article about cheese you say? Yes, it’s incredible and if you even just like cheese you should get this issue! I didn’t use their dough recipe, I like my stand by and used the fresh oregano from the Jamie Oliver chicken dish and added it to the dough. One thing I tried that was different was I rolled out the dough to the pizza size, covered it, and let it sit for another 10 minutes - I think this really made the crust light and fluffy instead of cardboard like. I also did the cider fondue recipe in the article and used the other half of kielbasa from that for the pizza, another hit if you’re not serving vegetarians. Definitely an impressive movie night meal thats better than anything from Domino’s. Oh, and use the premade crusts to make this even faster.

I usually like to use my homemade pizza dough the day I make it, but life happens, you end up at a friend’s birthday party, and the dough goes in the fridge. It still works though, and the dough still get fluffy and crunchy. Just make sure you bring it to room temp before you start rolling it out. I’ll put my favorite pizza dough recipe below, and you can add oregano, parm, garlic, whatever you’re craving that day, just to the dough. The fillings are endless, and it’s a good way to use up things you have in the fridge before they go off. Most of the ingredients for the dough you already have in your pantry, and its good to have the active dried yeast in there too, and you can make homemade leftover calzones or pizzas any night. I used cherry tomatoes from the farmer’s market, buffalo mozzarella torn, and prosciutto. Bake at 500F for about 15 minutes or until the cheese is oozing and the crust is hard to the touch. Note: Make sure you slice a few vents in the calzone so it doesn’t explode. No fun. Here’s how I make my pizza dough:

1 cup warm water (105-115F)

1 envelope active dry yeast (Fleischmans is the most common)

1 teaspoon honey

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1. In a large bowl, combine water, yeast, honey, and 1 tablespoon olive oil, stirring to combine. Let sit until the mixture is foamy, about 5 minutes.

2. Add about 1.5 cups flour and the salt, mixing by hand or with a large spoon, until it is all incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Continue add the flour 1/4 cup at a time, working the dough after each addition, until the dough is smooth but slightly sticky. You might not need all the flour. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until the dough is smooth but still slightly tacky, 3-7 minutes.

3. Oil a large mixing bowl with remaining olive oil. Place the dough in the bowl, turning to coat with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place (I place it on my stove while the oven is preheating), until its doubled in size, about 1.5 hours. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces for calzones, roll out with a rolling pin, place fillings in the center. Fold dough over and pinch down the ends. Cut vents in top of calzone, and bake for 15-20 minutes at 500F.

Pizza is so versatile - you can put anything you love on it, kinda like the burrito. Well in celebration of summer I made a pesto pizza with mushrooms and summer squash. I also like making my own pizza dough, and its really easy. Here’s a great basic recipe from Emeril. I usually add a touch more honey for a bit of sweetness. I also sauteed mushrooms, squash, and shallots together before I put them on the pizza, just to make sure they were cooked through and not too crunchy. I also made the pesto earlier in the week before the basil went bad. I just blend together garlic, olive oil, pine nuts (walnuts are cheaper and also great - I had pine nuts in the pantry) and the basil. The longer you let the dough rise, the puffier and thicker it will bake in the oven. I usually let it sit for 3 -4 hours before I roll it out. Have fun!