On a recent trip to the Caribbean, G’s parents and I discovered her love of pizza. Though she had had pizza prior to our trip, she had never shown such admiration for it before. She scarffed down about half as many pizzas as days we were on vacation. Of course being the little carnivore she is, she particularly enjoyed her pizza topped with ham. Coincidently, G’s parents recently received a pizza stone as gift so upon our return to the states, I decided to put my pizza making skills to the test.
Starting with fresh dough that I set out to rise, I used my hands to stretch out the dough into a personal size pizza disc. Next I floured my pizza paddle and with a bit of beginners luck, managed to slide the dough effortlessly on to the hot pizza stone. After five minutes I again gracefully removed the dough, dressed it with sauce and cheese and returned it to the oven. What came out was a delicious crispy crust, soft cheesy middle pizza perfection. I felt I was a pizza making natural, until of course my luck wore out just in time for my next attempt. My second pizza, a broccoli and cheese topped pie, was tasty yet too chewy in the middle. This was probably due to letting the dough rise for the first pizza and then putting half back in the refrigerator. My third pizza was my best yet. After asking G’s mother to purchase a rolling pin, my pizza crust was much improved. As a result, it came out much thinner, which made it easier for G to chew. With this third pizza I also added thinly sliced ham just as it came out of the oven. Yum!, or so G thought.
Pizza is fun since the variations are endless and there does not seem to be an end in sight for G’s love of the delicious cheesy delight. I don’t think anyone has ever grown out of or become bored of pizza but you never know with a two year old.
