The Fruits of my Labor

Now that I have all this sausage, what does one do with it? The first logical answer is, make pizza!! So yesterday I dove in head first and went for it. I've made pizza before, but unless you buy frozen or pre-made dough and bottled sauce, it's a very long process. Of course, I made my own sauce. And of course, I made my own dough. I made Grandma's dough and my Grandma's sauce. There is nothing on this earth like my Grandma's pizza. And, even though I make it just like she does, it's never quite the same. How could it be? She has a lot more years of experience making it than I do.

Her dough starts out with 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of dry yeast and 1/2 cup of warm water. Mix them together and let proof for 10 minutes. After that time, add another cup of warm water and mix well. Then add 3 cups of flour, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Mix in your handy dandy Kitchen Aid stand mixer with the dough hook until well combined and the forming a ball. The dough should not be too sticky. You can knead by hand for a few minutes of you like. When ball is formed, put in an olive oiled bowl, cover with plastic and then a dish towel and let rise for 2 hours.






In the meantime, start your sauce. This sauce could not be more simple. All you need is a can of crushed tomatoes (a big one, 28 oz I think it is), about half a cup of red wine, salt and pepper to taste and Italian seasoning. Mix them all together in a pan, bring up to a boil, then lower to a simmer for about 3 hours, stirring occasionally.

The dough recipe is enough for two pizzas. Divide in half and spread out onto your pizza pan. You can use a cookie sheet if you don't have pizza pans. I topped one with mozzarella cheese and turkey pepperoni. And the other with our delicious homemade sausage, black olives and mozzarella cheese.