Who doesn't love pizza??? In school, Pizza Day was always on a Friday, but for me....Thursday is the New Friday and so today, we shall dine on PIZZA!

When I was a child, everyday after nursery school, my mom and I would go to our favorite Pizza Place (Gino's) and have pizza for lunch. To this day, Gino's has my favorite pizza ever, and to even attempt to replicate it would only result in a complete fail....but that's ok - I can make my own version!

This is a perfect dinner for 2! It makes two 12" pies that you can then customize with whatever toppings you may want. I, myself am a Pizza Purist 90% of the time...although my College Favorite was a Baked Ziti Slice from Amore's on 14th Street. So this pizza I made is a simple Cheese Pizza with a homemade dough and homemade tomato sauce. I tend to make the sauce in bulk, and then freeze some of it, so feel free to adjust the measurements in the recipe I have below!

Happy Pizza Day!

Pizza Sauce

Prep Time
10 Minutes
Cook Time
2 Hours
Total Time
2 Hour 10 Minutes
Yield
Yields 2 quarts of Sauce

Ingredients

  • 1 tsps Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 tsps Fennel Seeds
  • 1/2 tsps Red Pepper Flakes
  • 1 small dice Onion
  • 4 minced Garlic Cloves
  • 2 28 ounce Can Whole Tomatoes
  • 1 1/2 Cups Tomato Puree
  • 2 tsps Dried Basil
  • 1 tsps Crushed Bay Leaf

Directions

  • In a large pot, over medium high heat, add your Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Once hot, add in your fennel seeds and crushed red pepper flakes and cook 1 minute.
  • Add in your onion and cook about 5-8 minutes until it starts to turn translucent. Add the garlic and cook another 2 minutes.
  • Now you can add in your whole tomatoes, tomato puree, basil, and crushed bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a low heat, cover and let cook about 2 hours.
  • Once it's done, place in a Vitamix or other strong blender and puree til smooth. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Jar for later use or use right away.

Homemade Pizza

Prep Time
10 Minutes
Cook Time
15 Minutes
Total Time
25 Minutes
Yield
Yields 2. 12" Pizzas

Ingredients

  • 1 Recipe Classic Dough (recipe below)
  • 2 Cups Pizza Sauce (recipe below)
  • 8 oz shredded Mozzarella
  • 1/2 Cup grated Parmesan Cheese
  • Dried Basil (optional)
  • Dried Oregano (optional)

Directions

  • Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and place your pizza stone in the oven. If you don't have a pizza stone you can just use a regular sheet tray.
  • Divide your dough into 2 equal portions. With your hands, roll out the dough into 2, 12" circles (leaving the edges thicker for the crust). Ladle about 3/4 cup of your Pizza Sauce into the center of each pizza and spread around (still leaving that border for the crust). Top each pizza with about 2 cups of Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, and 1/4 cup of Grated Parmesan Cheese each. You can also top with some dried herbs like basil or oregano.
  • Once your oven is at 400 degrees, carefully place your pizza onto the pizza stone (or just place your sheet tray with the pizza on it in the oven). Bake for 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and the crust starts to brown slightly. Serve hot.

Classic Dough Recipe

Prep Time
2 Hours
Total Time
2 Hours
Yield
1 Serving Dough

Ingredients

  • 3 1/2 Cups Flour
  • 1 tsps Salt
  • 4 T cubed Butter
  • 1 Package Active Dry Yeast
  • 1 T Sugar

Directions

  • In a food processor fitted with a dough blade, combine your flour salt and butter. Pulse a few times to combine.
  • Combine your water (1/3 cup heated to 110 degrees), sugar and yeast in a small bowl and let bloom (about 8 minutes). Add yeast mixture to your flour mixture and mix.
  • While mixing, slowly pour in 1 cup of ice water to the mixture. Mix about 20 seconds until the dough forms.
  • Turn out the dough into a lightly greased bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise 1 1/2 hours. Beat down and let rise another 30 minutes. Now you can use it for whatever purpose!