Pizza

Posted by Vivian in Italian

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The "recipe" for the above is really simple - one Fisherprice linka-doo with a watering can cover stuffed right in the centre. Voila, and we have a "pizza" ready to be served. The kids and I came up with this "recipe" long time ago in the bathtub while I was washing them up. Matty even added that the little holes of the watering can cover are pepperonis. Though the "pizza" is unlikely to score any points in the taste department, we definitely deserve a distinction for creativity.

Anyway, back to some real pizzas!!

2 weekends ago while making some plastic pizzas in the bathtub, Matty asked if I could make him a real pizza. The last time I attempted putting pizzas on the kids' plate was almost a year ago and it wasn't well-received by Elaina. I stopped whipping it up again. After slogging hard in the kitchen to cook up a meal, the last thing I want is a child who pushes the food around the plate. It was with a lot of courage that I promised Matty we will have pizzas for the following weekend.

Pizza is a really versatile dish and almost anything can be used as a topping. Even the base can be either freshly home-made, frozen crust from the supermarket, pita bread or simply sandwich bread.

My dad once told me that if the base is freshly made, I should bake it slightly first before adding the toppings. This way it will prevent the toppings from burning (since it will take longer for the base to cook as opposed to the toppings). This will have to be a mental note for now. I wasn't prepared to knead the dough without the help of a bread making machine or mixer. Time is precious in my case.

A question sparked late last week while I was picking up the frozen crusts. The instructions on the packaging said to spread the tomato paste first and then cheese. Other toppings to follow. In the past, I have always had the cheese last. So which should be the way? I did a search on the internet (my guru for everything!) and came upon this site that talked about nothing but pizzas. Apparently, this is the right order:

1. Tomato paste
2. Cheese - to hold the toppings down and to keep the base moist
3. Other toppings
4. Cheese - to cover the toppings and keep them moist

I took the advice. I had mozzarella cheese as the first layer of cheese and lastly I topped the pizzas with cheddar cheese. Of course, common sense told me that after the first layer of cheese, toppings like ham and pepperoni went next since they are flat and other toppings which included the mushrooms, onions and pineapples came after that, intricately balanced on the ham and pepperoni.

This was the final product that made it to our dining table (and fortunately Elaina had no issues this time round) ...