Do you still call a big pizza chain to get your pizza?

Can I ask you why?

In this post I wanted to make a case as to why you should never; I mean NEVER, order pizza again:

1. Unless you live under a rock you have probably seen via YouTube what happens to food in these places. Not exactly appetizing….
2. You can make a pizza for about half of the cost.
3. Homemade pizza can be made in less time than it would take for them to deliver it to you! Especially on the weekend!

Still don’t believe me huh? Okay well I guess I will take a moment to show you how quick, easy, delicious, and fun this really can be!

First you need to roll out your pizza dough. Now you can make this from scratch if you would like and nothing truly compares to homemade pizza dough. However, seeing as how we are trying to save time, store bought dough will do just fine.

Next, add your pizza sauce. I personally make my pizza sauce by using some sicilian seasoning. It is quick and easy as well. Again, if you are trying to save some time and money you can find this at the local grocery store too.

This is where pizza making gets fun. Add whatever toppings you want. Be creative! Think of all the ingredients you wanted to have on your pizza but were told that they couldn’t do it! Keep this sane though; think of what each ingredient will bring to the table. Combining anchovies and pineapple might seem like a good idea at first but may be regretted later.
Seeing as how I am a long time fan of delicious meats I created a pizza that is literally mounded with meat. If you however, are more vegetable minded and don’t want to see the heaping pile of meat monstrosity I created, then click here.

For me my `meat lovers’ pizza starts out with some freshly grated mozzarella, provolone, romano, asiago, and parmesan cheeses! Then I top this will pepperoni, mushrooms, pancetta (try getting that added to your next chain ordered pizza), Italian sausage, oregano, parsley and finally some more asiago and mozzarella cheese! Now that is a hearty pizza. Just look how high that is stacked up!

Put your pizza in the oven for 10 – 15 minutes depending on how crispy you want your crust and you are done! Once your pizza comes out give it a few moments to cool and dig in.

Now if you are meat adverse there is always the vegetarian option. My wife went this route as she was not feeling the meaty heart attack I was soon to be facing. For her margarita style pizza she used some fresh sliced mozzarella, tomato, and basil. Put your pizza in the oven for 10 – 15 minutes depending on how crispy you want your crust and you are done! Once your pizza comes out give it a few moments to cool and dig in.

What’s that you ask? Where’s the photo of the finished margarita pizza you ask? Well let’s just say that someone (who will remain nameless) was so excited by their creation they didn’t wait for photos to be taken. I guess I could have taken a picture of the empty plate but unfortunately that would have been a little dull as the plate was licked clean.

I think that the best part of homemade pizzas come from the creativity that you can use when creating your own personal masterpiece. A while back we used this as a party concept where we had all of our guests create their own pizza. It was tons of fun and super easy to do! Simply put out all of the ingredients you think your guests might like to cover their pizza with and let them go at it. Since the pizzas only take a few minutes to cook everyone will have a completed personalized pizza to dine on all at the same time!

Ryan’s Meat Loving Homemade Pizza

Ingredients:
• ½ pizza dough (8 inch thin crust)
• 3oz pizza sauce
• ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• ¼ cup shredded provolone cheese
• ¼ cup shredded romano cheese
• ½ cup shredded asiago cheese
• ¼ cup shredded parmesan cheese
• 1 Italian sausage
• 25 pepperoni slices
• ¼ cup sliced mushrooms
• ½ cup diced pancetta

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Roll pizza dough into a thin circle.
3. Spread pizza sauce evenly over the surface of the dough leaving approximately ¼ inch outer ring.
4. Add remaining ingredients.
5. Cook approximately 10 -15 minutes.

Jessica’s Homemade Margarita Style Pizza

Ingredients:
• ½ pizza dough (8 inch thin crust)
• 3oz pizza sauce
• 4oz sliced mozzarella cheese
• ½ tomato sliced
• 2oz basil chopped

Directions:
6. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
7. Roll pizza dough into a thin circle.
8. Spread pizza sauce evenly over the surface of the dough leaving approximately ¼ inch outer ring.
9. Add remaining ingredients.
10. Cook approximately 10 -15 minutes.

I feel that the soufflé has been given a bad rap by movies for years! Hollywood has portrayed the soufflé as being extremely difficult to get right. However, as you will see, it’s not really all that hard to make a dessert that is light, fluffy and delicious!

I feel that the only difficult thing about a soufflé is deciding what to top them with! I made these soufflés as the finishing touch to my Mother’s Day weekend. My mother (and me as well) love the flavor combinations of amaretto and chocolate. There’s just something special about that nutty liquor.

As I decided to up the amaretto ante I wanted to make amaretto soaked strawberries and homemade whipped cream (which if you’ve never made before you MUST to stop buying the store brand stuff because homemade tastes so much better and is too simple to make! Trust me you’ll thank me later!) to top my Mother’s Day dessert.

Since the most difficult step in making a soufflé is deciding what to top it with, I feel this step should be done first. To make amaretto soaked strawberries just combine the strawberries and amaretto liquor and refrigerate. This can be soaked for as little as an hour; however, if you want to have the best results this should be done a night in advance. The longer they sit the more they soak up that liquor! Err…. I mean…. amaretto flavor!

The second step in making your soufflé is to place your chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and melt it down. While this is melting, in a separate medium sized bowl, whisk the egg yolks and cream until combined. Once this mixture has been combined, whisk in the chocolate and amaretto liquor until smooth. Finally, whisk in your flour and cinnamon until incorporated.

Next beat the egg whites and salt with an electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form. This can take a minute or two so be patient! I can’t tell you how many times I sat there going why are the peaks not forming yet?! They will come, trust me.

Now comes the fun part. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold half of the beaten whites into the chocolate mixture until it is fairly smooth. Make sure not to over do the mixing as this is what gives your soufflé the light and fluffy texture. It is also the reason as to why many a soufflé has collapsed!

Then take the fairly smooth chocolate mixture and mix it back into the remaining egg whites until no white streaks remain (like pictured above). Again, be sure not to over do this! Now all you need to do is simply divide this amongst your ramekins and place on a baking sheet. A little trick I like to use is to spray the insides of the ramekins with cooking spray and a teaspoon of sugar. This will prevent them from sticking to the sides and bottom of the glass in the end. Bake this until puffed and firm to the touch (should be about 18 minutes). Serve immediately!

As your soufflé bakes you should make your own whipped cream. As I stated before making your very own special homemade whipped cream is super simple! So simple in fact you will begin to wonder why it is you ever paid for this stuff in the first place!

To make whipped cream combine 1/2 pint of whipping cream, 3 tblsp sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla. Whip this with a mixer or whisk until combined and fluffy. See! Wasn’t that easy? The best part of this is by far the flavor. Most store brands skimp out on quality vanilla creating a whip that taste more like whipping cream then, well, whipped cream!

Once the whipped cream has been created it’s time to make the chocolate ganache I used to top the soufflés. Combine ¼ cup heavy cream ¾ tsp sugar and bring to a boil (I also added 1 tsp amaretto liquor as well. I know, a bit over kill, but as I said, I love amaretto!). Remove from the heat and add 4 oz good semi-sweet chocolate chips. As the chocolate beings to melt stir constantly until a smooth chocolate ganache has been created.

Your soufflés should be about ready to come out of the oven at this time. You should see beautifully puffed chocolate desserts! You can serve these by removing them from the ramekins and topping them with your whipped cream, chocolate (amaretto) ganache, and amaretto strawberries, or you can leave them in the ramekins as I do and eat your heart out!

Chocolate Soufflé

Soufflé Ingredients

• 2 1/2 ounces good semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ cup Amaretto Liquor and 3 tblsp for strawberries
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• Confectioners’ sugar for dusting (optional)

Directions

1. Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 375°F. Lightly coat two 10-ounce ramekins with cooking spray; coat the insides of each with 1 teaspoons sugar.
2. In a microwave safe bowl, melt your chocolate, stir every 30 seconds until smooth.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolk and cream until combined. Next, whisk in the chocolate and Amaretto Liquor until smooth. Finally, whisk in flour and cinnamon until completely dissolved.
4. In a separate bowl beat egg whites and salt with an electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form. Beat in 2 tablespoons sugar until stiff, glossy peaks form.
5. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold half the beaten whites into the chocolate mixture until fairly smooth; then gently fold this combined mixture back into the remaining egg whites until no white streaks remain. Divide between the prepared ramekins and place on a baking sheet. Bake until puffed and firm to the touch, 18 to 22 minutes.

Amaretto Soaked Strawberries

Amaretto Soaked Strawberries Ingredients

• 1 cup strawberries, de-stemmed, and halved
• 3 tablespoons Amaretto Liquor

Directions

1. Combine strawberries and Amaretto Liquor. Refrigerate overnight.

Homemade Whipped Cream

Homemade Whipped Cream Ingredients

• ½ pint whipping cream
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

1. Whip whipping cream with a whisk or mixer. When thickened add sugar and vanilla. Continue to whip until combined and refrigerate or serve immediately.