Sicilian Pizza

For the longest time, I have been the “pizza guy” in my family.  By this I mean the guy who makes the pizza.  When I was really young my mom did it.  Eventually I started helping her, and learning how.  And even more eventually I took it over completely.  Everyone agreed that I make awesome pizza.  Perhaps this is true, or perhaps it was a good way to keep me making pizza, so they didn’t have to, haha.  It is from a kit after all.

I use these Kraft pizza kits from the store.  The kit provides ingredients for dough, sauce and spice.  Then you still need to make the dough, and add your toppings and cheese of choice.  It is pretty easy, and takes about an hour.  It yields a good result. 

For the longest time I wanted to tinker with making the dough from scratch, but for whatever reasons I never got around to it, until recently.  My brother and his fiancé have introduced me to Sicilian Pizza!  This is a great way of having pizza.  It is still recognizable as a pizza but is different in a lot of ways that are great for changing up your pizza experience.

First off the dough is hand made, which is a nice touch.  Then instead of a tomato sauce you use olive oil to lightly coat the dough.  Then you add your toppings, which usually include more interesting deli meats than your standard pepperoni or ham.  It is also a good idea to use some different cheese like swiss, or Havarti, or something smoked.  Then add some tomato’s and basil, salt and pepper, and any other little flairs you would like.

Then comes my favorite part.  Take the whole concoction and put it on a pizza stone, and put that on the barbeque.  A pizza stone is a flat round stone, that is used to cook pizzas.  It is great for summer cooking as you can use the barbeque, and keep the heat out of the kitchen.  The pizza is ready when the crust gets crispy.

Once you remove it from the barbeque, you have a light, thin crust pizza covered in delicious and non-traditional toppings.  And it tastes fantastic!  I highly recommend this method to anyone who is tired of the same old pizza.  It is also a great meal for hosting an event.  Everyone can help in different ways as you prepare and cook the pizzas.  Add some cocktails to the mix, and it is the start of a great evening with family/friends.