our first homemade pizza night.

My favorite way to spend a Friday night is a pizza party. An adult one. With lots and lots of red wine.

That’s right. I said Friday night.

Call it what you want, but I’ll take a pizza party at home over a night out at the bar any time of the week. Particularly if there’s lots of red wine involved.

And so, this was our very first pizza party – homemade crust and all. In my {slightly neurotic} opinion, those Boboli crusts are for the birds. Homemade pizza night means just that:  It’s all got to be homemade. That means dough and sauce. But don’t be afraid, my dears, because they’re both actually quite simple to make. The only tricky part, and it’s not even that tricky, is that you have to give yourself ample time to let the dough rise – about one hour.

You know what that means. More time for red wine-drinking.

So grab your favorite glass, fill it up, and let’s make some pizza. To start, here’s the super-simple crust. Did I mention it’s made with whole wheat flour? That makes it…you know, healthier. We can pretend we’re eating less calories now.

Like I said, this was my first attempt at pizza dough, and certainly not the last. I enjoyed it, though I have since made other crusts that I’ve enjoyed more {continue to stay on the lookout for a breakfast pizza that’s sure to majorly knock your socks off}. It is definitely a thicker dough, and I tend to prefer a thinner, crispier crust.

Some things that may make your life easier:  a stand mixer, and a pizza stone. Don’t worry, though – you can live without. If you don’t have a circular pizza pan, you can use one of your cookie sheets and make a rectangular pizza. And if you’re feeling particularly lazy, you can buy pre-made pizza dough from your grocery store. They usually have it both in the freezer and in the bakery.

Pizzeria Style Semi-Whole Wheat Crust

via Sweet & Savory

• 2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/3 cups warm water
• 1 package yeast
• 1/2 teaspoons salt

Combine water and yeast and let sit for a few minutes. Stir in salt and flour and mix on medium high for 5 minutes. I used my Kitchen Aid mixer with the dough hook. Drizzle in olive oil while it is mixing. When soft and elastic, remove from bowl and cover with more olive oil. Put back in the mixing bowl, cover with a dish towel and let it rise for 1 hour.

{Re-fill glass of wine here}

After it has risen, punch down and divide in half, to make two pizzas. With oiled hands stretch dough to cover pizza pan. Keep pressing with your fingers until it covers the pan.

And now for the sauce. It’s super-easy. There’s just no reason to buy the jarred stuff.

Pizza Sauce

via Big Girls, Small Kitchen

• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 28 can crushed tomatoes, or whole tomatoes pureed in a food processor
• 6 basil leaves, coarsely torn
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Dash of red pepper flakes

In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, saute the garlic in 1 tablespoon of oil until fragrant, about 1 minutes. Add the tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes, or until the sauce is reduced to about 2 1/2 cups. Add the basil, and season sauce with salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes more, then turn off the heat and cool to room temperature. (You can make this 3-4 days in advance).

Makes about 2 cups sauce. If you have any leftover, you can always freeze it for next time.

And now, for the fun part. The toppings!

Pizza with Fresh Mozzarella, Sopressata, and Basil

• 1 ball pizza dough
• 3/4 – 1 cup pizza sauce
• 6 oz (3/4 cup) shredded whole milk mozzarella
• 1 large shallot, thinly sliced
• 3 scallions, chopped into large pieces
• 1/2 – 3/4 cup sauteéd mushrooms {7-10 minutes over medium-high heat in a bit of olive oil}

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. We made the pizzas one at a time so that we could enjoy each one right out of the oven. Spoon the sauce lightly over your first prepared dough and spread evenly across the top, almost reaching the edge of the crust. Add your cheese and toppings.

Pop the pizza into the oven {preferably on a baking stone} and bake for about 10-15 minutes, until the cheese starts to brown. Remove and let it chill for a minute, then slice, serve, eat, and repeat.

Go ahead, have another glass of wine. I’m not judging.