Friday Night Pizza

We make pizza on Friday nights.

And by “we”, I usually mean me. Last week I made the mistake of letting Gus make his own without the extra hands of a daddy (who was late coming home from work) and I nearly lost my mind.

Three year olds do not understand the moderation of mozzarella.

Letting them help–eight little hands with four different ideas–doesn’t always come easily to me. I do much better when I’m in charge and they’re occupied with something else. You know, like Netflix.

But Friday Night Pizza has become our family tradition, our tiny constant in a world of great upheaval, and letting them rock my sanity (and drop olives on my kitchen floor) is part of this sacred sharing of life.

I knead my dough and spread homemade sauce and arrange pepperoni with methodical measures that bring order to the chaos constantly surrounding my days and invading my mind. For half an hour on Friday nights, I block out everything but the ratio of cheese to meat to vegetables and my only concern is sliding the pizza from the board to the stone in one smooth move.

And I realize how perfectly executed is our world, the falling of the leaves and the changing of the tides and the pricking of the stars in the darkest nights. And I remember, even as I long to make my tiny creation perfect without the imprints of impatient little hands, that my great God lets me create with Him. 

Children. Words. And even pizza.

Tell me what are your favorite family traditions? and favorite pizza toppings?

Our Favorite Pizza Recipe

One recipe Pioneer Woman’s Pizza Dough 
1/2 cup Best Tomato Sauce Ever
1/2 cup (each) chopped black olives, diced peppers, chopped mushrooms
12-15 slices turkey pepperoni
1/2 cup browned Italian Sausage
1-1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (tip: shred your own 8 oz block)

Make dough according to directions. Divide in half and roll out on a pizza board sprinkled liberally with cornmeal. Spread sauce on dough. Top with vegetables and sausage. Sprinkle cheese to desired preference. Top with pepperoni. Transfer to pizza stone in preheated oven. (Make sure there is plenty of cornmeal under the dough and it should slide right off your board or cookie sheet and onto the stone.) Bake at 500 degrees for 7 minutes until crust is lightly browned and cheese melted.