Pizza is hard to mess up. Even if you do mess up, it’s still pizza. There’s not really much that can go wrong with pizza outside of the dough not turning out exactly as you want. So here are some easy, some complicated, and some unconventional recipes for the most delicious dish on earth so you can celebrate National Pizza Day in cheesy goodness. Even if it’s cold, even when it’s burnt, even when the toppings slid slightly and it doesn’t look quite like the picture, pizza will always and forever still be: pizza.
Start from Scratch
Here’s a basic recipe for the casual culinary enthusiast. Have you even baked your own bread? Now is the time to learn. This starts with the essential ingredients - dough, sauce, cheese - and from there you can build on. Here’s where you get your training wheels in your kitchen. Remember, there’s no way to make this inedible.
Step Two: Ingredients
So you have the basics down and you’ve learned how to not burn your pizza down to a cinder brick circle. Now we start to get a little creative in the dining room. Here’s where you start to experiment with toppings. When you hear “experiment” you should take that to heart, because there is no wrong way to make delicious pizza. Go nuts and try adding balsamic vinaigrette and lettuce for a healthy, Mediterranean snack. Consider trying out the following toppings:
- Bianco
- Cajun shrimp
- Shrimp scampi
- Spinach and garlic
- Hawaiian (ham and pineapple)
- Veggie
- Potato
- Salad
- Salmon
- Onion
- Bacon
- Eggs
- Lamb
- Feta
- Mushroom
- Artichoke
- Ham
- Brie
- Clam
- Corn
- Meat-olive
- Eggplant
- Sicilian
- Herb
- Smoked mozzarella
- Zucchini
- And many more…
Going the Distance
"If properly dried and trimmed, New York-style pizza could be used to make a box for Chicago-style pizza.” - Nick Offerman
Now let’s ramp it up to eleven. Now that you’ve mastered the art of creating a pizza, matching the toppings, and enjoying many meals in the process, let’s change everything you know about the fundamentals: double stuffed crust pizza, Mexican bean pie, and crazy crust. These recipes will shake your notion of what food can be and are generally enjoyed with several buddies and lots of beer. Get your kitchen in gear and make sure you’ve got what it takes to take pizza making to a whole new level.
In the end, even cold pizza is still good pizza. There are few things as widely versatile and still delicious, no matter how you make it. So take the dive into creating your own and learn what it means to be a master chef ....when it comes to pizza.
