Pizza Party #4: Casual SUCCESS!

I know, I know ... I should really stop posting successful Pizza Party stories. But I've decided I am only going to post when we have reached a new goal. Sunday night we reached the goal of 'casually' lighting the oven, when we didn't have any plans that morning.

I was out of town when Scott sent a text to our friends, "Not many warm days remain. I've started the heater on the pool, come and join us." That afternoon we had a pool full (although the hot tub was equally busy due to the cooler temperatures). Scott said, "Should I start the pizza oven?" I don't do anything last minute. I am am organizer. I plan everything. This kind of question stressed me out. But I said "Yes!" because this was one of my goals ... could we crank up the oven last minute, and use dough from our party the week before to feed a few friends? I learned, yes we can!

Yummy S'More Calzone. Nutella, Graham Crackers and Marshmallows.

She looks miserable, doesn't she?

We set up all the toppings outside again. Nice night!

It only took us a couple hours to heat the oven, which was perfect as we were all hanging outside. Scott experimented with using less wood, which resulted in a cooler oven making the pizzas a little harder to cook. Why he did that neither of us really know. He learned from the guy that sold us our chimney (I will post on that later, once we get it installed) that we should start the fire slowly, and build over time. He did that all night. He was also anxious about using up the remaining four boxes of hardwood we have left. I didn't realize that until the end of the night, in which I told him my dad was bringing six more this weekend!

I was a little anxious we would run out of dough, but by the end of the night we were all stuffed! We even made an apple-mascarpone pizza. Yummy! The night was another success. Have I said yet that this oven rocks?

Things necessary to fire the oven at the last minute:

• Must have dough made. I'm still using Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day. It was still great after sitting in my fridge for one week.
• Must have basic ingredients on hand. Cheese (mozzarella), olives (can), pizza sauce (jar), pesto (frozen), onions, garlic and dessert ingredients. 

We've Got Gas

I'll admit Scott is staying more motivated with continuing the oven than I am. Once this thing was ready for a firing, I was ready to party and put the completion on the 'back burner'. The day following our third Pizza Party Scott got out there and hooked up the gas burner.

As I mentioned previously we purchased a gas burner that sits in the back of the oven for times when we 'need a little extra heat'. Not sure how much we will use it, but for the cost (in comparison to the overall project), it seems like a good idea. Today he got it hooked up!

Pizza Party #3 - Another SUCCESS!

I'm not sure how long I can keep up with these positive posts, but once again we had a very successful Pizza Party. Our friends, Mark and Kari Kyllo, came for the evening with their kids Jane, Rose, Thomas, and Teddy. Our goal for the night: Create some new dough recipes, and focus on new pizza creations. The night exceeded our expectations. In addition to meeting our original two goals, the oven burned much hotter than previously, and we were organized enough to involve our guests. It was my birthday and I have to say, "What a night!"

Mark, Teddy (squished in the middle) and Thomas
with their Pizza Creation!

I purchased the book Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day for my own collection, as I knew I would use it regularly after reading through the author's first book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. I made three dough recipes; Naan, Napoletana, and the Kid's Favorite. The naan was delicious! We made that first, and ate it as an appetizer with homemade hummus (Paradis' recipe), baba ganoush (from my CSA's eggplant) and artichoke dip. Not sure we needed anything after that, but we continued ...

The Naan rolled out nicely, and cooked up well.

Next we cooked up the Kids' Favorite recipe. The dough rolled out great - very easy. We got the kids involved, and Thomas was the first one to make a pizza. He made several after that, including one with olives (his favorite) and one with Nutella, graham crackers and marshmallows. I'm sure you aren't surprised that one went fast!

Next we moved on to the Napoletana dough, and it was sticky. I have to admit when I made it the night before I was multi-tasking and could have made a mistake on measuring the flour. Although it was much harder to roll out because it was so sticky, the flavor was good and we enjoyed the crispness since it was thin.

Fresh cherry tomatoes from my garden.

Pesto, from my garden, along with mozzarella.

My favorite .. Onion and Goat Cheese.

We were all stuffed by the end of the night, including the kids that were very satisfied with all the different pizza combinations.

Something we weren't expecting from the evening, was the oven burned so much hotter than the last two firings. The only thing we changed, was burning hardwood all evening. Wow, what a difference! There were times when Scott had to mop down the floor to cool it down, which we never had done before. A couple weeks ago I purchased a full logger's cord of hardwood that will sit at my parents for the next year curing. In the meantime my father is supplying us with the ends of hardwood boards he is collecting from building cabinets.

This video pretty much sums up the evening. Everyone got involved making the pizzas, and we had a ton of fun. Have I said it yet that this pizza oven ROCKS?

Thanks Mark and Kari for a perfect birthday evening ...