The Amish Cook: Gloria Talks Pizza

THE AMISH COOK

BY GLORIA YODER
Who doesn’t like pizza?  Not everyone cares for the same kind, but most of us enjoy a good slice of some sort of pizza every now and then. My husband Daniel is no exception.  In fact, in one of the  first years of our marriage I told Daniel I’ll make a goal of  making a pizza of some kind for him every Friday for our supper. I wish I could tell you that I’ve been doing it ever since, but that is not the story. Even though my high ideas didn’t last as long as I had hoped they would I still enjoy watching Daniel’s face light up when he discovers a fresh pan of pizza.  And Julia and Austin seem to be taking after Daddy when it comes to pizzas. They eat it any time, any day. Julia is especially fond of fruit pizza, she likes it loaded with all kinds of fruit.

I wonder what pizza you enjoy the most? I really, really wish I could give you a piece of  this homemade pizza I had last night. My brother Jeriah has a girlfriend who is known to make the best pizzas in the community. Last night we had the opportunity of being at her house for pizza.  It certainly was no disappointment at all. The creamy texture and delicious flavors of chicken, ham, barbecue sauce, cheese, and pepperoni blended harmoniously.  Mmmm, I can almost taste it as I write. The good news is I’ll passing along the recipe to you to try it yourself. One of the secrets is to not over-bake the crust or over-bake the chicken. Keep everything nice and moist. We had ours loaded with peppers and onions but not everyone does so when I make for guests I leave the one side plain. When it comes to pizzas your imagination is the limit on what can be spread on top of your crust. Whether it is a regular fruit pizza and vegetable pizza or any other kind put on what you like. No one can say you’re doing it wrong; our taste buds just aren’t all alike!

I remember when I was a girl and first heard of pineapple on chicken pizza. To me that sounded quite far-fetched and now that is one of my favorite combinations on pizza.  If you like pinto beans, sprinkle a handful of them on your pizza for added protein.

My grandma recalls first hearing about pizzas when they were young and married, about 50 years ago. According to her recollection they were first made in pie pans, resulting in more filling and less crust. They simply browned hamburger, put it into the baked crust, along with some pizza sauce, and topped it with cheese.

Now here we are a half century down the road and there are more kinds of pizza than I’ll ever know. One of our favorite pizza meals is a pizza meal consisting of regular pizza, vegetable pizza, and fruit pizza.  This works very well if you’ve got a family gathering or several families coming for dinner. Each family can bring a pan of pizza resulting in all kinds of mouth-watering options.  I have included our homemade barbecue sauce recipe below, but you can save a step and use your favorite store bought kind as well.

 

DANIEL’S FAVORITE MOUTH-WATERING BARBECUE PIZZA

Cheese of your choice
Sour cream mixed with your your choice of seasonings
Grilled turkey breasts, diced
Ham , chunked
Pepperoni
Onions, diced
Peppers, diced
Barbecue sauce
Cheese of your choice
HOMEMADE BARBECUE SAUCE
1 /2 cup ketchup
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon Worchestershire sauce
1 /4 teaspoon liquid smoke
1 /2 teaspoon chili powder
1 /4 garlic salt
1 /2 teaspoon onion salt
1 /2 teaspoon prepared mustard
Combine
until blended.

CRUST:  3 /4 cup hot water

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons honey

2 teaspoons salt

2 1 /2 teaspoons yeast

4 cups flour (I use a blend of white and wheat)

For added flavor add a dash of garlic powder, oregano, or other seasonings of your choice. Press into greased pan (18 X11) with sides. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes and then and top with cheese and spread sour cream mixture and bake an additional 10 minutes. Layer remaining ingredients on top. Return to oven until thoroughly heated. Cut and enjoy!