Day Forty Four: Making Pizza 101

When I left home for college, my mother made sure I knew how to cook a chicken.  I don't recall exactly her instructions (calling it a "recipe" would be a stretch), but I'm sure she said something like, "cook at 350 degrees until the meat is no longer bloody, or you'll die."

Needless to say, I didn't cook many chickens.

Luckily I went to school before the low-carb craze really hit, so I subsisted on baked potatoes, granola bars, pizza and plain pasta. It's hard to die from undercooked pasta.

When my kids leave home to start their lives, I want them to know how to cook.  I don't expect anything fancy, but I want them to be able to make a few of their favorite recipes. I try to explain to them how things are made, but I can tell it's not really getting through:

Me:  See this pasta?

Three-year old daughter:  Yes, mommy, I see it.  :Takes one look at pasta then down at doll in hand:

Me:  When this pot of water boils, I'm going to put the pasta inside.  When the pasta is soft, it will be ready to eat!   :trying to sound excited:

Three-year-old daughter:  Ready to eat?

Me:  Yes!  All ready for you to put in your tummy! :pats child's tummy:

Three-year-old daughter looks at me, looks blankly at pot of water, then back at me and says:

Mommy, I want to play princess!  Cinderella!!   :runs into next room:

I'm left standing in the kitchen, cooking lesson in tatters, wondering what happened to my fairy godmother.

So today, instead of just telling them about how things are made, I let them make pizza.  We made Martha's Three cheese pizza.  It was complete success, except for the part when they started fighting over the cheese and proceeded to wrestle over the pepperoni*, until we almost launched one pizza onto the floor. Luckily, I have cat-like reflexes was lucky and managed to save the pizza from ruin.

*Pepperoni not in the recipe.

Fixings:
I used naan bread, which for the uninitiated, is an Indian flatbread.  If you've never had naan, try it.  I will preemptively issue an apology, because once you try naan, you will love it, and it will quickly become one of the Things You Try To Avoid.  Sorry about that.

My son sorting through the pepperoni...and sneaking some when he thinks I'm not looking.

Spreading the sauce on the naan:

 Mozzarella application:  (I let them eat any they spilled on the counter...so they were not exactly careful in this process.  I'm rethinking that rule for next time.)

 Pepperoni on top (with a few in the mouth for good measure):

Delicious pizza.  They were so proud of themselves.

Pizza's finished now and I'm still waiting on my fairy godmother...but the kids have already asked what they can learn to make next.  

That glow you see on the horizon?  That's me.  I'm beaming I'm so proud.