and the adventure starts....now!: sweet tomato pizza & buffalo chicken pizza

I'm not a huge fan of regular pizza, but the ones I make at home are 10 notches above anything from Dominos.

In the spirit of new recipe month I found myself three new recipes; dough, sweet tomato sauce and buffalo chicken pizza (for J)!

I usually make a quick dough that doesn't need to rise because it's so much faster, but this time I opted for a full on pizza dough...don't worry - it's definitely worth the time....

2 1/4 teaspoons (or a .25 ounce packet) active dry yeast

1 1/2 cups warm water (110*)

1 teaspoon brown sugar

In large bowl, dissolved yeast and brown sugar into warm water. Let stand 10 minutes or until frothy.

Note: If you've never worked with yeast before, I promise it isn't difficult. I don't actually get the temperature of my 'warm' water I just finger test it (with a clean finger of course!). You want to be able to comfortably stick your finger in it for a few seconds. If its too hot, just pour a little out and add cold water. If it feels kinda luke warm (like you wouldn't get in the tub because you know you'd be cold in a few minutes) then continue to heat it up. It's important not to have your water too hot because it can easily kill the yeast. I always buy yeast in the jar because I use so much, but feel free to buy the little packets if you just want to try it out (they usually come in packs of 3, always in the baking aisle). Make sure to refrigerate your yeast after opening, if you bought the jar.

Okay, Next:

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon honey

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1. Stir salt, oil and honey into yeast mixture. Add in 2 1/2 cups flour.

2. Then turn onto a floured surface and knead in enough remaining flour until it is no longer sticky.

3. Place dough into a well oiled bowl and turn greased side up. Cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place until double; about an hour.

4. Punch dough down (yes, actually slam your fist into the bowl) and turn onto floured surface. Form into a tight ball and let rest for 10 minutes. Then form into pizza crust, if using a baking sheet spray first with oil and sprinkle with cornmeal to prevent sticking.

5. Bake at 425 for 30 minutes. (Let rise for about 15 mins and then bake in oven for 5 minutes prior to adding toppings unless you have a baking stone whereas you can just throw the whole thing on that with no extra rise or baking time).

While the dough is rising it's time to get started on the sauce! This time I decided to make a sweet tomato sauce rather than my usual spicy pizza sauce.

Sweet Tomato Pizza Sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 medium onion, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 (15 ounce) can crushed or diced tomatoes (or pureed)*

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 tablespoons honey

1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar

pepper to taste

1. In medium saucepan heat olive oil. Stir in onions and saute until soft. Stir in garlic and saute 1 minute.

2. Add in tomatoes, basil, oregano, salt, honey, brown sugar and pepper. Let simmer on low for 20-30 minutes.

*Here you can use pureed tomatoes (I can never find them) or just put your crushed or diced ones in a blender, problem solved

Okay, by now your dough has risen and is ready to be formed into a real pizza. I wish I had advice for this part, but I just mush mine into something that resembles a pizza round and hope for the best.

Last night I made two pizzas, one with a multitude of toppings and the other; buffalo chicken!

On MY pizza I topped it with my tomato sauce and fresh grated mozzarella. Then I made it 1/4 italian sausage and feta, 1/4 just italian sausage, 1/4 pesto, and 1/4 pesto with feta. They were all equally amazing...and yes that was the best pesto ever!

J's buffalo chicken pizza was super simple. Just spread some blue cheese dressing on the dough, top with cheese and cooked chicken that's been mixed with melted butter and hot sauce. Done!