It's the Pizza Hour

About author / Christine Gable

Culinary enthusiast; kids cuisine and slow cooking; magazine recipe developer; professional writer. Her simple recipes are great for family dinners.

Pizza. It’s a rare kid—or adult—who doesn’t like it. USA Today recently reported that 94 percent of Americans eat pizza. Whether you order out, go for frozen or decide to make your own, pizza is an easy dinner favorite for many. It’s also a great way to get mixing and talking with your kids in the kitchen. And it's economical: For less than fifty cents, you can throw together the ingredients for a delicious crust. The only caveat is that the dough needs time to rise—so if you’re planning a homemade pizza meal, it’s best to think an hour ahead. But don’t order out yet!

Think of that time spent waiting in line or driving to a restaurant. Think how that time could be better-spent by playing a game, reading together or just listening to your kids—you know, really listening, with no hidden agendas or to-dos. Perhaps even have them show you how to do something they’re good at: ballet, X Box or a computer game—even skateboarding. Watch, listen, and be fully there with your whole mind and body. And try it if you dare—it’s not as easy as they make it look! It’s a way to enter their world, on their level, a way to connect.

And before you know it, those 50 to 60 minutes of yeast-rising time will have passed and it’ll be time for the sauce and cheese. More often than not, I’ll set the timer and be jolted out of a real moment that I don’t want to end. Kind of like when I finally push myself to exercise, to meditate, or to finally finish that article I’ve been procrastinating on—once I get going, I have a hard time pulling myself away.

Yet the best part is it doesn’t have to end: Take that pizza hour and make it last all night—perhaps a movie together or a game or book. Or make pizza hour a weekly or bi-weekly tradition: One of my favorites is to end the week with a pizza meal—and find treasured time together.

As most everyone knows, pizza is of Italian origins—even the word pizza is an adaptation of an Old Italian word. According to author Linda Stradley, pizza has been a basic in the Italian diet dating all the way back to the Stone Age. That combination of flour and water baked in a fire was an awesome food discovery. Seasoned and baked with different toppings, it was used to sop up broth. Sops and bread plates were also common in Tudor England, where they were known as trenchers—and were even thrown to the poor and the dogs in the street. Apparently the Greeks ate a flat round bread also—and it was working man fare, both economical and easy.

Yes, bread-like crusts were popular around the world—but it was that Italian touch that combined the ever-popular tomato, herbs and cheese that is a favorite to this day. A major industry actually: According to USA Today, over $32 billion is spent annually on pizza, on 3 billion pizzas eaten annually. Think of it as 100 acres of pizza a day, or 350 slices a second.

If you’re looking for something new to try besides the standard cheese or pepperoni, sausage or mushroom, take a look at some of the 694 (and growing) exciting combinations available right here at CDKitchen. There are recipes for breakfast pizza, seafood pizza, and Mexican pizza, not to mention Artichoke Turkey Pizza, Arugula and Prosciutto Tortilla Pizza and Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza. Pizza has certainly been a topic of much experimentation—try out some of these or add your own favorite. And, please, write and share what your family likes best!

Here’s an excellent dough recipe that my son and daughter have both made countless times—a fabulous way to start your own Pizza Hour!

Serves/Makes: 3 crusts

• 2 packages (.25 ounce size) dry active yeast
• 1 1/2 cup warm water
• 4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil