(Nearly) Homemade Pizza

What a day! It may be May, but apparently the weather doesn’t care. We awoke to a sky filled with dark clouds: air thick with raindrops, and a temperature high of 42. Wonderful. We might as well have stayed in Seattle for a day like this. But we are used to bad days, so we loaded up and headed out to New Glarus, a Swiss town a short drive away. The town itself is adorable. Kitschy shops line the one historic street, guaranteed to fulfill all your lederhosen and miniature Swiss flag needs.

The town also has the honor of being home to New Glarus Brewing Company http://www.newglarusbrewing.com/, a Wisconsin based Micro Brewery, well worth a visit if you ever make it out this way. The 2-year-old building has 6 miles of stainless steel piping laid by one 24-year old guy (it took him 2 1/2 years, but still, more than I have to show for my 23 years); it is more a work of art than a high volume, working Brewery. Try the Spotted Cow, their most famous brew, or my favorite, Stone Soup (only in WI, sadly).

It may have been the 3 samples we had, but on the way home, we were really craving pizza. Homemade of course, no Dominos delivery for us!! Well, I have to confess, it wasn’t 100% homemade, more of home compiled. I love fresh crust, and I don’t mean the Pillsbury kind that comes in the cardboard can that you peel open and it pops- although that is always fun, like the poppers you get on New Years.  I mean the fresh crust with the yeasty, floury smell that fills the kitchen as you knead it.

Now normally, I would be ecstatic to measure out my ingredients, mix it, knead it, and devote a few hours to watching it rise, but yesterday, I was just too lazy. I’ll let you in on a little secret. Nearly all local Pizzerias will sell you raw pizza dough, for a lot less than you can get it at Whole Foods, and it is a lot tastier than a can of dough. I like to add some spice to the dough I get- a few dashes of garlic salt add a nice flavor. Once it is kneaded through, the fun part comes. Since I do not own a rolling pin, especially in my tiny travel kitchen kit, I make do with a bottle of wine- it has enough heft to get the job done.

I like to brush the edges of the crust with olive oil, which helps the edges to brown without burning. Inspired by our Little Switzerland excursion, I cut up some chicken sausage we had on hand and laid it over a nice imported Italian Pizza Sauce, sprinkled on some fresh oregano, and finished with local Wisconsin Mozzarella Cheese. 20 minutes in the oven, and voila- mostly homemade pizza! It was so good; we nearly ate it all before I remembered to take pictures!