What’s a great way to close out the week? With an impromptu pizza party! And I’m not talking about greasy cardboard boxes delivered to the door. When Colin texted to say he and Anthony had each prepared homemade dough and homemade sauces, of course I was in. The rest of us brought abundant toppings, which I have to say we got pretty creative with.

Appetizers

Hand making pizzas takes some time, but luckily we had some appetizers to hold us over. Sheana brought homemade Oreo fixings – the Thomas Keller recipe, so for sure the fanciest Oreos I’ve ever had!

Nelson made salmon cakes. These were great with a dollop of yogurt. I found myself wishing I hadn’t eaten so many once the pizzas started rolling out.

Pizzas

Colin made a sausage pizza, with BBQ sauce made with ingredients harvested from his parent’s farm in Colorado! Well, actually it got stuck on the board and we ended up having to fold it into a calzone to get it into the oven. So perhaps not the greatest presentation, but tasted great!

I made a rosemary potato pizza. I have fond memories of the first time I had potato pizza when studying overseas in Italy. This was my attempt to re-create that experience, which I deem a success! Carb on carb… ohhhh yessss.

Anthony made a traditional pepperoni pizza. This really allowed his fantastic homemade sauce to shine. I think it’s the best pizza sauce I’ve had. Ever. Bold statement, I know.

Sheana made a banana curry pizza. This is a Swedish pizza. Yes, that’s a thing – look it up. Swedish pizzas have immigrant-inspired ingredients like kebab, bearnaise sauce, and yes, banana curry. It is literally a cheese pizza with banana slices and curry powder sprinkled on top. If you haven’t already, try it.

Sheana also made a buffalo cauliflower pizza with Gorgonzola and mozzarella. I would never have bet that the cauliflower pizza would be my favorite one, but it was. The creaminess of the Gorgonzola contrasted nicely with the spice and pop of the cauliflower.

Danielle made a portobello mushroom pizza. We had some debate about whether the mushroom could just be thinly sliced and placed on the pizza raw, or needed to be sautéed first. So we tried a bit of each. Sautéed won for sure.

Anthony made a meat lovers pizza. I like anything with pepperoni and sausage, especially with his amazing homemade sauce.

Dessert

If you know this crowd at all, you know we don’t skip dessert. But it was a pizza party, so why not try our hand at making up some dessert pizzas? I did an apple pizza on a base of honey yogurt, topped with coconut flakes and cinnamon sugar. Topped with vanilla ice cream after baking. Yum.

Colin made a blackberry and onion coulis, which I know sounds a bit odd, but was quite good. He topped it with a white chocolate drizzle. Fancy.