Mama’s New York-Style Pizza Dough : Traditional and Sloppy Joe

I’m a bit embarrassed to admit this, but the other night for dinner, I made Sloppy Joes.

That’s right. Extra Sloppy. I know how you kids like them extra sloppy.

(Wait…it gets worse.)

Sometimes I like to eat All-American, ok?! I like to take a little break from my usual dinner routine and open A single can of something and A single package of another thing. Then, bam, call it dinner.

I effing love Sloppy Joes. My mom NEVER let us have hot lunch at school during those formative elementary years, so you can imagine my drool-factor when my friends would sit at the table with their Sloppy Joes in one compartment, mandarin oranges in another, and a peanut butter-square in the third. (Ha! Can you imagine?! Peanut butter…at a public school?!!)

Jealousy is an 8-letter word.

When I told Sean we were having Sloppy Joes for dinner, he yelped like a giddy little 7-year old girl.

Right, so what I’m saying is that I took the night off and we shoved our faces with Sloppy Joes.

But that’s not why you’re reading this. You want a pizza dough recipe and I’ll get to it.

I love said Sloppy Joes so much in fact, I made waaaay too much. Like, one pound and one can too much.

Remember when I said it gets worse?

Well, last night, with the extra Slop-Jo on-hand, I got crafty. I got real crafty to the point where I asked Sean if this was going to be a good idea.  Or, will it be a horrible idea that we’d never talk about again?

It was a good idea. I ran it past him, and again…giddy like a 7-year old girl.

Here’s what I did. Shhhh, seriously. I’m serious.

I made some pizza dough (finally, right?!) AND I took that pizza dough, rolled it out, and spread leftover Sloppy Joe on top. OMG, stop it. I know.

THEN, added two cups of steamed broccoli, and about 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese.

I’m almost disgusted with myself for sharing this with you.

Then, I baked accordingly, and, it was, I’m not even kidding, the quietest this family had ever eaten their dinner in AGES. AGES, I TELL YOU.

Gianna devoured. Lillian devoured. Sean, ate at the head of the table, silently, devouring. I sat there debating if I should take a picture of this pizza, or keep on shoving in my face. I did the latter. The baby lay there like a slug. It was her only defense. (She was sleeping.)

That’s right friends. Sloppy Joe pizza.

Like it or not, it’s what happened in this household last night. And it was awesome.

You may remember last week I made a more traditional pepperoni pizza on my mom’s Italian-Style pizza dough. It was, also, awesome.

Pizza’s pretty much taken over my life lately. And here’s why:

You may have those nights when you’re like “Ugggggh dinner. Again?! I have to feed you people, again?! Let’s just get take-out.” And then, you get the take-out and you think, “God dammit, I could’ve made this, but better. And saved $37.28.” Then, you polish off a bottle of wine because you’re mad at yourself for not making dinner and copping-out by getting shitty take-out. That happens to me at least twice a month.

(Shitty take-out. That should be a tagline for a city. The exact city in which I live.)

Just make the pizza dough. Just make it, make it, make it. Make it. It takes like 5 minutes and costs pennies.

Then, when you’re having your moment of “I have to feed you people, again,” you’ve got the dough in your fridge, and you can make a pizza out of ANYTHING in your fridge, freezer, pantry. Just do it. And your kids will feel sooooo important because they helped sprinkle one tablespoon of cheese that took one-painfully-long-minute to get on the pizza.

You know how you have Grandma Rose’s Bolognese in your freezer? Thaw that. Use it on the pizza dough. You know how you have ricotta from the ziti you made? Throw that on. And you’ve got pepperoni because your kids are freaks because they love to just snack on spicy pepperoni all day long? Use that pepperoni on your pizza.

Or you’ve got Sloppy Joes. Shhhh, just don’t judge me. I didn’t take a picture for that exact reason.

You’re welcome.

new york-style pizza (page 110, Savor the Memories)

1 teaspoon active dry yeast
2/3 cup warm water (110 degrees)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
extra olive oil to coat the bowl

Sprinkle yeast over warm water and let stand for 1 minute. Stir until yeast dissolves. In bowl, combine the flour, salt, and olive oil, Stir in the water and yeast. Stir until soft dough forms. Knead for 5 minutes, adding more flour if dough is wet. Coat a bowl with oil. Add dough; wrap in plastic; allow to rise for 1 1/2 hours. Flatten dough on a floured work surface. Roll out to a 12-inch diameter. Place on pizza stone or on round pizza tray.

topping:

2 cups Grandma Rose’s Bolognese Sauce or her Basic Tomato Sauce
1 pound fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons olive oil

Spread sauce evenly over dough to 1/2 inch of edge of dough. Sprinkle on mozzarella, grated cheese, basil, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Drizzle past with olive oil. Bake on bottom shelf of 475-degree oven for 12-15 minutes or until crispy and cheese is bubbly

Serve at once.

Serves 2-4.