Hot Honey Pizza
The key to enjoying life, and having happy moments on a regular basis - make the time. Look at a schedule, plot out the week, and make the time to do the things that bring the most joy to my life. I’ve had to sory of learn this the hard way lately, and I’ve more recently made the conscious decision to not let life, the demands of work, & the demands of a non-typical schedule be my excuse for not making time for the small moments that really do feel the most special. Right now, that means making the time to get a little dirty & messy in the kitchen, even if it waits until 10 o’clock at night. & I’ve got to say that our late night pizza party that resulted in this amazingness was one moment that made me feel like I’m making the most of every moment, and successfully carving out time for me.
I get kind of caught up on having an opposite schedule from my husband when I’m working at the bar and he’s home, and I do get a little sad. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss the routine of being home from our 9-5 jobs and spending every night together having a little dinner & watching our current favorite TV show. & during the holidays unwinding by watching a festive movie every night. Every night is the part that just isn’t reality anymore. The highlight of working at the bar, for me, is the time when w'e’re there together, & it’s just not exactly the same when I’m there with anyone else. Probably my stage 5 clinger coming out, but it’s true, and when I’m there on a Tuesday night without my husband, ya I get a little bummed that we’re not at home having dinner together like “normal people.”
So this time I chose to change things up to still have a cozy night in, & have late night pizza party when I got home from the bar. It was f*cking fun! Having a few moments to cook together, and cook something indulgent, and comforting, and just f*cking satisfying. It was just really nice. Even at 10pm, it felt like it injected a healthy dose of fun & liveliness into my life, and was an added element of gratitude for that week that I really wanted. So point being more late-night nights in the kitchen is a hell yes, but not every night because who wants to eat dinner at 10pm every night? I mean our digestive systems would go nuts.
In regards to culinary take-aways, hot honey is my new favorite thing to put on pizza. We used to go to this brewery in AZ, and always get a pizza from the place next door for a little pizza & beer casual date, and this spot had a pizza with honey drizzled all over it. Sticky & sweet & different, but I loved it. So hot honey on pizza - so good! Warm up the honey, add in a few dashes of your favorite hot sauce plus a pinch of red pepper flakes. HEAVEN!! It’s like people that dip their pizza in ranch for fun surprise - this hot honey acts as a fun surprise.
The real reason this pizza was so good - homemade sauce. Oh my god homemade pizza sauce is the the freaking best. & this sauce is so simple - San Marzano tomatoes + seasoning + herbs. Literally that’s it. I had my doubts it was would be kinda bland, but literally Jordan & I were licking the spoon. It’s kinda sweet due to the San Marzanos, and it’s just pure tomato goodness. Just proof that there’s something to be said about keeping it simple to keep it delicious.
I’ll end with this: This my cheater. My no pizza stone, keep it simple, no frills, homemade pizza. Take it up a notch by using a stone and any other fancy shit on deck, or keep it quick & easy with a baking sheet and homemade dough like I did. & it was still worth every cheesy, greasy calorie.
For the Pizza
1 pre-made pizza dough (something from a specialty store or your local pizza spot)
1 28-ounce can San Marzanos
2 cloves garlic
Salt & pepper
1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese
2 c. shredded mozzarella
Pepperoni slices
1/4 c. honey
EVOO
a few dashes favorite hot sauce
a pinch of red pepper flakes
Crank the oven to 450, and place a baking sheet in the oven. Place a ramekin with the honey in it in the oven for 7-8 minutes.
Place a large skillet over medium heat. Add in about a tablespoon of EVOO, the tomatoes, and garlic. Break up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon and bring the sauce to a simmer. Add in a pinch of salt and pepper, stir, and continue let the sauce simmer for about 7-8 minutes so it thickens. Keep the sauce over low heat until you’re ready to top the pizza.
Remove the honey from the oven. Add in a couple dashes of hot sauce and the red pepper flakes, stir together, and set aside.
Work the pizza into an oval/rectangle shape by stretching it with your hands. If you don’t know how to do this, google it. Once it’s about 1/4 inch in thickness, lay the dough on the hot pan and par-bake for 4-5 minutes. It should be just cooked, but not browned on top. Remove from the oven, top with parmesan & mozzarella, and then the sauce on top of the cheese. Sprinkle on the pepperonis. Bake for 8-12 minutes - until the crust is browned, cheese is bubbly, and toppings start to crisp up.
Take the pizza out of the oven, and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Drizzle the hot honey over the whole thing. Slice it up, & chow down. Sooooo good!