Pizza...ohhhh yeah

I made pizza last night...I didn't attempt to do it with beer this time around, just yeast. Figured I should start with the basics. The dough was easy. I don't know why I thought it would be hard. I wasn't tossing it up in the air or anything, but give me time and I'll be able to do it.

The cool thing is, I used an old cookbook my parents must have given me when I moved out of the house. It's this Sunset Magazine Italian Cook Book. Using an actual cookbook that I own gives me a warm fuzzy feeling. Almost like going to the library to do research instead of just looking it up online. Anyway, I decorated it withpineapple, turkey bacon, olives, red bell peppers, mushrooms and artichoke hearts, along with skim mozzarella and some red sauce I bought at the store.

So the pizza was pretty freakin' great. I have no complaints. The crust wasn't overly thick, and although I left it in the oven a little longer than the book suggested (there's nothing worse than pizza that's still doughy when you eat it), it wasn't tough or anything. Oh! The turkey bacon was a very nice touch. It tastes a bit like Canadian bacon, and really gave the pizza a great smokey flavor. Black olives are kind of a must for me when it comes to pizza, but I would like to try using green olives sometime. I did throw a huge clove of garlic in the dough, but next time I'll probably use a little more. I also think adding rosemary to the crust would be a nice touch. One thing I really missed was my fresh basil. Some desert creature must have eaten it, because last week I looked outside, and it was gone. I guess I need to plant some more.

Also, I recently purchased a bottle of Concannon Syrah at Albertson's...It was normally priced at $15.99, but was on sale for $6.99. I do so love a bargain, especially on good red wine! Anyway, it was smooth and delicious, and complimented the pizza perfectly.

Final thoughts? Next time maybe I'll try a spinach/pesto pizza. Yum!

P.S.
When I was putting my ingredients away, I somehow managed to get flour all over my face, and in my eyes and hair...Sorry I didn't get a picture of this. = ) Ashley got a good laugh out of it though.