The Football Player and the Pizza

Background:  Growing up in the '40s & '50s, everyone was expected to marry and raise children, the more, the better.  Parents' jobs were to prepare their children for this.  As I married in 1963 and started to birth those delightful little angels, I formulated a concrete, practical plan, a list of tasks they would have to complete in order to succeed after they graduated from high school.

The children needed to know how to manage money well.  This was my husband's particular gift.  They all had part-time jobs in high school.  We took them to church weekly to get them used to practicing their faith.  They saw us faithfully vote in every election.

They had to have some experience in child care.  No problem, there was always a baby.  Then when daughter #8, Jeannie, was a teenager, she had nieces and nephews to look after occasionally.  To survive, they would have to be able to shop and cook basic meals: hamburgers, pizzas (made with dough, yeast, etc.), cakes from a mix, and their favorite chocolate chip cookies from scratch.

Situation:  Carole, daughter #2, was 16 years old and had zero interest in cooking.  I told her, "Hon, it's time you learned how to make pizzas.  You can make them for dinner tonight.  I'll help get you started."  Carole snapped, "Oh, no, I won't.  I don't need to know that. Forget it!"  I emphasized, "Oh, yes, YOU WILL!  Get started."  So she did.

I wouldn't judge those first pizzas as "world class," but they were good enough for everyone to gobble up at dinner that night.  From then on, Carole took her turn making pizzas until she graduated from high school and went away to the University of Kentucky in the big city of Lexington, Kentucky.

Within two years, Carole was out of the dorms and living with her sister, Cathy, daughter #3, in a small apartment close to the university.  One afternoon I answered a frantic phone call from Carole.  "Mom, quick, give me the pizza recipe.  I'm having a football player over for dinner tonight and I want to make a pizza."  The recipe was so simple, I knew it from memory and recited it.

The next afternoon, I got another phone call from Carole.  "Thank you, thank you, thank you, mom, for making me make pizzas. He loved it and ate the whole thing!"

Lessons learned:  It's not often that a parent receives "thanks" from a child!  We do what we have to do, for their benefit, whether they particularly like it or not, and whether they like us or not.  If you're a parent, make your own list of what your children need to learn before they leave home.  If you plan on having children someday, keep this in mind. Believe me, raising children is the most fulfilling experience you could ever imagine!

Outcome:  Today Carole has four healthy children of her own.  She will host our family Thanksgiving Dinner next week for perhaps twenty guests.  And she will tell us which side dishes to bring!  Praise you, Lord, and thank you, for daughters and sons and grandchildren!

Carole's Yummy Pizzas  (makes two)

1 package active dry yeast

1 1/4 cups warm water (good to use a cooking thermometer, 110 to 115 degrees)

3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

Toppings

  Sprinkle the yeast on warm water in a medium-sized bowl, stir until dissolved.  Add 2 cups of the flour and the salt.  Mix thoroughly.  Slowly stir in the remaining flour.  Dump onto a lightly floured board.  Knead (push, pull, fold all areas) until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.  You want to add as little flour as you can so the dough won't stick to the board or your hands.

  Put the dough ball into another bowl that is greased with shortening.  Turn it over to make sure the top is also greased.  Cover this bowl with a kitchen towel.  Let it rise in a warm place until the dough is twice as big, about 30 minutes.  To check if the dough is doubled, stick one or two fingers into the dough quickly; if the imprint stays, the dough is doubled.

  Place the dough on your floured board again.  Knead just enough to get rid of any bubbles.  Cut the dough in half.  Roll both pieces of dough into 11-inch circles.  You can stretch the dough with your fingers if you don't have a rolling pin.  Put the dough onto two 12-inch pizza pans.

Toppings

  Spread half of a 16-oz can of tomato/pizza sauce over each pizza dough.  Add your favorite toppings: One pound of either cooked drained hamburger or sausage, other meat such as chicken, pepperoni, or ham strips, any combination of chopped vegetables such as onions, green peppers, mushrooms,etc.

  Finish off your pizzas by sprinkling over approximately 1 1/2 cups of shredded mozzarella/pizza cheese.

  BAKE in a preheated 450 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes.  Halfway through the cooking, switch pizzas in the over quickly so they brown the same. Yum!

Note:  This crust is like the real pizzas in Italy.  The natives like thin crusts.  In Italy, they put a little bit of meat, tons of veggies with just a small amount of tomato sauce and a small amount of cheese.