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Community Corner

A Recipe to Replace Ho-Hum Take-Out

Patch food columnist Amy Currie demonstrates how to make homemade pizza.

Friday night in Scotch Plains and Fanwood is like a collective sigh of relief. Kids are buzzing about town, some hauling their backpacks, some with cleats and uniforms, all with happy weekend faces. Adults, too, wrapping up the week and switching gears for the two-day respite we fondly call the weekend. But all this R&R doesn't bode well for the time and effort it takes to make a home-cooked dinner. The alternative, take-out, is so been-there-done-that.  

With a mild apology to the pizzerias in town, it is possible to make your own pizza and make it exponentially better. You still need a little help from the experts, notably in the form of pizzeria dough, and most will sell theirs if you ask.  

The rest of the ingredients are simple, but high quality is essential with fresh mozzarella, freshly-grated Parmigiano Reggiano and San Marzano tomatoes (canned, yes, but from the rich volcanic soil of the Naples region in Italy). The ingredients can all be found in supermarkets or specialty food stores, such as , , Trader Joe's in Westfield, Summit Cheese Shop or Hoboken Farms of Summit. When it's all combined and baked in your own oven on your own time, you get crispy crust and gooey cheese, married with the sweet chunks of tomatoes that dot the pie. It's not pizza out of a Neapolitan coal-fired brick oven, but when you make it at home, you can have a glass of wine in your slippers and take in the magic of Friday night.

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"Almost" Homemade Pizza

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 12 minutes
Serves: 6-8

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1 pound pizza dough, purchased at your favorite pizzeria, room temp
2 teaspoons olive oil
28 oz can San Marzano tomatoes
4-6 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound fresh mozzarella
1/2 pound Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
1 cup loosely packed fresh basil
Assorted topping such as proscuitto, caramelized onions and sauteed mushrooms 
2, 12-inch pizza pans, pizza wheel for cutting

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees

Spread one teaspoon of olive oil on each pizza pan.  Divide dough into two equal halves.  Roll out one at a time onto a lightly floured surface (be patient, the dough may be springy and unyieldy, but keep  rolling).  When the dough is the size of the pan, lay it on top and stretch it out to slightly fold all around the edge.

Drain tomatoes in a colander and mush with your clean hands or the back of the spoon. Evenly distribute on both pizzas.  Then, distribute minced garlic on both pizzas.

Cut mozzarella ball in half.  Slice each half in 1/4-inch slices and place on dough. Sprinkle half a cup of Parmesan on each pizza.  Bake 10-12 minutes until bubbly. Immediately top with basil leaves.  Using a pizza wheel, cut into 6-8 slices. 

Amy Currie is a mother of three and teacher at the Kings Cooking Studio in Short Hills. She is the author of "Memoirs of a Home Cook," "Every Great Recipe Has a Story" and her latest cookbook, "Secrets of a Home Cook." You can e-mail her at summitpatchdish@gmail.com. She writes a weekly column for the Summit Patch, which appears every Thursday at summit.patch.com.

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