Categories: Food & Wine

Host a Make Your Own Pizza Party

There are so many ways to involve your guests in food prep when you are hosting a party and a pizza bar is a great way to do it. Whether you are hosting a Superbowl party or a dinner party, guests will enjoy topping their own pizzas.

There is some preparation work to do but once you have that organized, you can relax and enjoy the food and festivities with your guests. The neat thing about a make-your-own-pizza party is that you can cater to all the tastes of your guests without making all sorts of separate dishes.

Get a Head and Toppings Count
As you send out your invitations or make your phone calls to invite guests, stir up interest in the party by letting your guests know what to expect. Ask them what types of toppings they prefer on pizzas. Keep a running tally so you’ll have a complete head count and an idea of what topping to prepare. This also doubles as your shopping list.

Prep the Toppings
Cook and dice up the meats. These may include ground beef, Italian sausage, sliced pepperoni, chopped chicken, fried and chopped bacon, cooked ham or cooked chorizo sausage. Next, you’ll need to chop the vegetables. Favorites often include diced green peppers, sliced fresh mushrooms, fresh tomatoes, olives, and chopped onions.

Herbs are also needed. Basil leaves, oregano and rosemary should cover your guests’ palettes. Offer some minced fresh garlic as well. You can make homemade pizza sauce ahead of time or simply heat a jar of store-bought pizza sauce. Grated mozzarella, shredded parmesan and some crumbled feta cheese are the main choices you’re likely to need.

Pizza Dough
Make your own dough by mixing 1 ¼ cups of flour, one package of dry yeast and ½ tsp salt. Add one cup of warm water and two tablespoons of cooking oil. Beat for about three minutes.

Place the dough on a floured surface and knead until stiff, about 6 to 8minutes. Divide the dough into 8 equal sections. Cover and let sit for ten minutes. Depending on the number of guests, you may need to make more than one batch. Flour a sheet of parchment paper and rollout each section of dough into a 6 inch circle.

Making the Pizzas
Provide each guest with a piece of dough. Instruct guests to use 1/3 cup of sauce, ¾ cup of grated cheeses and no more than one cup of toppings. Keep the pizzas on the parchment paper when transferring them to baking sheets. Bake 15 to 20 minutes in an oven preheated to 425 degrees.

Tips
You can use refrigerated pizza dough to speed up the process. Apply sauce, then toppings and finally cheese for the best results.