Mediterranean Pizza, Chicago Style (Day 11)

Last night was the highest number of guests I've cooked for yet: 4 couples including Rory and myself. Ahhh! I really wanted to do sweet pork but sweet pork requires a Crock Pot, which we don't have. I put that on my Christmas wishlist though! Instead I decided that a pizza is a crowd-pleaser, but what kind? That was the question. At first I was going to go for Canadian bacon and peppers, but then I remembered a wonderful pizza from a restaurant in San Diego. The restaurant, Seau's, has since closed. But I remember going there a lot as a kid and my mom always ordered a thin-crusted Mediterranean pizza. It was amazing, and after all of these years, I wish I could have just one more slice. So I figured I should share it with everyone coming over.
3 1/4 - 3 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. oil (I used olive oil)
1 pkg. dry yeast
1 1/4 cups warm water

In large mixing bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups flour, yeast and salt. Mix well.
Add water and oil to flour mixture. Blend at low speed until moistened. Beat for 3 minutes at medium speed. By hand, stir in enough remaining flour to make a firm dough. Knead on floured surface 3-5 minutes. Cover dough with plastic wrap and towel. Let rest 20 minutes.
On floured surface, roll dough to 16-inch circle. Placed in oiled round pan or cookie sheet. Push up side. Cover and let rise until puffy (about 30 minutes). Spread sauce and desired toppings on pizza. Bake at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Mediterranean Pizza:
1 small jar of pesto sauce
Cooked diced chicken breast
Artichoke hearts
Sun-dried tomatoes
Mozzarella cheese (I grated mine off a block)
Crumbled feta cheese

Okay, this was my first time making pizza dough, and it wasn't the most pleasant thing to do, at least not in my tiny kitchen! It was a good thing my sister Lisa was there to help, otherwise it would have been an impressive mess. I would suggest having a helper too, so they can sprinkle flour on the dough as you knead it. But if you're more experienced with pizza dough than I am, you should do just fine!
Unfortunately, I didn't get a lot of pictures because I was a in a rush.

The dough before going into the fridge to do its thing.

Right before going into the oven. I sprinkled some basil and Parmesan cheese on the crust.

Fresh out of the oven!

As nice as that pizza looks, it didn't want to leave the stone it cooked on. Even though I spread a good amount of oil over it before baking, the pizza would not come off! That was definitely a problem, and pretty embarrassing! With some prying, we managed to get it off of the stone, but not without the hardened crust staying stuck to the stone. Luckily we had a pre-rolled dough from the pizza store down the street and lots of leftover ingredients, so we made another pizza, thin crust this time, and it was ready in 15 minutes.
However, it all went fast! The Chicago-style pizza was gone in an instant and most of the thin-crust pizza was eaten up. We served it with an Italian salad and one of the couples brought veggies and dip. An overall healthy meal, and so yummy!  I'm actually eating a slice of leftover pizza as I write this.
Rating:
Simplicity: 5. Yes, I'm sorry. Delicious, but a tough one. I think I tackled more than I could chew by going for a from-scratch dough for a large group. I've made pizza before, but it was frozen dough on a cookie sheet. This was very different and messy! Adding the toppings is fun though, and one of these days I'd like to make my own pizza sauce, but it will probably be awhile before I do from-scratch dough again. Never again until I get a bigger kitchen!
Taste: 9.5. Good things take time. Everything came together really nicely. And while it wasn't as good as Seau's, it was a good attempt! The feta cheese got a lot of compliments and so did my embellished Chicago-style crust even though half of it got left on the pizza stone. For a first attempt at pizza, I'm pretty proud of it, I'm just going to have to find a way to make my pizza come off the stone. Any tips?
Overall, I really liked the pizza and I'm glad we have some leftover!