I can’t believe we are nearing the end of October. Halloween is in just a few days and then November will be here. Growing up in New York, Halloween was always one of my favorite holidays. I loved the excitement of shopping for costumes a few weeks before Halloween, preparing ghoulish treats on the days leading up to Halloween, and stocking up on tons of candy for fellow trick or treaters who may happen to ring our doorbell on the day of Halloween. The anticipation leading up to Halloween was always my favorite part of the holiday. As a child, I would beg my parents to take me trick or treating around our neighborhood right after school. My parents usually would take my brothers and I up and down the block we grew up on in Brooklyn whenever they had some time on the day of Halloween. When I got older, I would meet up with some friends to go trick or treating the evening of Halloween. We would weave our way through my neighborhood in Brooklyn collecting treats along the way. If there was a house with Halloween decorations, we would make our way up the steps, ring the doorbell, and wait to see what treats we would get. Trick or treating became an annual tradition. Some years I went with friends. Other years I went with my brothers. When I got to college, Halloween became evenings of dressing up and going out dancing around town in Ann Arbor. I dressed up as a fairy almost every year throughout college since it was the easiest costume to pull together. I kept the same fairy wings I bought at a local Rite Aid back in high school throughout college just to use for Halloween. After college, I realized I was too old to go trick or treating around town. Plus, I became much more aware of the chilly weather and can’t seem to step foot outdoor unless I had on at least three layers. Instead of going out, Halloween became celebrating with friends indoors over good food and festivities whenever we had the chance to gather together. One of the easiest dishes to make for a Halloween gathering is pizza. You can decorate the pizza however you like with any toppings of your choice. The toppings can be anywhere from simple to ghoulish. I made a simple meatball pizza as a way to use up leftover meatballs from my spaghetti and meatballs. The lean, meaty Italian inspired meatballs are halved and topped on a margherita style pizza pie (my absolute favorite pizza pie of all times). If you are feeling festive, you can also turn my meatball pizza into eyeball pizza by adding some mozzarella balls stuffed with olives to look like eyeballs. To add freshness to the pizza, I topped the pizza with some fresh basil and parsley right before serving. The meatball pizza was cheesy, tangy, meaty, savory, and fresh. Not only is a meatball pizza easy to whip together, it is a great way to bring together friends to celebrate Halloween.
For the dough:
· 2½ cups double zero flour or all-purpose flour, plus additional for kneading the dough
· ½ teaspoon active dry yeast
· 1 teaspoon kosher salt
· 1 teaspoon fine sugar
· ¾-1 cup water
· 2 teaspoons olive oil
· 1 tablespoon olive oil
For the rest of the pizza:
· 3 tablespoons tomato puree from a can
· ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
· ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
· ¼ teaspoon Italian seasoning
· ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
· 2 ounces Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
· 2-3 ounces mozzarella cheese, cubed or shredded
· 5 homemade meatballs, halved
· 3 sprigs fresh basil, stems trimmed and thinly sliced
· 3 sprigs fresh parsley, stems trimmed
Directions:
1) Prepare the pizza dough the evening before. In a large bowl, combine the flour, yeast, salt, and sugar. Stir to combine all ingredients. Gradually add in ¾ cup of water to the mixture. Begin kneading the dough. Gradually add more water if needed. Add the two teaspoons of olive oil. Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes directly in the large bowl or on a lightly floured surface. Drizzle the tablespoon of olive oil in the large bowl. Coat the dough in the olive oil and let it rest in the bowl. Place a sheet of plastic wrap over the bowl. Let the dough rise undisturbed overnight.
2) In the morning, preheat oven to 500°F with a pizza stone placed on the center rack. Place a sheet of parchment paper over a pizza peel. Divide the dough in half. Reshape both halves into a ball. Place one of the balls of dough onto the parchment lined pizza peel. Save the other ball of dough to use later (or right after). Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough on the pizza peel.
3) Add the tomato sauce and spread all over the pizza dough in circles starting from the center. Evenly distribute the kosher salt, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and freshly cracked black pepper all over the pizza dough. Distribute the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, mozzarella cheese, and halved meatballs evenly over the pizza. Top with half of the thinly sliced basil. Gently glide the pizza and parchment paper onto the pizza stone and cook for 10-12 minutes.
4) Remove the pizza from the oven once the crust begins to turn golden brown. Let the pizza rest for a couple minutes before topping with fresh basil and parsley.
The evening before:
The next day:
Takeaways: Pizza is the perfect party food and can be customized to suit many individual taste buds. Some of my favorite pizzas include margherita, BBQ hot chicken, pickles, and gorgonzola, BBQ turkey, broccoli, bacon, and cherry tomatoes, and buffalo chicken, The versions of pizza you can create in the kitchen are truly endless.