The easiest way to get kids to try new and different foods is to get them interested in cooking. Even with picky eaters, hands on involvement breaks the ice and gets them excited about working with food and maybe even trying new things. The easiest place to start is with something everyone loves: Pizza.
The nice thing about pizza is that it allows for creativity and serious hands on preparation, but without the worries of having the little ones around the stove top. Even the toddlers can have a hand in spreading cheese and pepperoni without Mom & Dad having to run for the first aid kit.
This was our first adventure with actual dough. We didn’t make the dough ourselves, we chose to buy it as there was less chance for us to screw it up. Most good grocery stores stock pizza dough in the bakery, but ours was out of stock that evening so we grabbed some french bread dough. It was a great decision, as the crust was soft inside with a chewy exterior and great flavour.
While you are preparing the pizzas, preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. If you are planning to use a pizza stone, then you need to heat it up too or your crust will be soggy.
I’m not going to explain how to roll out the dough, as I am far from being an expert. Let’s just say that if you have visions of throwing pies in the kitchen, go to it but be prepared to clean up.
Once you have your dough in the shape you were hoping for (some folks like it square), you can spread on the sauce. We usually go light on the sauce so the crust isn’t soggy. Depending on how messy your kids are, you might let the little guys do their own sauce. Either way, the kids can do their own toppings. The key is to have lots of choice on hand. For this last experiment we had:
Grated Mozzerella
Grated old Cheddar
Pepperoni
Sliced Chorizo
Crispy bacon
Strip Loin, cooked medium rare so it doesn’t over cook on the pizza.
Onions
Tomatoes
Mushrooms
Cook the pizzas on a stone or a baking sheet. Make sure to apply some oil or non stick spray to the pan to prevent the pie from sticking. We found that our pies were cooked in about 10 minutes. Yours may vary depending on your oven and the crust thickness, but this gives you an idea. Keep an eye on your pie!
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The whole family agreed that these were the best pizzas we’ve had in a very long time and we’ll be making them again soon. I might even have a go at making my own dough!
