Prelude to that Sunday Fiasco

Classes are done for the weekend. A quick stop at my favourite Italian market for the makings of a homemade pizza; fresh basil, sun-dried tomatoes (not packed in oil!), olives, feta cheese and of course, pizza dough. A bottle of cold bubbly. A wonderful night is within reach!

Once home only the dog to great me, oh yes the night is going to be sweet. (I love my rellies but a night alone? oh yes!) Once changed into my favourite pajamas, books stacked up the couch, notebook and pen to hand and a martini already shaken and waiting to be poured I call up my little sis Nicole. Hmm, voicemail. A sip of martini - ooooh heaven in a glass - and try to get my baby sis on the phone, 2 strikes and another voicemail left.

Ok, I'll start on the creating of the best pizza ever! Now, I've never used pre-made dough before and there were no directions on the package. So I did what any modern girl would do, I Googled "ready made pizza dough directions".Well you can imagine the hits on that! Finally sorted through a goozillion of them and thought I had a pretty good handle on what to do (amazing how a second martini can make things so clear). So pizza dough stretched and ready for zee toppings! Olive and sun-dried tomato tapanade to cover base, scatter with pancetta and torn basil leaves and finally dollops of goat feta and a wee bit of shredded mozzarella for that stringy goodness!

Just as I slid my masterpiece into the oven the phone rings. Yeah! It's my little sister calling me back.  We chat and catch up and I drink some bubbles. I had set the timer but during our catch up I just wanted to peek and sniff and tease my taste buds a bit.

I have never ended a call as quickly as I did then! Poor Nicole - "I've got to go, my pizza is about to explode!!" and I hung up. Then I started laughing.

I KNOW!!! It looks like bread but that is my pizza masterpiece. Some how, some way the dough caught a major air bubble and blew up like a hot air balloon. Just as I snapped the picture my baby sister called, I was laughing so hard I don't know how she understood me. She did manage to get it out of me that I was into the bubbly, as if that contributed to the pizza enlargement, psh.

I managed to free the pizza from  the upper element - just my luck I made the pizza in the top oven, I wonder how inflated it would have been in the lower, larger oven? Maybe I'll try it again some day because even with the element burns this was one divine pie!