Purple lashes and pizza are NOT mutually exclusive.
You learn something new every day!
I finally made pizza ? for the very first time using raw pizza dough, which I got from Trader Joe’s, and lemme tell ya — I’m not going to be winning any Beautiful Pizzas of Instagram Awards anytime soon.
My goodness, that’s a hideous crust…
Allegedly, El Hub knows how to make pizza dough from scratch (allegedly). Although I’ve yet to witness this phenomenon in person, he still poked fun at me for the raggedy edges.
I tried to make it cute, though! I really did!
Ultimately, the hideousness didn’t matter because the pizza was SO good (as was the purple mascara, by the way).
GAH! Purple lashes! When was the last time I applied a purple tinted mascara and actually saw the color on my lashes? Um, like never?! Miraculously, I can actually see the purple from Urban Decay Double Team Special Effect Mascara in Vice, and it’s IN-YOUR-FACE PURPLE, which is awesome.
So, I thought the pizza was gonna be easy, right? I thought I’d just bust out my rolling pin, roll out a perfect crust of yeasty deliciousness, and toss it up in the air a few times while instrumental polka music played in the background, but noooooo.
The instructions say that you have to let the dough rest for 30 minutes before you actually start doing the thing — rolling it out, stretching it, putting stuff on it — and then it’s like 10 to 15 minutes in the oven.
I must have missed a step, because when I tried rolling it out, the dough kept sticking to the pin…
And when I stretched it out, that really didn’t go any better. By that point I was just like, “Accept your fate, Karen. This is going to be the world’s ugliest pizza dough crust.”
So I just went with it from there, haha!
I used TJ’s pizza sauce, mozzarella, a mix of prosciutto and salami (of course, when you say those words you have to use an Italian accent), and…what else? Oh! — some chopped artichoke hearts and sliced black olives, which I sprinkled on top.
I inhaled my first slice, and Connor, who likes pizza but doesn’t usually get *that* excited about it, was shoving it into her mouth, even the funky-looking crust.
It was fun, and the pizza was tasty. We’ll definitely be doing it again. 🙂
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
I think it actually looks yummy, I love artichoke on my pizza!! I love the color of the mascara, it looks gorgeous! I’ve been wanting to get a purple or eggplant color lately I just haven’t decided which brand because so many brands are making colorful mascaras now, I’m not sure what it is about purples but I can’t get enough of that color in my makeup!
Thanks, Metta! It was REALLY delicious. I’m going to make it again soon (maybe even tomorrow).
I hear ya on the endless options for colorful mascara. If you really, really want a purple one, I can 100% recommend the one I’m wearing in this post by Urban Decay. I love it!
P.S. If you love purples you’ve gotta get this liner from Sephora.
Hi Karen ,
I’ve dealt w that dough and many doughs !
Forget the rolling pin .
Let it rest and come to room temp .
Than pick it up and gently stretch it into shape . Once you get it into the pan use your fingers to move it more and push it to fit the pan round or square .
Use some olive oil and then your toppings .
Mine are mozzarella cheese , mushrooms and tomato . The pizza place we order from puts the tomato sauce on top last .
Good luck Nd let me know how you make out .
Hi Michele,
Thanks for these tips! I totally forgot to use olive oil last time on the dough… Gotta remember to try that!
I think your pizza looks divine. There’s a kiddo with celiac disease living in my house, so any gluten-y pizza looks like the most delicious (yet forbidden) thing on earth. But I have TJ’s pizza dough tips for you that I remember from the pre-celiac diagnosis days: Let it sit on the counter for 15 minutes or so before rolling it out. It’s so much easier to roll out if it sits. (Also, if you’re making two crusts from one dough, divide it in half, and then let it sit.) Also, next time consider rolling it out with parchment paper underneath and on top, although you may find that using lightly floured fingers to poke/massage it into shape works better than a rolling pin. Then transfer it to the pizza pan.
PS. Purple mascara looks like great fun!
Hi Alexis,
Thank you so much for these tips. I really like the idea of rolling it out between the parchment paper and think that might work for me. 🙂 So excited to try it!
At the fifth photo, Connor’s face expression says it all! LOL! I’m trying to make decent pizza, for years, it’s impossible in domestic ovens, even with all those special cast iron pans .
Hi Amalia,
This is the first one I’ve made from scratch and I’m still wondering what I did wrong with the crust. Maybe I didn’t put enough flour on the dough before rolling it out? If you have any tips for me I would love them!
Home made Pizza is the best, no matter how it looks, the taste you just can´t beat.
YUM!
Ah, pizza dough! Dealing with that shiznit is an art in itself. My dad worked at a great pizza place in Seattle when he was in college, and he makes BEAUTIFUL pizzas – he can throw the crust in the air and everything! I can’t manage that, sadly – i have to work closer to the countertop, haha. But my pizza still tastes delicious 🙂
And I have to share – there’s a SUPER EASY way to make pizza dough in your food processor! Check it: https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/07/basic-new-york-style-pizza-dough.html
The secret to uber-tastiness is letting the dough rest for 1-2 days in the fridge. It picks up SO much flavor when you let it develop!
Yum, I bet it’s delicious! I’ve made a bread that rests for about 18 hours and it tastes so much better than the ones that rise for a few hours. That extra time makes such a difference.
So, when you’re working the dough on the countertop, do you use a rolling pin? Or your hands? I wonder what I was doing wrong…
I only use my hands. And plenty of flour! It helps to shape the dough into a ball (kind of like a boule loaf) before you let it rise, IMO. After it’s risen and the dough is a little looser, dump it onto a well-floured surface and sprinkle flour on top of the dough. Then I’ll sort of make an indent of the edge/crust with my fingers, around the outer edge of the ball. Then I’ll use that as a guide to kind of stretch the middle of the crust out, from the edges. Always work with the roundness of the pie! Once it has a bit more of a disc shape to it (rather than a “ball” shape), I’ll pick it up and stretch it with the back of my hands. I let one side of the edge of the crust sit a little above my knuckles & let the other side drape down, and then I use my hands to just shuffle it around in a circle. Gravity does a lot of the work of stretching!
It’s so weird trying to explain it, haha. Hopefully that all makes sense!
I can visualize stretching it over the backs of the hands, and now that I think about it, I’ve seen it done before. YES!!! Thanks Shannon. I will use all your tips next time I try it. I am going to conquer pizza dough, dagnabbit. LOL
Oh, one more question for you… What pizza sauce do you use/like?
Haha! Yes, it’s pretty intuitive once you get the hang of it!
I make my own pizza sauce – my dad’s rule of thumb is that it’s like pasta sauce, but has to be VERY INTENSE because it’s such a small portion of the pie. So I use a base of plain ol’ tomato sauce, and then dump in LOADS of black pepper, garlic powder (rehydrated) or fresh garlic paste, and dried basil, along with a “normal” amount of salt. If you want more sweetness you can either add tomato paste (totally ups the sweetness quotient) or sugar. And then I cook it all down til it’s a little more thick than your typical pasta sauce, maybe like 30 min or so? My dad claims oregano takes over the flavor if you add it to the pot, so he sprinkles it on top of his pizza sauce & under the cheese. 🙂 I always intend to do this and then forget, haha. But you can take that sauce idea and then run with it! You can add anything you like, really.
I just copied and pasted this recipe to my “to cook soon” file. 🙂 Is there a specific tomato sauce you like? I’ve heard Tuttorosso is very good but have yet to try it. Allegedly it tastes super fresh. Also, re: olive oil. Does your dad ever brush it onto the dough before putting on the sauce, toppings, etc.?
I usually just get whatever tomato sauce is on sale, ha! I’m sure it makes a difference, I just haven’t compared different brands. (I need to start paying attention to that..)
I think my dad generally doesn’t use olive oil pre-sauce, but that’s probably more of a personal preference thing.
Haha, me too! I’ve heard it can make all the difference though, but have really yet to do any sort of experiments to find out for myself.
Thanks again for the sauce recipe. I’m now debating over whether or not I should get reduced fat cheese… MEH.
So I rarely shop at TJ’s because they’re like a zoo down this way and I cannot deal with pushy crowds and waiting forever in checkout lines. Not to mention what traffic is like within two blocks of the store. I call it the TJ driving brain suck, because it seems no one can follow the rules of driving when they’re near that store. They’re so focused on getting into the teeny, tiny, parking lot that they forget how to drive. Grrr.
So anyway, where in the store do I find this dough? Freezer, shelf, refrigerated case? This is something I might try to hunt for. Yeah, that’s another thing, I always have to hunt for what I want because nothing seems to appear in a logical spot in that store.
I just had pizza for lunch yesterday and now I’m craving it again thanks to this post! Your daughter has grown so much, she’s adorable. Love the mascara on you. I often forget how purple brings out brown eyes.
I, too, like using Trader Joe’s pizza dough. I learned a couple of tips from friends (not professionals, just experienced home cooks) along the way. First, that time to bring to room temp is critical to rolling out the dough. I’ve done between 30 min to 1 hr. Second, I was instructed to add enough flour so it’s no longer sticky when rolling out with a rolling pin or shaping with your hands. Also, the same friend said grilling it on an oiled cast iron pan makes the best pizza. Haven’t had a chance to do that, but I have baked it in a cast iron pan. Makes the pizza hold a better shape, although I can’t get the crust as thin as I would like. Hope these tips help you like they’ve helped me.
P.S. I LOVE you Hourglass brow tip of brushing against the grain! It’s like a lightbulb went off for me! Works great on my brows and saves me so much time. Using Glossier’s Boy Brow and Benefit’s Gimme Brow at the moment but will get the Hourglass one with the Sephora sale.
That pizza looks perfect. Rustic in a good trendy expensive pizza joint kinda way. (Antico in Atlanta). Yum!
I feel like Connor’s got some side-eye skills, and I’m here for it.
Pizza looks good, as do your lashes!
What are you using for foundation/concealer/powder here? Looks really good.