Make-your-own-Pizza Night

My very favorite part of coming home for the holidays is all the special family bonding time we get to have, without any work or real-life distractions. This week, while visiting family in Arizona, the hubs and I invited his sister and brother-in-law, along with their adorable girls Kylie (4 yrs.) and Brooklyn (3 yrs), over for dinner. We decided on make-your-own pizza since it would  be slightly out of the ordinary for the girls. They had so much fun turning meal time into playtime, and the adults loved how easily the wine and conversation flowed.

I decided to try out Nancy Silverton’s pizza dough recipe from Pizzeria Mozza (arguably the best pizza in L.A.). This was definitely more work than the Bobolis I enjoyed as a kid, but hubs and I both thought the finished product was definitely worth the extra effort. I’ve never tasted a more delicious make-at-home crust in my life. The best part, too, is that the dough was not in the least bit soggy after being painted with sauce.

The girls each create their personal pizza

I carefully selected toppings like sausage, salami, scallions and sage. The girls, who love their “meats,” had fun piling their choices on.

Then, when they placed them in the oven to bake, they carefully watched over their creations, anxious and salivating at the oven door.

When their bellies were full, the girls fell into the sweetest little food coma I’ve ever seen.

Yet another example of how the simple things in life are what make the holiday season such a magical time of the year.