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We had planned an easy supper for tonight so that we could take the kids to the pool. But there was some sort of algae problem (or “allergy” problem, as Ellen calls it) and we decided to stay home. At the last minute we thought to throw together one of our Jamie Oliver “Meals in Minutes.”
Our choice was the “Cheat’s Pizza.”
I whipped up a quick dough in the food processor while the oven heated up to a broil and the cast iron skillet got hot on the stove. Andrew made a fresh pizza sauce with tomatoes and basil from our garden. Then we transferred the dough into the skillet, threw on some toppings, and tossed the whole thing into the oven for four minutes.
Sounds easy, right?
And it was.
Sort of.
The baby was jumping in his johnny-jump-up and whining. Adam was sweetly but LOUDLY blowing raspberries and squealing at him to try and keep him happy. Willa and Mira ran through the kitchen seemingly every time we were handling a hot skillet. The house filled with smoke with our first attempt at putting the dough in the pan. Someone decided it was time to practice piano at that exact moment. And everyone else was making as much inane noise and chatter as they possibly could.
I told Andrew that at one point, I felt certain I could hear calliope music playing in the background.
Somehow, we managed to get two of This on the table.
And it was DELICIOUS. The crust was crispy on the bottom and soft in the middle. And the pizza sauce and fresh mozzarella? YUM.
Silence reined around the table for, oh, I’d say a whole fifteen seconds!
After the pizza, we served everybody dessert. Some sort of mascarpone, cherry concoction. Also decidedly YUM.
Of course, I looked down and realized I was covered in flour. Isn’t every good chef?
(Please excuse my doughy jazz hands. Apparently I thought I was in a kitchen show choir.)
The evening was made perfect by our rousing family rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner before we left the table. The kids are learning the words this week as part of school and we needed to practice. We were about halfway through our mangled version before I realized the windows were still open to let the smoke out.
Neighbors: You are welcome.
It was just the sort of random, messy, LOUD (but fun) sort of evening that I love. Unplanned, off-key, and Magically Delicious…
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And because you all need a little more Finn in your lives:
You’re welcome.
