Friday I'm in Love

On Fridays, I'm in love with mixing food, friends, and firewater--of the wine variety-- on a budget. This Friday brought out the best of all four at a Make-Your-Own-Pizza Dinner Party where Crispy Christmas (pesto and tomato sauces), the Westie Bestie (an all-meat concoction from a Santa Monica inhabitant), and the Celebration (combination) pizzas were invented. The cost of this Friday's pizza fete? $65 for 6 people. That's a mere $10.83 per person for a solid dinner plus 2 glasses of (cheap) wine and enough for leftovers. Someone also thankfully contributed margaritas to honor National Tequila Day (July 24), but for an any Friday pizza fiesta, stick to this simple plan and you're bound to have a good time--with flour all over your face, of course.

Trader Joe's Shopping List
Pizza base:
3 bags of the herb & garlic pizza dough
1 bottle of Trader Giotto's pizza sauce
1 container of genova pesto

Veggies:
1 bag of the onion trio
1 can of sliced black olives
1 pack of fresh basil
1 pack of heirloom tomatoes
1 pack of zucchini
1 bag of bell pepper trio
1 container of crimini mushrooms

Cheese:
1 bag of shredded mozzarella
1 bag of quattro formagio (asiago, parmesan, fontina, provolone)
1 block of cave-aged blue cheese

Meat:
1 pack of sliced pepperoni
1 pack of sliced salami trio
1 pack of sweet italian chicken sausage

Other:
1 bag of complete Caesar salad kit
2 bottles of wine (under $10 each)

Directions:
Flour a large counter or table surface. Open the bags of dough, cut each in half for a total of 6 pieces, and let them rest for 20 minutes. Prepare all of the ingredients for pizza making. Hand everyone a glass, can or rolling pin (if you have 6) to roll out their personal pizzas. Let everyone prepare as they wish. Bake until the cheese is melted and the crust is golden. Drink lots of wine and eat your pizzas. Thank yourself for coming up with a cheap and enjoyable Friday plan.