Where It All Began...
Where it all began..
Pizza Night
After finally uncovering the word “hygge”, I started to think on why we both feel so connected to this concept. And I realized our endless pursuit of hygge boiled down to one thing:
Saturday night pizza.
When we were younger, almost every Saturday was spent together at Maria’s grandparents’ house. Saturday night was “pizza night”. It was an open invitation to family and close friends. A time to eat good food, and simply be together in each other’s company. It consisted of Miss Janet(Granny)’s simple homemade pizzas and pies, my Mom’s salad, and cakes for every birthday. It went a little like this..
Helping Granny make the pizzas, or more often just sitting at the counter across from her as she made them. The thrill of watching her build the “red” pizza with the deep red sauce, and then getting extra excited when she moved on to make the “white” pizza-- the all time favorite. We’d refer to pizza like people refer to wine- “Would you like white or red?” But, the answer was always “both”. The same meal every week, and the best we’d have all week.
All the kids moving to play outside, making up games. Or sometimes deciding to all flop on the floor in the “big room” in front of the TV and put on a favorite VHS. Sneaking into the cookie drawer and grabbing a stack to munch on while we watched.
Mr. Frank (Grandpa) & my Dad listening to their favorite album at the table, always in their same seats. Just chatting, sharing stories. You always knew exactly where to find Grandpa and my Dad at pizza night. They never moved haha. Such a simple but deep comfort that I never realized back then.
Everyone gathering at the stairs saying goodbye. Grabbing a few Werther’s Original candies from atop the corner cabinet for the car ride home; a pile of wrappers collecting in the car cup holders after a few weeks of pizza nights.
This Saturday ritual became the cornerstone of our whole weekend. We’d go to the farmers market on Saturday mornings, bring Maria home to play for the day, and then all go together to pizza night. After a few short years of this routine, my brothers and I claimed and loved Maria’s grandparents as our own, and we became the self-proclaimed “cousins” we are today. Even as teenagers my brothers always made a point to come to pizza night. Something they cherished and refused to out grow. With only one grandparent that lived far away, and others that had passed away long ago, our closest friends became our family.
As we get older the adventures and memories we create are less frequently in the comfort of our childhood Saturday night ritual. But all those years growing up with a place to retreat for good food and good company have led us to embrace that same feeling in each new home, group of friends, and adventure that we begin. The feeling of hygge we experienced at pizza night continues to shape how we cherish our day to day lives - knowing that the little things will one day be the big things, for us, our families, and our own children.
Today my favorite nights are spent around the kitchen table, with more friends and chairs than should ever fit all squeezed in, laughing over Taboo + too much wine. A nod to our pizza night roots, with new friends that now feel like family.
These are the moments where hygge comes alive, and turns a night into a memory, and a house into home. When I cherish these simple moments, each day becomes fuller, and so do the memories.
In honor of the inception of our hygge, we’re sharing Granny’s simple pizza recipes: the red and the white.
It’s not overly original or ground breaking, and to be honest, we swear they don’t taste the same unless Granny makes them - but they’re our favorite:) And we hope you’ll love them too <3
—————
The “Red”
1 ball pizza dough
2/3-1 cup pizza sauce (Contadina or personal preference)
1/2 tbsp oregano
1/2 tbsp basil
2 tsp minced garlic
2/3 cup three cheese blend (Asiago, Parmesan, Romano)
1+ cups shredded mozzarella cheese (as desired)
Pepperoni slices (cut in half)
Spicy Italian turkey sausage (broken apart into small chunks)
Canned sliced mushrooms
Salt & pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 480* degrees, and space out two racks in order to utilize both a top and a bottom rack
Cover baking sheet lightly with olive oil and then generously with flour
Carefully spread and stretch the dough to fit a 16-18 inch circular baking sheet
Lather stretched dough all over with garlic and then sauce
Sprinkle on the oregano, basil, salt, and pepper
Sprinkle with three cheese blend, and then cover with mozzarella cheese
Add pepperoni, sausage, and drained sliced mushrooms on top as desired
Bake pizza on bottom rack for 10 minutes until the bottom of the crust is a golden brown
Switch the pan to the upper rack and bake for another minute
Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes
Cut into skinny three inch slices and enjoy!
The “White”
1 ball pizza dough
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 tbsp oregano
1/2 tbsp basil
2 tsp minced garlic
2/3 cups three cheese blend (Asiago, Parmesan, Romano)
1+ cups shredded mozzarella cheese (as desired)
Salt & pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 480* degrees, and space out two racks in order to utilize both a top and a bottom rack
Cover baking sheet lightly with olive oil and then generously with flour
Carefully spread and stretch the dough to fit a 16-18 inch circular baking sheet
Lather stretched dough all over with olive oil and garlic
Sprinkle on the oregano, basil salt, and pepper
Sprinkle with three cheese blend, and then cover with mozzarella cheese
Bake pizza on bottom rack for 10 minutes until the bottom of the crust is a golden brown
Switch the pan to the upper rack and bake for another minute
Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes
Cut into skinny three inch slices and enjoy!
* Note that temperature may vary with each oven. As pizza bakes, watch that the bottom of the crust is browning, but that the cheese is not burning.