It’s no secret that I think my husband is a genius in the kitchen. 

He’s creative, he’s efficient, he thinks on the move. While he de-bones the chicken, he’s appraising his sweet potato gratin, figuring out the exact ratio of Gruyere to cream to write a recipe that’s the absolute ooey, gooey, bubbly best. And he does it all with a smile (and usually a sweet kiss).

A few weeks ago he declared, “Pizza night!” and I kinda crumbled.

After I put down my glass of Barbera, I start sputtering, telling him that the oven’s too small, the dough’s too difficult, the (oven) temp’s too low  and… and… (what else could I possibly come up with??)… We don’t even own a pizza stone!

To that, he pulled me in and gave me one of his warm, patient hugs. And after I hushed up (a rare moment), he went into the pantry and pulled out our Pyrex pans.

“We’re going to make Sicilian-style pizza in our Pyrex. Genius, right? And while we make them, I’m going to record us and enter us in Pyrex’s Hottest Culinary Couple in America contest.”

Whoa, back up–we own a video camera?!

Six hours and four perfect pizzas later, we’re in the running.

Pyrex Pan Pizza Dough

Makes 2 8×8 inch pizzas

  • 1¼ cups water, lukewarm (@100˚)
  • 1 packet (2½ teaspoons) dry active yeast
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 2½ cups all purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for greasing Pyrex pans

Combine the water and yeast in a small bowl and whisk to dissolve. In a separate bowl, stir together the salt, flours and olive oil, to mix well. When the yeast mixture begins to foam, after 7-10 minutes, stir it into the flour. Mix with a wooden spoon until just combined. The mixture should pull into a smooth ball. Transfer the dough to a clean bowl that has been lightly greased with olive oil. Cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and set aside for 45 minutes or, for best results, refrigerate overnight.

Remove the dough from the bowl to a floured work surface. “Punch the dough down” by pressing the air out of it with floured hands. Gently knead for the dough and divide it into two pieces. Roll the two pieces of dough into a ball under the palm of your hand.

Place the dough in a well-oiled Pyrex pan and stretch to fit the shape of the pan.  The pizzas are now ready to top.

End of Summer Veggie Pizza

You don’t need a lot of whistles and bells (or expensive ingredients) to make an absolutely delicious, healthful pizza. Substitute whole wheat flour for white flour in the dough recipe if you really want to go all out.

Makes 1 8×8 inch pizza

  • 1 firm, small zucchini, cut into rounds
  • handful of cherry tomatoes, cut in half
  • 1 cup sheep’s milk feta, crumbled
  • kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • extra virgin olive oil as garnish

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Place zucchini rounds on prepared (but uncooked) pizza dough. Top with halved cherry tomatoes. Sprinkle crumbled feta cheese on top of veggies and finish off with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Bake for 17-20 minutes, or until the zucchini cooks through and the feta is nicely browned. Cool on a baking rack for 5 minutes. Finish with a final drizzle of good quality olive oil. Serve warm.