No delivery necessary for great pizza

I am a huge fan of food. Especially the kind that delivers.

It used to be that Mother Bear’s was on my call list more often than my parents. But since graduation — and student loans — are so close on the horizon, I’ve cut back on eating out.

But my love for pizza hasn’t dwindled just because I’m no longer a regular with the Mo Bear’s delivery people. So when I get a craving for pizza, I only need to stop at Kroger and pick up the necessary ingredients.

Pizza is also great as a starter dish for people who aren’t used to cooking, don’t enjoy it as a hobby or only see it as a way to keep themselves alive. It’s easy to make, and since you’re completely in charge of all the ingredients, you really can’t make something you don’t like.

You can buy a premade crust from the store, like I do, use a loaf of French bread or make your own, if you really feel like putting off homework. You can pick out a variety of sauces, including pesto and vodka sauce. Or try making your own marinara, which is about as difficult as figuring out how to spell your own name.

But pizza isn’t the only restaurant food you can make from scratch. When I get a craving for my Southern roots, I whip out my skillet and fry up some chicken, make mashed potatoes and open a still-good can of corn. After spending a summer in London, I came back to Bloomington with an empty bank account and love for curry. So when I saw a recipe online, I tried making it, and it worked.

Too often people assume that restaurants are the only places where you can find really good food. While I haven’t reached Gordon Ramsay status yet, experimenting in my kitchen has shown me so many times that whatever I’m craving, I can usually make.

It might not be as good as something I could order off a printed sheet of paper, but so what? Anything you make is better simply because you made it. It’s the personal attachment I have to my food that makes it so delicious. It’s mine. Every part of the process came from me. So this beautiful dish not only tastes good, it also makes me feel good.

There’s also a satisfying sense of accomplishment I get whenever I make something tasty. School and work are stressful, but cooking is always relaxing. Even when I mix up the recipe or forget an ingredient, it’s rarely a disaster. There are no midterms or finals in the kitchen.

Even though this pizza recipe is near fool-proof, most recipes aren’t. Sometimes that crucial step you skipped in the recipe was essential. Sometimes you’ll feed your boyfriend’s parents under-cooked chicken wings. But every mistake, kitchen or otherwise, will only help you become a better cook. And even though you’re not being graded on your food, you are supposed to learn.

Recipe of the Week: Homemade Pizza
Ingredients:
    * Pizza dough
    * Cheese (use whatever you like)
    * Toppings (I like green peppers and red onions, but anything goes here)
    * Sauce (again, whatever you like)
    * Olive oil

Tools:
* Basting brush

 Instructions:
   1. If you’re using premade pizza dough, follow the directions on the package for preheating and thawing.
   2. Use the brush to coat some olive oil on the pizza.
   3. Use the brush to add sauce.
   4. Add cheese.
   5. Add toppings.
   6. Add more cheese on your toppings.
   7. Put in the oven for however long the directions say, usually no more than 10 minutes.