PIZZA PARTY

As a kid, I went to numerous birthday parties where we'd build our own pizzas, Mom would pop 'em in the oven, and they'd be ready in minutes. But what about a pizza party for adults?

Back in February, R and I went to our friends, E and M's place for dinner and they did just that. They created a build-your-own-pizza bar with enough ingredients to last them the entire rest of the week. It was such a simple idea, yet I just never really thought of it for a dinner party. It was definitely a more casual dinner party, but that's what I loved about it. And, just a few months later, I set up my very own pizza-making dinner party. 

The great thing about doing a build-your-own-pizza bar is that you can prepare everything in advance, and it's inexpensive. Plus, you can't really go wrong with pizza, even for those adult friends who never grew out of their picky eating habits. 

Depending on how much you want to spend on ingredients and/or how much time you have to prep, your ingredients might vary. Here are the ingredients that I think make the best pizza-making bar:

whole grain pita bread

artisan flat breads

make your own dough

make your own gluten-free dough

olive oil

pesto 

tomato sauce

mozzarella, preferably fresh

feta cheese

parmesan or Romano cheese

goat cheese

pepperoni or sausage

grilled chicken

prosciutto

bacon

onions

mushrooms

sweet & hot peppers

tomatoes

spinach

arugula

pineapple

olives

roasted garlic

roasted veggies like zucchini/artichokes/tomatoes

fresh basil 

Swap the soda for a good bottle of wine and make your next dinner party a grown up pizza party! 

What are your casual dinner party ideas for a relaxed evening in with friends? Share them!

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images via sofia a charlotte, dashing dish, and pinterest

SUBSTITUTE THIS

Have you ever wanted to make buttermilk scones and then realized that you didn't have buttermilk? What about banana bread and no eggs? Well, the first step for either of these baking dilemmas would be to go to the grocery store and buy a carton of buttermilk or a carton of eggs. But, what if you just want to work with what's in your kitchen?

At Joy of Baking, Stephanie Jaworski provides guidelines for numerous baking substitutions. Within these guidelines, Jaworski lists the ingredient requiring a substitute, the amount of this ingredient, and its substitution. What's great is that, in many cases, Jaworski lists multiple substitutions, giving you, the baker, options when deciding which substitute you'd like to use.

Whether or not you're a baker, and whether you're looking to try one of the many recipes from Joy of Baking or you have something else in mind, this ingredient substitution chart is bound to come in handy. Check it out!

Do you have any of your own good baking substitutes?

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