mambo italiano.

A big part of my college experience has definitely been food. Whether it's going out with friends to eat or cooking for myself, it's a totally different experience. Living at home, I always had a home-cooked meal, because my mom is amazing. Living on my own, for the most part I cook for myself. That was one of the benefits of my apartment; even though it's technically university housing, it's not a dorm--it's an actual apartment, with a full kitchen! Though I had the option to get meal points, I declined, and so I feed myself. One thing that I've discovered that I love making is pizza from scratch--not only is it affordable, it's quicker and SO much better than most pizza delivery places! Granted, there are amazing pizza places in Berkeley (think of Cheeseboard and Zachary's), but making it myself is especially rewarding.

Here's me making what's quickly becoming my signature pizza, goat cheese & sun-dried tomatoes! Enjoy, and let me know how it goes if you attempt to make it! I apologize for the quality of the pictures, it's really hard to cook and take pictures at the same time.



Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.



I bought a jar of sundried tomatoes from Trader Joe's.



Also, goat cheese from Trader Joe's! I use about half of this package for one package of dough.



Get one cup of boiling hot water; you're going to put the sun-dried tomatoes in it!



About 3/4s cup of sun-dried tomatoes in the water. Soak for 15-20 minutes.



While your tomatoes are soaking, take the dough out. Open the bag and let it rest at room temperature for about 20 minutes.



After you've soaked your tomatoes, drain them and then dry them as best you can.



Roll the dough into a ball and then start to stretch it out! I made two mini pizzas instead of one big one, since I don't have a pizza stone and this fit better on my baking sheet. Also, this way I could eat one pizza and save one for the next day!



After you stretch out the dough, put on the goat cheese!



I LOVE goat cheese. It's kind of ridiculous.



Next, put on your sun-dried tomatoes.



The finished product, pre-baking. The pizza on the right was sprinkled with Parmesan cheese, and I put basil, salt, and extra virgin olive oil on both. Ready to go into the oven!



After about sixteen minutes, this came out of the oven. Time varies depending on the oven, so I'd just watch your pizza...it's ready once the Parmesan has browned, the sun-dried tomatoes are getting crispy, and goat cheese is starting to slightly bubble and brown! Mmmmm.



Close-up.



So delicious!


It's so easy to make, affordable, rewarding, impressive, healthy, and most importantly, absolutely delicious!