Pizza and Beverages
Pizza and beer or soda don't sound like the makings of a dinner party, do they? Oh, but they can be. Follow these steps to throw a great pizza party.
1. Pick up a few boxes of pizza crust mix, some pizza sauce, bagged salad, garlic bread, a variety of cheeses, crackers and the ingredients for the following fruit pizza,
2. Invite your guests to bring their favorite pizza topping and beverage to share with the rest of the group.
3. The night before the party, make the fruit pizza and keep it covered in your refrigerator.
4. The day of the party, make enough pizza dough for each of your guests to make their own personal-sized pizza.
5. While the pizzas are baking, break open a few drinks and munch on some cheese and crackers.
6. Use paper plates so you have minimal cleanup and finish the meal off with the dessert pizza.
Fruit Pizza
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (18 ounce) package refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
2 cups sliced strawberries, whole blueberries, sliced kiwi or any other fruit of your choice
1/2 cup white sugar
1 pinch salt
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup water
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice cookie dough and arrange on greased pizza pan, overlapping the edges.
Press dough flat into pan. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Allow to cool.
2. In a large bowl, soften cream cheese, then fold in the whipped topping. Spread over cooled crust.
3. Begin with strawberries, sliced in half. Arrange in a circle around the outside edge. Continue with fruit of your choice, working towards the middle. If bananas are used, dip them in lemon juice so they don't darken.
Then make the sauce to spoon over fruit.
4. In a saucepan, combine sugar, salt, corn starch, orange juice, lemon juice and water. Cook and stir over medium heat. Bring to a boil, and cook for one or two minutes, until thickened. Allow to cool for a few minutes.
5. Spoon over fruit. Chill for two or more hours. Cut into wedges and serve.
Recipe courtesy of Allrecipes.com.
Bristow and Frankel can be reached at mfrankel@kansan.com and Ibristow@kansan.com