Best Ever Pepperoni Pizza

Memorial Day. Cookout at the three-decker Monday afternoon. Patrick manned the grill, which he does competently but not like Sean, and Sean sat on the back porch with the baby on his lap and a beer in his hand and pronounced this arrangement excellent. The baby slept through most of it. Colleen slept in a lawn chair for forty-five minutes, which she needed and which no one disturbed. The kids ran around. Aidan and Liam have become an unstoppable pair — separated by eighteen months, temperamentally similar, they move as a unit and plot at the level of small boys who have just discovered coordinated plotting. They invented a game that involved hiding rocks from each other and then pretending to find them dramatically. It lasted for two hours.

My father spent Memorial Day on the porch with his WMEX cap on, which he has had since 1983. He told three stories about firefighters he had served with who had not come home, which he does every year, and which none of us interrupt or abbreviate because those stories are why the holiday exists. His voice got quieter on the third story. He did not cry. He does not cry in company. He drank his beer and he looked at the yard and he said "a good day" and that was the period at the end of the sentence.

Sean was fine all day. No headache. No warning signs. He was present and engaged and told one of his longer jokes to my brother Danny (who drove down from New London for the day) and got the laugh he wanted. He played with Liam and Aidan. He held the baby. He ate two burgers and three helpings of my mother's potato salad. If you had told me five days ago he had been in the ED with a headache so bad he was vomiting, I would not have believed you from watching him.

But I know what I saw. I am keeping the list.

The neurology appointment is June 9. I will go with him. I have already arranged my clinic schedule. I will not discuss the appointment with the family in advance — they do not need the drip of worry, and Sean does not want them knowing yet. Maureen would know in seconds if I brought it up. I am holding my face still around her. She asked me Monday if I was tired. I said "the clinic had a long week." She nodded. She did not press. She knew something, because mothers know something. She has not named it yet. I have not named it for her. That is the stalemate.

Grilled burgers, the family recipe which is Patrick's recipe which is basically just chuck, salt, pepper, don't press down — a cheddar slice, a good bun, a slice of Bermuda onion, ketchup and mustard and a pickle, and that is it, and that is plenty. Liam ate a whole quarter-pound, which I have not before seen him achieve. Nora ate the bun and the pickle. She now has a thing for pickles. This is new.

Home at 9 PM. Kids in bed by 9:15. Sean and I on the couch. He held my hand. Neither of us said anything about June 9. I kissed him. He kissed me. Sometimes you do not need words. Sometimes words make the thing bigger than it needs to be today. Today was a good day. Today was a Memorial Day. Today got to stay today.

Patrick had the grill, and that was fine — he earned it. But when the burgers are someone else’s department and the kids are still running around at 7 PM and you need something fast that every single person at the table will eat without negotiation, this is the recipe I come back to every time. Liam and Aidan would have abandoned their rock-hiding game for exactly thirty seconds to inhale a slice each, and Nora would have eaten the crust and called it a win. Some recipes exist for quiet Tuesday nights; this one exists for the days when the yard is full and the afternoon runs long and feeding people is its own form of love.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 15 min | Total Time: 1 hr 35 min (includes dough rise) | Servings: 8

Ingredients

1 package (2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (110°F)
1 tsp sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup pizza sauce
2 cups shredded low-moisture mozzarella cheese
4 oz sliced pepperoni
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Red pepper flakes, to taste (optional)

Instructions

Activate the yeast. Combine warm water, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl. Stir gently and let stand 5–10 minutes until the mixture is foamy. If it doesn’t foam, your yeast is expired — start fresh.
Make the dough. Add flour, salt, and olive oil to the yeast mixture. Stir until a shaggy dough forms, then turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for 5–7 minutes until the dough is smooth and springs back when poked.
Let it rise. Shape the dough into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and set in a warm spot for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
Preheat the oven. Set your oven to 475°F. If you have a pizza stone, place it on the center rack now so it heats with the oven. Otherwise, lightly oil a large baking sheet or round pizza pan.
Shape the crust. Punch down the risen dough. On a floured surface, stretch or roll it into a 12–14 inch round, about 1/4 inch thick. Transfer to your prepared pan or a sheet of parchment paper.
Top the pizza. Spread pizza sauce evenly over the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border for the crust. Sprinkle mozzarella in an even layer, then arrange pepperoni slices over the cheese. Dust with oregano and garlic powder.
Bake. Bake 12–15 minutes until the crust is golden at the edges and the cheese is bubbling and lightly browned in spots. Rotate the pan halfway through if your oven runs hot on one side.
Rest and slice. Let the pizza cool on the pan for 2–3 minutes before cutting. This keeps the cheese from sliding. Add red pepper flakes if desired and serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Best Ever Pepperoni Pizza — What I Make When It’s My Turn to Feed the Crowd