By A good week in real estate: 2 closings, 9 new leads, the satisfaction of matching families with houses the way Mama matches fillings with phyllo — instinctively, confidently. I brought spanakopita to an open house. The buyers ate it. They made an offer.
Sunday dinner at Mama's was the usual controlled chaos. Mama made avgolemono and it was, as always, extraordinary. The table held fourteen people. The arguments held more opinions than the chairs held bodies. This is how Greek families communicate: loudly, with food, over each other.
I stood in my kitchen this evening and looked at the counter where I have made a thousand meals for my family and thought: this is what I do. I feed people. I sell them houses and I feed them food and I keep showing up because showing up is the only recipe that never fails.
I made lemon chicken soup — not the ceremony of avgolemono but simpler, humbler. Roasted chicken, potatoes, lemon. A hug in a bowl. We ate at the kitchen table, just the three of us, and for a moment the house was not quiet or loud — it was exactly right. Full. Fed. The sound of forks on plates is the sound I love most in this world.
The olive oil in my kitchen is from a Greek import shop in Tampa that sources from Kalamata. It is expensive. It is worth it. I use it on everything — salads, fish, bread, vegetables, the edge of a pot of soup — because olive oil is not a condiment in this family, it is a philosophy. Use it generously. Use it without apology. Use it the way you use love: poured freely, never measured, always more than you think you need.
The soup was for Sunday — humble and right — but the week still had energy left in it, and energy in this house means dough on the counter and olive oil poured without apology. I made pizza the way I make everything else: generously, with that Kalamata oil doing exactly what it was meant to do, and with the conviction that a hot oven and good cheese can close out any week worth having.
Restaurant-Style Pizza
Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 15 min | Total Time: 35 min (plus 1 hour dough rest) | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 lb store-bought or homemade pizza dough, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup crushed San Marzano tomatoes
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 1/2 cups shredded low-moisture mozzarella
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
- 2 tbsp good-quality extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus more for drizzling
- Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
- Optional toppings: fresh basil, thinly sliced red onion, Kalamata olives, roasted red peppers
Instructions
- Preheat oven. Place a heavy baking sheet or pizza stone on the top rack. Preheat oven to 500°F (260°C) for at least 45 minutes — the pan must be screaming hot for a crisp, restaurant-style crust.
- Make the sauce. Stir together the crushed tomatoes, minced garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes, 1 tbsp olive oil, and a pinch of salt. Taste and adjust. This is your sauce — make it yours.
- Stretch the dough. On a lightly floured surface, stretch or roll the dough into a 12-inch round, working from the center outward. Don’t fight it — if it springs back, rest it 5 minutes and try again. Transfer to a sheet of parchment paper.
- Assemble. Brush the outer inch of the dough with the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil. Spread the sauce evenly over the rest, leaving a 3/4-inch border. Scatter mozzarella first, then Parmesan. Add any optional toppings.
- Bake. Slide the parchment with the pizza directly onto the hot baking sheet or stone. Bake 12—15 minutes until the crust is deep golden at the edges and the cheese is bubbling with a few brown spots.
- Finish and serve. Remove from oven and immediately drizzle with a generous thread of olive oil. Top with fresh basil if using. Slice and serve directly at the table — no waiting, no ceremony. Just forks, plates, and the people you made it for.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 415 | Protein: 17g | Fat: 14g | Carbs: 54g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 720mg