Strawberry Pizza

The week between Christmas and New Year is its own kind of suspended reality even when you are not thirty-eight weeks pregnant, but when you are, it takes on the quality of waiting in a room where something important is about to happen and you do not know when the door will open. Ryan traded shifts so we would have these days together, and we have been moving through the apartment in a quiet domestic rhythm I am consciously trying to memorize. This is the last week we will be just us. I keep that in my chest like something small and warm.

Patty called at 7:15 on the dot and asked if I had had any signs. I told her I had a lot of signs that I had not slept properly in a month. She laughed and said she would have baked ziti ready on twenty minutes notice. Steve got on the phone briefly to say everything is going good, which from him is a paragraph. Matt texted that he would drive up the second I called.

I spent two days cooking for the freezer. A double batch of turkey meatballs from Aldi ground turkey at $3.49 a pound, a big pot of chicken and rice soup, and a lasagna that Ryan helped layer because bending over a baking dish has become logistically complicated. I portioned everything into labeled containers and then stood back and felt a calm I had not felt in weeks. This is how I prepare for things I cannot fully prepare for: I cook.

New Year's Eve we stayed home. Ryan rented two movies, I made pizza dough sitting at the counter, and we were asleep by ten-thirty. I woke at 2 AM to neighbors cheering and Ryan already awake beside me, and we lay in the dark listening to 2023 arrive. I thought: this is the year. Whatever this year is, I cannot predict it from here. That is terrifying. It is also the most alive I have felt in a long time.

The pizza dough I made that New Year’s Eve was the most ordinary thing in the world — just flour and yeast and something to do with my hands while Ryan queued up the second movie — and it was also exactly what I needed. I’ve been drawn to this strawberry pizza ever since because it carries that same feeling: something light and sweet and made from scratch, the kind of thing you put together slowly and then share without a lot of fuss. It felt right to leave that night with something beautiful on the counter, even if we were asleep before midnight.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 12 min | Total Time: 32 min | Servings: 8

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup warm water
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
2 tablespoons strawberry jam or preserves (optional, for glaze)
Fresh mint leaves, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Make the dough. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, yeast, salt, and sugar. Add warm water and olive oil and stir until a shaggy dough forms. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 3–4 minutes until smooth. Cover and rest for 10 minutes.
Preheat and roll. Preheat oven to 425°F. Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface into a 12-inch round or oval. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Par-bake the crust. Prick the dough all over with a fork and bake for 10–12 minutes until just golden and set. Remove and let cool completely before adding toppings.
Make the cream cheese layer. Beat softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla together until smooth and fluffy. Spread evenly over the cooled crust, leaving a 1/2-inch border.
Top with strawberries. Arrange sliced strawberries over the cream cheese layer in overlapping rows or a simple pattern.
Add glaze (optional). Warm strawberry jam in the microwave for 15 seconds, then brush lightly over the berries for a glossy finish.
Slice and serve. Cut into wedges and serve immediately, or refrigerate uncovered for up to 2 hours before serving. Garnish with fresh mint if desired.

Nutrition (per serving)

Strawberry Pizza — The Dough I Made While Waiting for Everything to Begin