Casual Tailgating || Homemade Pizza with Franks, Pineapple and Herbs

I'm using football season as an excuse to come up with a fun and delicious tailgating recipe.  In my mind pizza, franks and football just go hand in hand perfectly, don't you think?  And since I love pampering my guests only homemade pizza dough will do.  I don't think there is anything more delicious. Homemade dough elevates the pizza from fast-food to divine.  Add some Hebrew National hot dogs and pineapple as toppings and some home-grown herbs like rosemary and you have an explosion of flavors to keep you rooting for your team. Hebrew National are where are loyalties lie when it comes to franks and the ones we use to treat our friends because quality ingredients are very important to us.  Plus they are just so delicious. 

Pizza Dough

1 3/4 cups lukewarm water

1 Tbs. good olive oil

3 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp. dry yeast

1 1/2 tsp. sugar

4 cups of flour 

Pour the water into a large bowl and mix here the salt, yeast, oil and sugar.  Stir well until combined.  Then add the flour.  Partially cover the bowl with a plastic wrap. Set it aside for two hours at room temperature. The dough will rise during this time.  After the two hours put it in the refrigerator loosely covered as well, for at least 3 hours. 

Heat the oven to 550F.  Separate the dough into portions and make balls with it.  For individual sized pizzas you can make the dough ball into the size of an apple.  Fold it into itself by stretching and tucking it under itself.  Let it rest  in a floured area and cover it with plastic wrap for anywhere between 30 min. to an hour.

Once the dough has rested dust the area you will be working on with flour and then press and stretch the dough into a circle.  I find that using your hands to do this is the easiest but you can also use a rolling pin. If it doesn't stretch as much as you would like leave it covered with plastic wrap for a few minutes and try again.  Patience is a virtue here. When ready, transfer the pizza dough into a baking sheet.  Put it in the oven for 12-15 minutes.

Yields approximately 4 small or individual sized pizzas.

Homemade Tomato Sauce

If you are making the dough from scratch you better make the sauce too!

Puree a 28 oz. can of peeled tomatoes in a blender or food processor. Transfer to a saucepan and simmer over medium heat for about 40 minutes.  It will greatly reduce.  This can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week.  It makes around 2 cups of sauce.

Toppings

(this is the fun part....Add what you like. You can also set-up a toppings bar and have each guest add what they like to dress their pizza. Here is what I chose)

- Hebrew National Franks cut into pieces.  You can calculate one frank per individual pizza

- Pineapple cut into pieces

- Rosemary and basil.  You can add some before the pizza goes in the oven and more when you take it out of the oven to add that fresh touch.

Of course, pop corn is the ideal side-dish- fluffy and salty. If you want more tailgating ideas Natalie from the Mint Social Club has some fabulous recipes as well.  Watch this video to get the scoop.

What are some of your favorite tailgating recipes?  Please share!

"With grilling season upon us, everyone is craving an all-American hot dog. What makes a kosher hot dog different? It's all about what makes the cut ( and what doesn't).  Hebrew National is choosy about what goes into their franks - only 100% pure kosher beef so you know what you're getting and they taste great. No artificial flavors, colors, fillers or byproducts."

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Hebrew National via Mode Media.  The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Hebrew National."

[all photos by AC]