How to Have a Perfect Pizza Night

Thank you to Outside Table for gifting me your Pizza Night Set in celebration of National Pizza Day!

We are a weekly pizza night kind of family. We started way back when our oldest was little and have been going strong for at least 10 years. Even before that, when I was a kid, we had TGIF nights where we would watch the lineup on ABC (IYKYK) and eat Domino’s Pizza or Tombstone. (I still get cravings for a good Tombstone pizza from time to time…) These days, I prefer to make our pizza dough from scratch and top it with a few simple things we all love.

No matter how pizza night happens, it is always a relief to have one night decided week after week so there is one less decision that needs to be made. When Outside Table offered to send me their Pizza Night Set, I was thrilled to say yes! Anything to make our pizza experience more delicious while also supporting a small business (Ken & Heidi are so kind- they sent the nicest handwritten card along with my set) gets a big, enthusiastic YES from me.

Today just happens to be National Pizza Day, making it the perfect time for me to share some tips on how to have a perfect pizza night AND introduce you to Outside Table’s Pizza Night Set! Here we go…

Outside Table Pizza Night Set

First of all, an important announcement: you can purchase the Outside Table Pizza Night Set at an amazing discount TODAY ONLY (February 9, 2022). Rather than the typical $45, you can get this set of two sauces and two spice mixes for $16.99. After today, you can still purchase for the full price.

Here is what comes in the set:

• (2) 9.5oz jars of Pizza Night Sauce
  (organic, small-batch, 0g. sugar)

• (1) 3.2oz Pizza Thyme Spice
  (organic, savory Italian mixture, fresh herbs, peppery punch)

• (1) 5oz savory-sweet Friday Fennel Spice
  (organic, savor-sweet fennel blend, herbal finish)

Let me just say that the fresh flavor of the sauce is perfect. I used it on a cheese pizza with a sprinkle of the Pizza Thyme Spice and WOW was it good. My oldest may have eaten half a pizza after school yesterday when I was done taking photos.

Tips for a Perfect Pizza Night

1. Dough: find a store-bought dough you love OR a recipe you love. I use a couple of dough recipes on repeat depending on how much I’ve planned ahead: In Jennie’s Kitchen, King Arthur Flour, Baking Steel. Give yourself time and make an extra batch to stick in your freezer. Your future self will thank you!

2. Get a pizza stone. Or don’t. I know- confusing, right? But hear me out: don’t try to make a pizza meant for a stone if you don’t have one. Just don’t. You will be disappointed and no one wants that on Pizza Night, am I right? Instead, focus on the tools you have and try some recipes on for size to see what you enjoy making and your family enjoys eating. You can find great recipes for skillet pizza, sheet pan pizza, grilled pizza, or, if you have one, pizza on a stone.

3. Ingredients. They matter. Make them fresh and high quality. Outside Table’s pizza sauce and seasonings are really lovely. They add tons of flavor while maintaining the ease I want for our weekly pizza nights. I used the Pizza Thyme seasoning and just sprinkled it on our cooked pie and it woke up an otherwise super basic cheese pizza.

4. One pizza, four sections. In our family, we have two kids. One who loves pizza sauce and pepperoni and one who loves bread and a little cheese. Instead of making different pizzas for everyone, I’ll make one big sheet pan pizza and give it 3-4 sections with different toppings to please the whole family!

5. Relax. Pizza night is supposed to be fun! If you’re not into making your own crust, grocery stores have some really delicious offerings these days (I bought one form Lunds & Byerlys the other day that was perfect) so you can always simplify. The point is to make something beautiful and delicious for your family without feeling frazzled in the process.

Those are my go-to tips! Do you have any pointers to share? I’d love to hear about them in the comments below! Let’s help each other have a successful pizza night, shall we?