This had to be the longest hibernation season yet.  How can May 8th be the first fire-up of the year?  That's terrible, so with Mothers Day coming up it was do-or-die.  There was going to be a fire-up no matter what, and I was going to let Mommy tailor the menu.  A gorgeous opening day almost makes everything worth the wait.  The upside to a long offseason is, like a pro athlete, I used it to improve a feature - my dough recipe.  It was only a small adjustment in quantities but it really helped.  The dough was lighter and more airy than ever before.  I made 16 panuzzi Saturday morning and put them in the fridge for about 24 hours.  I took them out 6 or 7 hours before fire-up so they could adjust to room temperature and rise a little more.

As usual, there were many deviations from the menu and, as usual, I lost a pizza due to stretching the dough too thin allowing it to stick to the board. That's seriously the worst feeling.  Almost as bad as the ravenous chants, "fold it over and throw it in, make a calzone!"  Happens every time, it doesn't come out nice, and no one ever eats it...every time.  I  salvaged the toppings and pitched the dough.  Man down.  Check out some of the Mothers Day Pizzas below:

A fun twist to the party was when my grandpa brought out some grilled and fried calamari. Not to be shown-up, I instinctively sliced up some grilled shrimp and met it with pancetta, spinach, chili oil, and a couple splashes of sauce.  A "Surf 'n Turf" if you will.  

I always wake up early on pizza day, but Sunday I still had to go grocery shopping, shake-down the dude at EZ Pantry for some firewood, drop off flowers by my future mother-in-law, and pickup a gift for my mom.  All while making sure my brother at home kept an eye on the fire.  I felt like Henry Hill in Goodfellas when he was freakin', "Tell Michael not to let the sauce stick and keep stirrin' it..."  It was a pumped up morning and even better afternoon; a great day for a fire-up and I couldn't have been happier.  This is shaping up to be the busiest summer of my life of my life, which means it is the most important summer for pizza.  When there is a lot going on or I feel a little wigged out, there is no better therapy than watching a pizza cook in my oven.