Pondering the pizza of my past

In college, a friend told me about pizza crusts that you could buy pre-made, then add your own toppings to create a mock homemade pizza. I flashed back to the pizza of my childhood. We used a boxed kit from the grocery, complete with a dough mix, sauce and powdered cheese. We kneaded the crust, flattened it on a cookie sheet and smoothed on the canned sauce, but upgraded the packaged toppings with fresh-grated mozzarella and pepperoni or olives. Armed with fond memories of these childhood pizzas, but leaving the box behind, I began making my own dough recipe from scratch and adding whimsical toppers—all to rave reviews. I gained enough of a reputation, that the first birthday present from my now-husband was a pizza stone. Having long since memorized that recipe, these days I carry on the homemade pizza family legacy with my own kids two or three times a month. On pizza nights you will find our kitchen erupting with bowls of toppings covering the counter, flour in my hair, and the kids fighting for turns to make their own personal pies that turn out not-quite-round--the cheese and sauce slopping off the edges, and likely to be sporting a face with pepperoni eyes, a broccoli nose and olive teeth. They impatiently watch, snacking on chunks of Parmigianino Reggiano, while their proud creations puff and brown in the oven. Memories in the making.