Pizza party for 20...

[Frances]

Our twins turned five last week, so we invited all the grandparents, uncles, godmothers and godfathers and their families over for pizza today... 20 people in all. Maybe not much for some of you, but I was rather overwhelmed.

We decided to let each person make his or her own pizza and had lots of different toppings ready and waiting on a long prep table just by the oven... and then just as we wanted to get started the heavens opened and the rain started pouring down!

So we covered the table with a sun umbrella and carried on regardless... The first couple of pizzas were fine. Then the table started to get wet, and the pizzas started to stick to it. Scrambled pizza? Tastes ok, as long as you keep your eyes closed when you eat it.

My hands, the peels, the table, everything got covered in a thick sticky layer of wet flour... then one of the aluminuim peels caught fire, because so much stuff was sticking to it.

BUT my oven kept up enough heat until the last pizza had been baked. And the beer stayed nice and cold, what with the weather being so bad and all. And everyone had a great time.

But I still think I'll try it without the rain next time...

[egalecki]

Re: Pizza party for 20...

Sounds like a good time, sticky burning peels and all. For a "party craft" (which used to be all the rage here at parties- it apparently wasn't enough to feed them and let them run wild) you could plan for papier-mache next time if rain is in the forecast!

Congratulations on the children reaching 5! And surviving a wet party for 20!

[krosskraft]

Re: Pizza party for 20...

Sorry it rained! But I am glad you carried on with the party. I have no cover for rain in my setup either.......maybe my next oven will be under a cover.

[SimonWoodfield]

Re: Pizza party for 20...

Frances,
See that worries me, you have been doing this for ages and you were overwhelmed! I have been doing it for around 10 minutes (or so it seems, about 20 pizzas produced so far) and I am trying to do a party for 100. I am beginning to have my doubts! Maybe I should just get a pizza hut menu and have it all delivered!!

Simon

[Frances]

Re: Pizza party for 20...

Simon,

I've only been baking pizzas since November.... so still a bit of a rookie really.

Hey, change of plan: Why don't you bake some calzone pizzas the day before and then use the retained heat to roast a suckling pig or about 500 chickens or something on the day? Thats stuff you could prepare in advance, bake some bread, too, to eat with the suckling pig... it'd be good!

But from what I remember of your post, you're not intending to feed the starving multitudes all at once anyway. If its an all day event, those 100 people will be arriving and leaving all day. As long as you keep your prep table dry () your oven hot and have plenty of nibbles for the people while they're waiting you'll be fine.

Anyway, you can't chicken out now, you've got us all excited about it! ...I'm certainly all agog to hear how it works out!