Ham Balls and Pineapple Pizza

Yum.  This pizza was a huge success.  Very tasty!

I know, I know.  We decided when I posted the original Aunt Evelyn Ham Ball business, that the name was just wrong.  But that is what I have called them for my entire life, I just can't change that easily.  Ask Scott, he's been trying for 26 years to make me change, to no avail.  When I posted the ham balls with the Tiki sauce, I made some mini balls to put on a pizza at a later date.  Today, was that date.

I started with my favorite pizza dough from the Fresh Market.  I just didn't have the time to go from scratch.  But I will be honest with you.  I really miss my home made dough.  I am planning on ordering this Italian style flour from King Arthur and I will be back in the pizza dough biz.  The right flour makes all the difference!

So I rolled and rested the dough on a floured peel (no cornmeal, which was a BIG problem).  There were some hard, crunchy areas on the dough which makes me kind of mad, so when I got it all rolled out, I sprayed the edges with my Misto and sprinkled a little Penzey's Italian seasoning.  I find these crusts work best if they rest a little after rolling, and then stretch to the desired shape.  I made mine on the peel, and it was too big and heavy to slide onto the stone.  Ooops.  But hey, once the ingredients are all on, does it really matter how it looks?  NO!  So just pretend that big fold isn't there.  But, for the record, that part of the crust was yummy.

Had to flip one side so it would fir on the pizza stone.  Oops.

Speaking of ugly pizzas, many years ago, at least 22, (no kids) I made a shrimp and leek pizza from scratch, from a Bon Appetit Magazine.  As I was taking my masterpiece out of the oven, it slid right off and onto the kitchen floor, upside down.  I cried. My sweet husband grabbed a spatula and scooped up the mess and sat down at the table and ate it.  He knew what kind of effort I had put into it.  It turned out pretty good, it just wasn't pretty.  No wonder we are happily married all these years, huh?

So I basically slathered the pizza sauce, mozzarella, ham balls, and pineapple rings, because I knew the meatballs would look cute in those holes.  I topped it with a little parmesan and pizza seasoning for fun and slid/crammed it onto the stone.  I baked it at 460 F on pure convection to try and get that dang crust, crispy.  Always my issue with this pre made stuff.  The stone didn't help much, it was still soggy in the middle, even after stretching it as thin as I could.  I have got to start making my own dough.  Have I mentioned that?

The meatballs were precooked.

But hey, it was delicious.  We love that salty ham/sweet pineapple/sauce combo.  I will always make some little meatballs for pizza, they were a great addition and much more flavorful than Canadian Bacon. So, what are you waiting for?  Get in there and cook!