Who wants to go out on new year’s eve? It’s called amateur night for a reason, I remember dudes used to climb up on the street poles, and a couple of them fell to their demise, before climbing on street poles on new year’s eve was outlawed on The Las Vegas Strip. The cops are way uptight, they are gonna haul some people in, and that’s that. Traffic is a nightmare, and getting a decent meal without a reservation two months ago, plus an arm and a leg, is near impossible. The smart people stay in. The smart, and fun people have their own party. One new year’s eve party that blows people away, and creates a lifelong memory, is a create your own pizza party. I’ve done a bunch, and they’re a blast. The key is to set the stage for creativity, and participation.

What goes down is you put out a variety of ingredients, and some pre-baked 10-12 inch pizza shells. Your guests create their own pizza, and everyone tries each other’s pizza. Put out a big old Caesar salad, a big pitcher of sangria, or any festive beverages, and you’re good to go. That’s the basic rundown. You will have a lot of preparation beforehand, partnering with someone, or even hiring professionals, can help with that.  The following are just a few things to keep in mind, and then we will do a checklist. Doesn’t this sound like a wonderful idea? lvfrankg
ONE LOVE > OUR LOVE

1. Make the best playlist you can possibly make. It has to be upbeat music. Good times, and all that. Try to find out what your guests like, and include that music. Just go to your guests Facebook pages to find out their music tastes. Make a Facebook page for the event, and tell the Facebook friends you invite to RSVP there. You could even tell the invitees to request some songs for the playlist on the page, that will set a good vibe of a participatory party, but don’t use them if they are slow or melancholy.  Use Facebook and social networking sites to do as much of the inviting as you can. Take a ton of pictures, and post them on the Facebook page on new year’s day. Put a simple, or humorous poll up on the page so guests can vote on something, or you can organize your own contest if you want to. You can learn more about creating awesome facebook pages by following this link.
2. Getting the pizza crusts out of the way first is a big plus, and they can be wrapped tightly and used the next day. Ideally, you will buy all of the ingredients on the day you prepare the pizza dough. Then prepare the toppings on the day of. Keep the toppings in the fridge until you need to set them out, to keep them fresh as possible. You can do the pizza crust a number of ways: You can use pre-made, store bought pizza crusts, like boboli, and you won’t have to do anything, but they don’t inspire creativity like a real pizza shell. Frozen shells are OK, but they can be expensive. There is a frozen french bread dough on the supermarket shelves that can be portioned and used as pizza crust.  Ultimately, you can buy a bunch of dough from a local pizza shop. If you want to make them yourself from a favorite recipe, put a whole day aside, you will have to half bake them for the party, too. If you put totally uncooked pizza shells in the oven, it will take too long, and drag the party. Besides, you don’t want to deal with the mess of party guests hand-tossing pizza crust in your house. Half baking the crusts ahead of time is a huge advantage and, for all practical purposes, a must. I usually call my pizza shop and set the order up in advance. If you can get them to portion it for you, it’s a huge time-saver. You will need 1/4 lb portions for a 1 10-12 inch pie.  Do the math, and provide 1.5 pizza shells per guest. Everyone won’t make a second pizza, but some people will. 1 per person is never enough: -Preheat your oven to max. Get it hot to trot. -Roll out each chilled portion of pizza dough into a 10 inch round, go thinner (12-inch,) for quicker cooking and more surface area. -Brush lightly with olive oil, and cook for 3-4 minutes. -Don’t allow them to brown. If you do, it’s no biggie. Try not to though. -Allow them to cool, and wrap them tightly in plastic wrap. -Store in fridge. -Set out one hour before guests arrive to allow them to come up to room temp. Alternatively, you can hire a catering professional to do whatever you want.
3. Provide a wide variety of ingredients. Serve a pesto sauce, and a white sauce, in addition to tomato sauce. Use at least 3 types of cheeses. Mozzarella, Provolone, and Pecorino-Romano, are always good choices, but use whatever you like. Smoked Gouda, Ricotta, and Gruyere are great, too. At least 3-5 different types of meat is always a good idea. Pepperoni, salami, ground beef, meatballs prosciutto, and grilled chicken always make for great choices. Use your favorites, just provide a good variety. Be as creative as you can, be. The wider the variety, the more fun your guests will have at the pizza party. The vegetables have to be of  a very wide variety. Provide as many as you can fit on the table. You don’t need a very large amount of each ingredient. Each guest won’t use each ingredient.  Make sure you have minced garlic, chopped onion, peppers, sauteed mushrooms, olives and lots of fresh herbs. Roast up some red peppers, and  caramelize some onions to mix it up a little. Grilled asparagus, roasted garlic cloves, hot peppers, and diced tomato are good ideas. The table should look bountiful. Provide a big salad and plenty of beverages. Work out a byob on your invitations if you want to cut costs, or you can partner with a friend to save time, and money. Don’t forget that a professional is always an option, and can help in any capacity you need them to.
4. Provide pizza screens for cooking the pizzas. They’re cheap and convenient to have around.  Provide 1 screen per 3-4 guests for a good party flow. Instruct guests to build the pizza right on the screen for easy oven transfer. Make the ‘pizza line’ easy to access all ingredients, and organized. Use labels or index cards to identify each ingredient.  Put  the assembly area near the oven, so the pizzas don’t have to travel very far once they’re assembled. Turn your oven on to the maximum temperature about an hour before guests arrive. You are going to need a very very hot oven. The hotter the better, it will be opening and closing all night, and pizzas need high heat to cook right.
5. Make sure you have everything laid out, and ready. Provide an area for slicing, with a cutting board, pizza cutters (1 or 2,) and have a bowl of olive oil with a brush, in that area, for brushing the crusts with oil when they come out of the oven. This makes a crispy, and flavorful crust. Provide a large table for buffet style pizza service. Cover the table with butcher paper, and serve the pizzas on the table top by carefully sliding it off of the screen, on to the table top. Provide crayons or markers for guests to say what they want about their creation. Provide clear instruction to the guests before they begin. A good way to do this is a demo, just make your own pizza, and walk your guests through it. The steps are as follows: Sauce, Cheese, Toppings,  Bake until cheese is melted, and crust is crispy, Brush edges with olive oil, slice into eight slices, display on table.

That is everything you need to know to pull off a great pizza party. Here is a checklist for easy reference.

• Invitations (paper, or social media) 
• Partner, or Caterer?
• Playlist
• Pizza Dough
• Sauces, Cheeses, Toppings
• A nice big salad
• Beverages
• Pizza Screens
• Pizza Cutters
• Plates and Napkins
• Butcher Paper
• Buffet table
• Markers or Crayons
• Camera

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