Sunday Night Pizza Fever

My favorite Sunday night supper is a simple pizza with a salad of arugula, basil leaves and baby spinach.

The pizza dough is easy to prepare and far better (and less expensive) than any you can buy. The yeast is probably the most daunting ingredient. Just dissolve it in warm, not hot, water (between 105 and 115 degrees) before mixing it into the flour.

Serve the pizzas with Chianti and finish off the meal with sliced navel oranges sprinkled with orange zest and Grand Marnier.

Mandel is author of “Celebrating the Midwestern Table” (Doubleday & Co., 1996).

Thin-Crust Pizzas With Fresh Mozzarella

Active Work Time: 20 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

1 (1/4-ounce) package dry yeast 1 cup water, 105 to 115 degrees

1/4 cup olive oil

3 1/2 cups flour plus more for rolling

1 teaspoon salt

Olive oil spray

Cornmeal

1 cup pizza or pasta sauce, preferably spicy

2 (8-ounce) packages mozzarella cheese

1 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

Dried red pepper flakes

* Stir yeast into warm water and let stand until dissolved, about 5 minutes. Stir in olive oil.

* Put flour and salt in food processor fitted with metal blade. Slowly pour yeast mixture through feed tube and process until smooth and elastic, about 40 seconds.

* Transfer dough to large resealable plastic bag, squeeze out air and seal, leaving enough room for dough to expand. Place bag in bowl and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down, then cut into 4 equal pieces. (Dough can be refrigerated up to 4 days or frozen 1 month; place each piece in its own plastic bag.)

* Put 1 piece of dough on lightly floured board and roll into 10-inch circle, flipping it occasionally and sprinkling on more flour as needed. Repeat with remaining 3 pieces dough. (Dough can be rolled out a few hours in advance, stacked between oiled pieces of wax paper and refrigerated until ready to use.)

* For each pizza, center 1 piece dough on pizza pan, preferably black steel, that has been sprayed with olive oil spray and sprinkled with cornmeal.

* Evenly spread 1/4 cup sauce to edge of each piece dough. Cut cheese into 1/4-inch-thick crosswise slices and divide among pizzas, spacing evenly. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon oregano, 1/8 teaspoon salt and red pepper flakes to taste on each pizza.

* Bake at 525 degrees on lowest rack of oven until sizzling and bottom of crust is brown and crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. If baking 2 pizzas at a time on 2 racks, reverse them after 2 1/2 minutes.

* Cut into wedges. Serve with Arugula, Basil and Baby Spinach Salad on side.

4 (10-inch) pizzas. Each pizza: 843 calories; 1,577 mg sodium; 89 mg cholesterol; 40 grams fat; 84 grams carbohydrates; 35 grams protein; 0.31 gram fiber.

Arugula, Basil and Baby Spinach Salad

Active Work and Total Preparation Time: 15 minutes plus 30 minutes chilling

3 cups baby spinach leaves, stems trimmed

2 cups arugula leaves, stems trimmed

1 cup basil leaves

2 tablespoons very thinly sliced red onion

7 cherry tomatoes, sliced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

* Wash and dry spinach, arugula and basil and chill.

* Combine chilled spinach, arugula and basil with onion and tomatoes in large bowl.

* Whisk olive oil, balsamic vinegar and red wine vinegar in small bowl. Pour over salad and toss. Season to taste with salt and pepper and toss again.

4 servings. Each serving: 54 calories; 113 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 4 grams fat; 5 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams protein; 0.60 gram fiber.