With the rise in restaurant prices, it might be hard to eat out all the time with friends. I wanted to share an experience you could have with a group of friends that is relatively cheap and easy to do.
As some of you may know, I used to work in the restaurant industry. My first kitchen job was actually at a vegan pizza restaurant called Virtuous Pie. This is where I met a few of my close friends. Every once in a while we would have dinners instead of going out to save some money and also enjoy the process of making food. My good friends Jarrod, Dan, and Kat all worked alongside me at Virtuous Pie, where we formed a love for good food and company.
Something that we enjoyed making together was pizza. This is where our friendship began, and we continue to carry on this passion to this day. About a year ago, instead of going out, we decided to have pizza night at my apartment. Jarrod would prepare the dough the day before to let it rest and ferment. A good alternative to making pizza dough if you are in a rush for time, is to buy dough from a grocery store. I have seen it available at Safeway, Save-On Foods, or a local Italian grocery store and am sure you can find it anywhere. For the pizza sauce, we just simply used San Marzano tomatoes with basil and seasoning. You also have the option to just buy the sauce while buying the pizza dough. The other ingredients we used were pepperoni, olives, pineapple (I know this is a controversial topic), and fresh mozzarella cheese. I know making pizza can be daunting, but it is quite simple and was quick to make in the oven. It took roughly 3 to 5 minutes total per pizza.
The great thing about making pizza with friends is that it is interactive, you get to choose the ingredients, it is easy to make, and it is cheaper than eating out. If we were to go out to a restaurant to eat pizza, it would be roughly $25-30 per person, however, all the ingredients together cost around $50 and we had lots leftover.
If you want to have a good time with your friends without breaking the bank, I would suggest making pizza together. Not only is it very interactive, but you get to spend quality time catching up and creating memories together.
Leave a Reply