Carnival Pizzas

This originally was a guest post a while back on Foody Schmoody I'm Just Cookin's website and she was kind enough to allow me to post it again from here. I so appreciate that.

Now that everyone has gone back to school you may long for those Summer Nights of you and the family going to local fairs and carnivals. It doesn't have to go away just because the owners packed up the rides and moved on or the food trucks have all disappeared. You can bring back the carnival feeling at home by recreating some of the foods that were served.

Carnivals and fairs are petty much standard summer and late summer entertainment here in Connecticut and in our neighboring state, Massachusetts. At these events you can ride the rides like the Ferris Wheel, the Scrambler or see a live horse or oxen pull. There's also music along with a variety of entry submitted prized garden vegetables and home baked goods all vying for a ribbon to take home. While it definitely has gone up in price over the years for entry fees and tickets for the rides, a lot of people set money aside for events like these - it's tradition. They remember going with their parents and siblings and now want to carry that tradition on for their own children.

One of the best parts of these carnivals and fairs is the food from the various food trucks that set up shop for the duration of the fair or carnival. And the one truck my family doesn't want to pass up ever is the one that serves Fried Dough Pizza.

So if for some reason you miss out on the carnival or the fair, you can make some of the food right in your own home - and that's what we are doing today. It is simple and easy especially if you buy store made pizza dough or buy some from your local pizzeria.

You can purchase a jar of your favorite marinara sauce or make my simple recipe that is here on the blog. Just click on the link. If you have spaghetti sauce made or jars of your favorite brand in your pantry by all means use it.

• 1-2 bags pizza dough
• drizzle olive oil
• 10-12 inch skillet with 1 inch vegetable oil
• marinara sauce (or spaghetti sauce)
• grated Parmesan cheese
• flour

1. Place the dough in a bowl with a drizzle of olive oil rubbed over the dough. Cover in plastic wrap and keep in a warm place until it rises to about double the size.
2. Punch the dough down and using a lightly floured surface cut the one pound dough balls into four equal pieces approximately four ounces each. Make them a round ball.
3. Lay these on a sheet pan and cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rise a second time for about an hour until they are about 3 1/2 inches in diameter. Our net for 2 balls of dough was 9 pizzas.
4. When the dough has risen again, lightly flour a clean surface and roll or push the dough down with your fingers into circles or rectangles and keep covered with the clean towel.
5. Make sure you have your marinara sauce made (or you could use spaghetti sauce as well)
6. Once the sauce and dough are ready, heat the oil in your skillet over medium high heat to 350°.
7. Place the dough in the hot oil and press down lightly with a pair of tongs. Cook for a minute or so until golden brown and flip over and do the same for the other side. Drain on paper towels.
8. Do this in batches keeping the already fried dough warm under a heat lamp or in a very low oven.
9. Assemble each pizza with sauce and grated Parmesan cheese for one variety.
10. For the second variety, make up some cinnamon and white sugar mixture to sprinkle on the top.

You can get four large portions out of one dough and maybe six if you do smaller sizes.