Thasssaa Good Pizza Pie!

There are few things I love more than pizza… but, a homemade, wood-fired, cheesy, make-your-own pizza pie is over the top! I know I’m not alone in this – if you don’t love pizza, something isn’t right about you.

Ann was invited to a small Birthday party gathering this past weekend and we were lucky enough to be included as tag-alongs. The Birthday “boy” is an astounding baker here in Ireland and well known in the Union Hall area for his breads and other baked goods. People in the West Cork region come from all over to stock up on the Baker’s breads every weekend at the Skibbereen Farmer’s Market. We’ve tasted his breads and cakes and will definitely vouch for the quality and mouth-watering ingredients used.

The Baker, ‘M,’ uses spelt wheat. Spelt wheat has a lot less gluten than regular bread, but is not totally gluten free. Spelt baking is very popular in Germany and it just so happens that ‘M’ is German and bringing the goodness of spelt to Ireland.

Now, back to the birthday party. Not Dominos, Pizza Hut nor Little Caesars were called, oh no.  ‘M’ recently built a wood-fire, brick oven to cook his delicious breads. Yes, you heard that correctly – BUILT his own wood-fire oven. Impressive, to say the least.

After 5 months of oven-lovin’ labor, the project was complete. What better way to show off the masterpiece and celebrate a birthday than to have a good ol’ fashioned pizza making party!

A good pizza should always start with a solid base, homemade tomato sauce of course.

Next up, homemade, spelt pizza dough.

Rolled into perfectly round, individual pizzas …

Now the fun begins. ‘M’ had several topping options for his friends to choose from.

One by one, everyone formed a line, waiting for the chance to prepare the perfect pizza.

Once the pies were perfected, into the oven they went.

Only to come out looking like these beauties…

Go on, lick the screen. We won’t tell anyone.

The pizzas were delectable …and enjoyed by all!

We felt incredibly grateful to be a part of this night. The generosity of others continues to amaze me. We were only strangers to ‘M’ and were invited into his home with his family and friends and given an amazing meal.

That’s not all. We got our cake and ate it too. Apparently, according to ‘M’s’ partner, ‘D,’ he insists on making his own birthday cake every year. When this cake was brought out, we all could hardly believe our eyes, it was impeccable.. something you would buy from a bakery. It tasted even better. Behold, ‘M’s’ Black Forest Cake:

Enjoy a short iMovie from video clips and photos we took during the party:

Thank you ‘M’ and ‘D’ for hosting us. Please continue to bake your breads and other delicious treats! Blondie and the Beard will happily be your pizza party guests anytime.

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Blondie and the Beard