Pizza Over the Top

By: Vanessa Greaves

Win the prize for most bizarrely good pizza add-ons.

More Theme Parties

Playlist

Sing it loud! Sing it proud! "When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie…"

That's Amore, Dean Martin
Come On-A-My House, Rosemary Clooney
The Godfather Waltz, Nino Rota
O Sole Mio, Mario Lanza
Just a Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody, Louis Prima
Mambo Italiano, Rosemary Clooney
Amado Mio, Pink Martini
Oh Marie, Louis Prima
Tu Vuo Fa L'americano Carosone, Renato
Nel Blu, Dipinto Di Blu (Volare) Gino Federici

Make-ahead Tips

Prep the dough days ahead of time, divide into desired portions, wrap tightly in plastic and freeze. Thaw in the fridge the night before your party.

Make multiple batches of pizza crust depending on the size of your crowd.
While you're up to your elbows in dough, bake a pizza circle so you can crown the overall winner.
If making dough is not your thing, just pick up ready-made crusts.
Clean prawns in the morning and refrigerate until you're ready to broil 'em up. At party time, you can pop the prawns in the oven while your guests start prepping their pizzas.
Make and freeze the ice cream dessert the night before. Let it soften slightly before cutting and serving.

More Menu Ideas:

Whip up a classic Caesar salad to serve on the side.
Pizza tasting is thirsty business. Pour lots of good wine.

There's a fine line between weird and wonderful. Can you walk it? Let your pizza-topping talent be the proof.

Yo! Top this! Pizza gets an upgrade in this over the top cook-off. To whet some appetites, broil up garlicky prawns to nibble while you work. What to drink? Lots of good Italian wine, of course. But if you're in the mood for cocktails, try a snappy Pomegranitini. It is what it sounds like. Dessert is a sweet, salty, crunchy, creamy ice cream pie. You can work it off tomorrow. And the next day. And the next.

Jay's Signature Pizza Crust: Use this crust as the blank canvas for your pizza masterpieces.

Get the recipe!

Broiled Lemon and Garlic Tiger Prawns: Tender prawns are bathed and quickly broiled to finger-licking perfection.

Note: Feel free to use jumbo shrimp in this recipe. For speedy prep, choose frozen jumbo shrimp that are already peeled and deveined. Some cooks like to keep the tails on for enhanced flavor.

Get the recipe!

Tin Roof Sundae Pie: Reward your over-the-top pizza makers with this outrageously good dessert.

Get the recipe!

Pomegranitini: A juicy twist on the classic cosmopolitan.

Note: Ingesting Pomegranitinis could influence the outcome of the pizza challenge. Please drink responsibly.

Get the recipe!

Party Tips

This is no mere pizza party. This is the ultimate pizza throwdown! The challenge? See who can create the most deliciously over-the-top pizza topping. The prize? How about the title of Supreme Pizza Potentate and bragging rights for a year? Or until the next competition.

Ask guests to bring their favorite pizza bling: meats, cheeses, veggies, fruit, sauce, etc. They can create alone or in teams (decide ahead of time).
While one pizza is baking, the next can be in the prep phase. Depending on the thickness of the rolled dough and the kinds of toppings used, pizzas can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes to bake, so plan to do waves of small tastings.
Provide note cards for tasting and voting.
Award prizes for most beautiful pizza-scape, most daring combination, most spectacular failure, quirkiest name, healthiest mix, most likely to land you in the ER, and of course, Best in Show.