Square Pizza

The finished product

Square Pizza is a New Year's Eve Thompson family tradition, which my mom started years ago. She made only cheese pizza--no extra toppings--but I have changed it over the years to suit my own taste.

As kids, on New Year's Eve we were so excited at the prospect of being legally allowed to stay up past our normal bedtime. Dad would play his records and sing along as best he could (if he couldn't remember the words, he would just make them up). Occasionally he would swoop into the kitchen and try to entice mom into an impromptu dance. Sometimes she played along, other times she would respond with a terse: "Dick, for God's sake I'm trying to cook here!"

Later mom would let us have a drink, a Sloe Gin Fizz. This consisted of a very large plastic cup filled with 7-Up, mixed with a teeny tiny capful of sloe gin. Boy did we ever feel grown up.

Close to midnight we would assemble at the front door. Sometimes the weather was awful and we would abandon our outdoor celebrations in favor of indoor noisemaking. Mostly I recall evenings with biting cold and not much in the way of snow. Coats and hats and gloves would be donned over our pajamas, snowboots if necessary. Then my brother and I would jostle and push each other to be the first out the door. You see, the winner would be the lucky one who got to sit in the driver's seat of our white 1966 Plymouth Fury and honk the horn. The loser was stuck banging on the pots and pans mom had selected for their unique tonal quality.

Mom had this obnoxious cowbell. She didn't like going outside in the cold weather, so she usually hung out the front door clanging that thing endlessly.

After having one too many beers and singing one too many songs, dad was typically fast asleep on the couch long before midnight.

Nowadays the New Year arrives without much fanfare. We are early risers and go to bed equally early. Sometimes I'll get up at midnight to watch our crazy neighbors shoot off those ever-present fireworks.

Welcome 2012. Please be kind and please, cut us a little slack. We could sure use it. Thank you.

To make your very own Square Pizza, you'll need:

• 2 packages of pizza crust mix (6.5 oz.)
• 1 jar of pizza sauce (14 oz.)
• about 40-50 pepperonis
• one large green pepper, chopped
• 1 8-oz. package of Italian Four Cheese Blend, or similar grated cheese

Spray a rectangle cookie sheet with cooking spray. The size I use is 16"x10" and about 1.5" deep. I prefer to make my Square Pizza in a deep dish variety, that's why I use two pizza crust mixes.

Prepare the pizza crust mix according to package directions. When it is in a nice round ball, drizzle about a tbsp. of cooking oil over the top and roll the ball in the oil. Cover the mixing bowl and leave it on top of the oven for about 5-10 minutes while the oven is heating up.

Before

Knead the dough a bit and then spread it out, making sure to pull the crust up on all four sides of the pan. Pour on the pizza sauce. Add the pepperoni and green pepper (or whatever toppings you choose). Cover the entire pie with cheese.

Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes. Let the pie cool about 5 minutes before cutting. Makes about 8 pieces.

Note: even though the pan is not "square" the slices usually are...