Pizza madness

Lessons from last night's pizza party. Making pizza for 30 when you only have 2 shelves in your oven is not the best idea - but it was my darling's birthday party so I wasn't too upset about spending the night in front of the oven for her.

Marion's new topping tip is gold - Taleggio and Cime di Rapa.
Taleggio is a melty slightly stinky cheese - like a very aged brie. It has a lovely pinkish rind and is going to be a new favourite indulgence of mine. I found it at Mediterranean Wholesalers (Sydney Rd, near corner of Victoria St) where you can also pick up a jar of Cime di Rapa - basically turnip greens marinated in oil with garlic and chilli. The combination of the greens, which are quite bitter and sharp, with the melty cheese is just wonderful.

Other toppings we had:
- pumpkin, rocket, fetta and pinenuts
- potato, caramelised onion and rosemary
- tomato, bocconcini and basil
- tomato sauce, mushroom, fresh mozarrella, garlic and olives

I'm still not super confident making pizza - it was hard to get the base cooked perfectly without burning the toppings. Also sometimes the potato and pumpkin pizzas were a bit drier than I've had them at my favourite pizza joints. But the crowds were happy and well fed and I'm definitely inspired to try again soon.

Any pizza advice would be much welcomed.