You might be wondering, what does The Wizard of Oz have to do with pizza? Well just keep reading and I’ll explain it all to you.. This past weekend was my granddaughter’s 4th birthday and a very special guest attended her party, it was Dorothy and she even brought her little dog Toto too!
 She came complete with her sequined studded ruby red slippers! My granddaughter is a huge fan of The Wizard of Oz, she can tell you the whole story from beginning to end, sing all the songs with much enthusiasm , so it was no surprise that she wanted that to be the theme of her birthday party.

Dorothy even brought along her ipod so she would have background music to sing some songs with her. My granddaughter dressed in full Dorothy garb was mesmerized! The expressions on her face were priceless!
 Here’s where the pizza comes in. My son and DIL hired a company called The Pizza Via, which is a wood-fired mobile brick oven that came directly to their home, set up was right in their driveway where they hand made Neapolitan style pizzas for everyone at the party.

Even the names of the pizzas went along with The Wizard of Oz theme. We had,“I’m Melting”- Cheese Pizza, Ruby Red Slipper-oni- Pepperoni Pizza, The Munchkin Guild- Sausage Pizza, Wicked Witch of the Westo’s- Pesto Pizza, The Cowardly Lion’s- BBQ Chicken Pizza, The Wizard’s-Spicy Hot Italian Beef Pizza, Auntie Em’s- Margherita  Pizza, and a few others that were custom made.

 The balls of dough were pre- prepped and ready to go, which were made with Caputo “00” imported flour.

Alex Ciciora is the Head Chef who’s earned certificates in Neapolitan and classic Italian pizza. This guy knows how to throw dough!
 Anticipation was brewing as the pizzas were being assembled with the freshest of ingredients.

The wood fire was at the perfect temperature, 1,000 – degrees, it was time to start cooking. Each pizza only takes a mere 90 seconds to cook up.
 Chef Alex was quickly cranking them out one by one. The smell in the driveway was out of this world between the aroma of smoky wood and all that dough and sauce cooking together!

The crust was perfect, delicate and crisp on the outside, tender on the inside. One of the pizzas I really liked was the pesto, prosciutto and olive pizza, so good!
 But of course the Chicago style Italian beef and peppers pizza smothered with hot giardiniera was also a huge hit, us Chicagoans love our Italian beef!

Actually they all were a hit, it’s really hard to choose a favorite because each one was unique in it’s own way. I confess, we loved them all!
 They even made a “Tornado Tossed” Greek Salad for us with an amazing feta dressing.

And then came dessert! “We’re Not in Kansas Anymore”- Banana Nutella Pizza, with toasted hazelnuts and white chocolate chips, need I say more?
 But this pizza shown above was a real crowd pleaser because no one had ever tried anything like it before, it was called, “Follow the Yellow Brick Road” – Lemon Pizza. Thinly sliced lemons baked on top of a crust dotted with butter, when it came out of the oven Chef Alex generously sprinkled powdered sugar all over it. He suggested we wait until it cooled down to eat it for optimal flavor, but no one could wait! We’re still talking about that lemon pizza!

Dark chocolate gelato along with the birthday girls cake ended our pizzeria feast!
 For those of you who live in the Chicagoland area I highly recommend The Pizza Via for your next party or event, it’s something out of the ordinary and your guests will love it! Chef Alex and his assistant were a wonderful, fun, hardworking team, they even made extra pizzas for everyone to take home. For a very unique party experience call Chef Alex at The Pizza Via!

 Our little Dorothy had a very memorable day!