We gave you the plan earlier for a “Little Chefs” birthday party. Check back here in The Dressing Room for more details that will help you pull off the perfect “Little Chefs” party at your own house.
Today, we will show you how to create a pizza making center as an activity… and lunch… during your party. Having lots of little chefs can be sweet, but oh my. Right? We can tell you how to do this with absolutely no flying flour!
Create a Pizza Making Station
You will need:
A foil pie tin for each child
A ball of pizza dough from your favorite pizza restaurant, divided into smaller balls- one for each guest
Pizza sauce: Put it in a squeeze bottle for less mess
Toppings: cheese, pepperoni, mushrooms, peppers, olives, etc.
A small bowl for each topping
Corn meal
Cooking spray oill
Set up your pizza station in advance of the party.
Toppings can be put into the bowls, covered and refrigerated until the party.
Empty the pizza sauce into the squirt bottle and place it in the fridge, too. The squirt bottle makes putting sauce onto the dough super easy for the children. Then, a spoon can be used to smooth the sauce across the dough.
Reserve a space just for this. A kitchen island or large table is perfect. Just be sure it is large enough for several little chefs to gather ‘round.
Cut the large balls of dough from the pizzeria into smaller balls, one for each child. Coat smaller bowls with cooking spray and place a small dough ball in each. (Baseball size is plenty.)
Label each pie tin with a party guest’s name. (A Sharpie works well.) This makes it easy to tell who’s pizza is who’s when they come out of the oven. It also keeps them straight when you are sending home the leftovers.
Pizza boxes from the pizzeria (many places will just give you a few) can be decorated with scrapbooking paper for sending leftovers home in style. Labeling the boxes “(Birthday child‘s name) Café” is a really sweet detail not to be missed. Write the guest’s name somewhere on the box so you don’t have to open them to know who it belongs to when the party is over.
At the party:
It’s always best practice to lay a few ground rules before pulling out any food at a cooking party. You know… stay away from the hot oven, no propelling food items, etc.
Have everyone wash their hands.
Spray hands and work surface with cooking spray.
Have the children use their fingertips, starting in the center of the dough ball, to shape the dough into a flat circle-ish shape. The dough will be hard to shape if it is overworked, so encourage them to press down with their fingers, instead of pulling at it.
Place a ½ teaspoon or so of cornmeal on the bottom of each pie tin, and spread to cover the bottom.
Have the children place the shaped dough into their pie tin.
Have the children top their pizzas.
An adult should bake them at 450 until they are melty and golden. This doesn’t take long, maybe 5-8 minutes, depending on the thickness of the crusts.
While the pizzas are baking and cooling, be sure to have another activity planned to keep them busy.
Check back here in The Dressing Room tomorrow to get more activity ideas and helpful hints for the perfect “Little Chefs” birthday party.
Aren’t we Party Divas darlings for giving you the answers before you asked? See ya tomorrow.