DIY Pizza Night Kits
‘When life gives you pizza, eat it quickly before anyone realizes that you have it.’
Whether you like Chicago deep-dish, thin, thick, hand-tossed, vegan, extra-cheesy, or even the controversial pineapple – chances are there’s a slice of pizza with your name on it. And if you consider pizza one of your favourite meals (if not your absolute favourite), you’re not alone. Pizza is one of the most popular dishes across the globe. In fact, it’s so versatile and well-loved that it’s really no surprise that many countries claim to have created the world’s first real pizza!
Foods similar to the pizza – namely flatbreads and oven-baked bread with various toppings – are believed to have been prepared since the Neolithic age. You can find them in almost every region of the world. However, bakers in Naples prepared the first dish to be known as a ‘pizza’ in the 1600s. This street food was sold to the poorer Neapolitans who spent much of their time outside their one-room homes. They would purchase slices of pizza and eat it as they walked, which led contemporary Italian authors to call their eating habits disgusting! Nowadays the world pizza market was worth over $132.3 billion in 2020 and a Technomic study concluded that over 83% of consumers eat some form of pizza at least one per month!
In your pizza kit today, you have everything you need to create a delicious pizza from home:
- Pizza dough pre-portioned (GF available)
- Authentic Italian pizza sauce
- Three-cheese blend of cheddar, mozzarella and parmesan (Vegan option available)
- Pepperoni slices or mixed veg topping
- Basil leaves
- Beer or soft drink
Cooking instructions
- Remove dough from fridge and allow to come up to room temperature (around 1 hour)
- Preheat oven to 200oc Electric/ 220oc fan/Gas mark 9
- Roll out your pizza dough into approximately an 8- 10inches and transfer to a baking sheet lined with baking paper
- Spread your pizza sauce evenly leaving a couple of centimetres around the edges for a crisp crust. Remember to wash any vegetable toppings and the basil in cold running water before use.
- Top with cheese, keeping some back for a final sprinkling
- Add your chosen toppings and sprinkle over the remaining cheese
- Pop in the oven for 8-10 minutes** or until the crust is golden and crispy and all the cheese is melted and bubbling.
- ** your oven will be very hot so do check on your pizza regularly… nobody wants a burnt bottom!
ENJOY!!
Inspiration for virtual games
Sick of zoom quizzes and completed Netflix? Here are a few other ideas to keep entertained:
Guess Who?
Guess Who? is a Zoom game that challenges players to identify an opponent’s chosen person. For example, a player might ask, ‘does your person wear glasses?’ If the opponent says yes, then the player would eliminate the cards of any non- glasses wearers, and vice versa. To play Guess Who? on Zoom:
- Choose a player by random to be the chosen person.
- Allow all other players to take turns guessing traits.
- When eliminated, the attendee will stop their webcam, and can continue to play.
- The game ends when only one person remains, and the turn-taker confirms the identity of the person.
If you and your mates already know each other, you do not need to limit guesses to physical traits such as clothes or hair colours. For example, a player may guess, ‘has your person been studying in oxford for more than two years?’ or ‘does your person drive’. Players should try to confirm the identity in as few questions as possible.
Read my lips
Many of us have been in a Zoom meeting when a presenter’s audio cut out or the speaker forgot to take the microphone off mute. Read my lips turns this awkward or frustrating situation into a fun game.
To play, one participant will mute the mic, and then speak a word or phrase. The other players must try to guess the word or phrase correctly. Players have one minute to figure out the message. The turn-taker can also give clues by using the chat box, if necessary.
Story Races
Crafting a story one line at a time is a common team building activity. By using the chat feature on Zoom, you can turn the exercise into a race. Here is how:
- Elect one team member as the story leader.
- The story leader will begin to tell a tale.
- At random, the story leader will stop to let other attendees add details.
- The first answer in the chat box becomes part of the story.
The story leader can either speak the story or type out the tale in the chat box. The story leader also has the power to veto the ‘first answer’ in favour of a more creative option.
The Counting Game
In this game, your friends must count to ten. If any players say a number simultaneously, then you start over at one. Reading body language and making eye contact is the key to this game.
Zoom Pictionary
Pictionary is a classic teambuilding drawing game that is easy to adapt online. To play, you share screens and select the whiteboard app in Zoom. The drawing teammate will receive a prompt: you can use an online Pictionary generator to choose a word. The playing team has one minute to guess the drawing. If the team does not guess before the minute expires, then other teams have a chance to steal.
Zoom Charades
Charades is one of the best games to play over Zoom. To start playing Zoom Charades, split players into two teams. Then, use a random word generator to find a word to act out in front of the camera. Since an important aspect of charades is that players cannot use spoken words to express the prompt, mute participants when it is the player’s turn to act. Whichever team can guess the most prompts correctly wins the game.
How to order an event kit
Green Templeton students, if you’ve missed the email detailing how to purchase Student Events Kits and would like one, please head to GTC meal bookings to order. This page has been curated by the Catering team at Green Templeton. Please contact harriet.quint@gtc.ox.ac.uk with reactions, comments and suggestions.
This page contains stock photography from Pexels.
