Nothing beats the smell of pizza, with oodles of garlic, drifting out your cabin hatch into the fresh air while you’re sailing. Even on a hot day like today it’s sure to pick up the spirits of your crew who, you know, were expecting cold sandwiches. And it can be easier than making those sandwiches…

…with a little cheating. It’s not cheating, really, it’s just being practical. Buy those Italian, pre-made, unrefrigerated crusts and they will keep on board for days. Top with meats like pepperoni or cooked sausage that will also keep, in the icebox, for many days.

Today was a flat, smooth sail under the spinnaker, so no need to worry about a gimbaled stove or hot mozzarella sliding off the pizza.

Pizza making is pretty straight forward, and doesn’t differ much from the kitchen to the galley. Pre-heat your galley stove to 400 degrees. Layer your pre-made crust with pizza sauce from a can or jar and cover with a generous amount of mozzarella, about 2 cups. Then I like to sprinkle 3-4 cloves of minced garlic to the cheese. Yeah, yum! Then add your meat and vegetables.

The wonderful thing about making pizza is that the toppings are as endless as the leftovers in your icebox. Fresh ingredients, of course, are great…tomatoes instead of canned sauce, fresh mozzarella and basil.  Canned foods work too, my favorite being artichoke hearts and mushrooms. And we can’t forget the “Hawaiian Pizza” with Canadian bacon, pineapple and scallions. Someday soon I’ll post our favorite crab pizza recipe, a great white pizza that uses up whatever leftover crab you recently picked.

Unlike a conventional oven where you place a pre-made pizza right on the rack, putting the pizza on an insulated cookie sheet keeps the bottom of the crust from burning. Place in your 400 degree oven, watch the heat and adjust as needed. Needs about 15-25 minutes to cook.

Let rest for 5 before you cut the pizza. Since I’m a big advocate of multi-functional tools on a sailboat (well…ok, except for a garlic press)* I like to cut the pizza with scissors.

And there are the guys, enjoying the hot, garlicky pizza in sight of the Baltimore Lighthouse.

*The multi-functional tool challenge: What other use could a garlic press have on board a sailboat? I’m “pressed” to find one. Any ideas out there? Let us know. We’d love to hear from you!