Winner, Winner...Pizza Dinner!

This blog is dedicated to my favorite Pizza guys, Kirk and Devin Loudon. Owners of

The Toad House Pizza Pub in Bremerton, WA.

Ok, let's face it...absolutely everyone loves pizza! I have yet to meet a single soul on the planet who doesn't love pizza! I don't care if your a vegetarian, a vegan, (yea, I did the vegan thing for a while) gluten or lactose intolerant, or calorie restrictive... you love pizza! One of the best things about pizza is, there are just sooo many ways to make it to tantalize your taste buds and still maintain your dietary integrity.

I, for one, prefer the "Go big or go home!" style of pizza. All the yummy goodness of ooey-gooey cheese, tasty pepperoni and fresh veggies!

Now, I live in NYC which is supposed to be like the pizza capital of the world and I have to be honest, I have been more than a little disappointed in a lot of the pizza I've encountered as of late. Especially in my current neighborhood. No matter where I've ordered from and no matter how I emphasize well done, crispy, thin crust, I end up with some soggy, sloppy mess of a pie. And let's face it, there is nothing appetizing about soggy and sloppy. I have also found that the pies I've ordered have been entirely too salty. That's really saying something coming from a sodium addict such as myself.

Although I stated in my previous post that I prefer fresh ingredients whenever possible, there are some things that I still have yet to master, such as pizza or pasta sauce or the dreaded process of actually making the dough. I just ain't that good. Not yet anyway! The good news is, I have found (for me) the best store-bought crust on the market, Stonefire pizza crusts. I found them near the bakery section of my grocery store. If you can't find them, try their website, stonefire.com

The crust comes with a packet of pizza sauce. I know that doesn't sound impressive, but it's really pretty damned good!

Ok, just a couple of tips before I post the "recipe".

You can take 'em or leave 'em depending on your preferences, but keep in mind, my particular pizza making style produces pretty kick ass results! It doesn't hurt that my significant other used to work in a pizzeria and is a born and bred native New Yorker, and he's been teaching me the tricks of the trade. Those good old Jedi Master type skills!

TIPS:

1. Do NOT over-sauce your pie! If you choose to use the Stonefire crusts, the sauce packet may not seem like it's enough, but it is. Less is more people. Remember, no soggy, sloppy pizza.

2. When adding the sauce to your pie, apply it directly in the middle of the crust in a puddle and use the back of a ladel in the middle of the puddle in small circular motions to distribute the sauce outward to the rest of the pie. Remember not to go all of the way to the edge so you don't have a sloppy mess. If you can't visulaize what I'm talking about, I'm sure it's demonstrated on YouTube.

3. Use fresh mozzerella. An absolute must. I don't care if you slice it, grate it or do whatever is necessary to get it on your pizza, just make it happen.

4. Again with the fresh. Garlic, herbs and veggies should all be fresh. You won't catch me dead with a "jar of garlic" in my fridge. And don't go dumping dried basil on top. That's a no no.

5. Do NOT add salt of any kind to this recipe. The artichokes, pepperoni and olives make it plenty salty.

6. Always make a minimum of 2 pies. More if you have a family of 4 or more because it's gonna go fast!

....and here we go! Use whatever ingredients you like. This is what I used for my 2 pies.

Ingredients for 2 pies.

• 2 Stonefire Thin Pizza Crusts with sauce packets

• Ball of fresh mozerella. Ounces depend on how cheesy you like your pizza. I suggest 12-16 ounces cuz you know you're gonna be nibbling during the process.

• 4 cloves of fresh minced garlic

• Approximately 1/4 cup (more if you choose) extra virgin olive oil

• A few leaves of fresh basil

• 1 sliced Vidalia onion

• 1-2 vine ripened tomatoes

• 1 small can of artichoke hearts (quartered) packed in brine/drained. Do NOT use that oily nonsense!

• 1 small can of cut black olives

• 1/2 of a Vermont Smoked Pepperoni sliced. You can use whatever pepperoni you want, but trust me when I tell you, this pepperoni is the best damned pepperoni I've ever eaten.

• Fresh ground black pepper and red pepper flakes to taste

Method: Use as much or as little of the toppings as you like. Again, for me, less is more.

• Preheat oven to 475 degrees

• Apply sauce to crusts using above method

• Add fresh mozz. Don't try to pull a fast one. I'm watching you!

• Add sliced onions

• Add fresh tomato slices

• On 1st pie add the following: Olives and pepperoni

• On 2nd pie: artichoke hearts. You can add them in their full quartered state or break them apart

• Mix olive oil and minced garlic in a bowl or ramekin and use a spoon to dribble the mixture around the pies

Place both pies directly on your oven racks for 10-12 minutes. This helps with the crisp factor and adds fun little grill marks to the bottom of your pies. Yes, I looked! I placed mine on the middle and bottom racks. If you followed instructions and didn't disperse your ingredients all the way to the edge, you shouldn't have a problem with drippage. Keep an eye on the pies as they will cook at different rates on different racks.

Remove your pies and place them one at a time into the broiler for approximately 1 minute each. This will ensure they are nice and crispy!

Once your pies are done, you can add your fresh basil in what ever way you choose.You can leave them whole or chop or tear them. Do NOT add the black pepper or pepper flakes to whole pies. Allow your hungry guests to add to taste to their individual slices.

....and enjoy!

#pizza #italian