Pizza

Since I had a less-than-yummy dinner the night before, last night I decided to bust open that can of tomato sauce and make myself a pizza.

First things first. You've got to have a good crust. I like mine very thin and crispy and though I'm sure I could go to lots of trouble making one from scratch, I don't becase Weisenberger's Mill makes an excllent pizza crust mix for less than one dollar. I prepare as directed and let it sit for half an hour as suggested.

Once it's ready, I oil up my hands with a bit of olive oil and spread the dough out on re-usable parchment paper (more economical and versatile in the long run--see link on the side menu to purchase). As I said, I like mine very thin and crispy, so this can take some time. Then I spread a very light amount of tomato sauce on the crust. For the sauce, I use organic tomato sauce and add some chopped garlic, Italian seasonings, salt, fresh ground pepper and dried rosemary (because I love rosemary).

After the sauce, I sprinkle on a small amount of Sargento shredded mozzarella (I keep it in the freezer for pizza nights) and then the toppings. Last night, I carmelized some onions (sauteed in butter over medium heat until brown) for the first layer, added thinly-sliced Roma tomatoes, sprinkled on a little more cheese and then topped it off with some fresh sliced baby portobella mushrooms.

Once that's done, it's ready to go in the oven, preheated to 500 degrees. Here's where some other essential tools come in. I've made this pizza on a cookie sheet, but to get the crispy crust, a pizza stone is a necessity (it should be preheating in the oven; I keep mine in the oven full-time). Even if you like a thicker, chewier crust, the pizza stone ensures that the crust gets as cooked as it should before your toppings get charred.

To make life easier, pull the rack out from the oven to place the pizza on the stone instead of trying to squeeze into a 500 degree oven. This may seem obvious to some, but not for those who are a little inexperienced around the kitchen (or frequently absent-minded like myself). And to make life even easier, get yourself a pizza peel. Those are those long-handled wood implements you see pizza chefs use to pull the pies out of the ovens. I just have a small metal peel (which is easy to store) and it works great. Trust me, no spatula can do the job on getting a pizza in and out of a very hot oven.

After 9-10 minutes in the oven, you've got a pizza that's almost as good as any pizzeria (certainly better than most of the pizza joints in Nashville). And you can use your pizza wheel to slice the pizza right on the reusable parchment paper--it won't cut it.