After my last vacation I came back in the mood to cook. This is something new for me as I have been pretty much banned from the kitchen for most of my life.
Lately I’m trying to perfect pizza. I think I’ve written about this before and it really has been a new obsession lately. I’m trying to do a traditional Chicago style deep dish pizza without the crust. I don’t have a deep dish to cook it in, so I’m doing what I can in my own insane style.
For me, I start with a store bought crust. I know traditionalist will make your own own, but I’m an idiot and I’ve only managed to kill anything that wasn’t pre-made and solid.
Currently this is what I do:
Take your crust and brush on a coating of extra virgin olive oil along out outside edge of the pizza.
Put a little thyme and oregano on the crust.
Do a layer of Mozzarella or provolone cheese. Whole. Not shredded. Watch the edge when you do this so none is hanging over.
Do a layer of pepperoni. I like the whole big slices you can get at Sam’s club. Cover up that layer of cheese with the pepperoni.
Put on your pizza sauce. 1 ladle full. Spread it so it covers everything.
Take the left over olive oil from the first step, mix it with a little shredded cheddar or shredded jack cheese, diced onions, diced garlic and a pinch of oregano and thyme. You can do mushrooms or green peppers or whatever. Then spread it out on top of the tomato sauce.
Cover it up with one last layer of mozzarella slices. Again, watch the edges, since it’s not deep dish the cheese will melt and stick to the pan if you’re not careful.
Top that with just a pinch of shredded cheddar for color.
Cook at 400 for 18 minutes, let sit for 4 minutes then cut and …
If you like this version, credit Knine. 🙂
k9