Pizza 101 - The Toppings and Italian Sausage Pizza

Since "pizza" is just really a fancy name for a large, baked, open face sandwich, pretty much anything you like can get piled on top of the sauce; raw or roasted vegetables, an assortment of cooked meats, any good melting cheese, even fruit.  The trick is to not overwhelm the crust with toppings, and it is absolutely imperative to use the freshest ingredients possible (that means no commercial grated Parmesan from a can, no canned mushrooms or no frozen spinach if you can help it).  The difference between a pizza made from fresh ingredients versus canned ingredients is immense.

It's so easy to want to pile the toppings nice and thick, but that is a mistake that could leave the crust soggy.  Try to adhere to the "see through" rule for topping your pizzas; you should be able to see the layer below each new layer you put on top, and that even includes the cheese.  I'll show you the way I top my favorite Vegetable Pizza (olives only on half, please, because my daughter doesn't like them).  After you have preheated your oven and baking stone to 500F, and have rolled out your crust and smeared it with sauce:

Top the sauce layer with 1/4 - 1/2 cup shredded provolone and 4 oz torn fresh mozzarella cheese.

Top the cheese layer with about 4 oz thinly sliced portobello or cremini mushrooms, 1/2 sliced green and/or red bell pepper, sliced red onions, olives, and, if in season, one chopped fresh tomato (just the flesh of the tomato, though - don't put the juice on the pizza).

Top the vegetables evenly with freshly grated Parmesan and a few pinches of dried or freshly chopped oregano, basil, and crushed red pepper flakes, if desired.

Bake the pizza at 500F on a preheated baking stone for about 10 minutes, or until the crust slides easily off the stone and it looks like this:

Cut it and eat it.

Now, that's one of my favorite pizzas.  I'm also fairly enamored with Spinach and Feta Thin Crust Pizza, and a whole host of others, to be honest.  But my husband and my son prefer a sausage pizza.  The problem with purchasing pre-made Italian sausage is that comes with a lot of MSG and nitrates and fillers I don't want to feed my family.  It's pretty easy to make your own Italian sausage with just a few staple herbs and spices.  The following recipe is for two pizzas - if you are only planning to make one, the uncooked Italian sausage mixture freezes quite well.

Italian Sausage Pizza
makes 2 (two) 12-14 inch pizzas

• 1lb fresh ground pork
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 c onion, finely diced
• 2 Tbs fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 to 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, depending on how spicy you want it
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 recipe pizza dough
• cornmeal for dusting
• 1 recipe pizza sauce
• 1 c shredded provolone cheese
• 8 oz fresh mozzarella cheese, torn into small pieces
• 1/2 c freshly grated parmesan cheese
• several pinches each: fresh or dried basil, dried oregano, and/or crushed red pepper flakes, optional

Preheat oven with baking stone(s) to 500F. 

In a bowl, combine the pork, garlic, onion, parsley, Italian seasoning, paprika, salt, crushed red pepper flakes, black pepper, and fennel seeds.  Mix well.

Heat olive oil in skillet over medium high heat.  Add pork mixture.  Brown the mixture for about 10 minutes, or until cooked, breaking up any large chunks.  Set aside.

Dust pizza peel(s) generously with cornmeal.  Roll out two crusts, each between 12-14 inches in diameter, depending upon how thick you'd like your crust (*if you are only making one pizza at a time, refrigerate the unused portion until ready to use).

Divide the pizza sauce between both crusts, smearing with the back of a spoon, to within a half inch from the edge.

For each pizza, sprinkle with 1/2c provolone cheese.

Top each pizza with half of the Italian sausage.

Sprinkle 4 oz. torn fresh mozzarella on each pizza.

Divide the freshly grated parmesan between both pizzas.

If desired, sprinkle each pizza with a few pinches of basil, oregano and/or crushed red pepper flakes.

Slide the pizzas onto the hot stones in the preheated oven and bake for approximately 8-10 minutes, or until the crust slides off the stone and the cheese has melted to your liking.  Remove with the pizza peel.

Now, if you are still with me after what I think might be the longest post I've ever written, please wish a Happy 1st Birthday to my favorite 'coon hound, Huckleberry Pi (the kids wanted to name him 3.14, so we compromised)!

Huck at 3 months

Huck on Christmas '11 morning

Isn't he great? ♥  One more year until he outgrows eating inedible things, like shoes and library books ($70 in fines so far.  Sigh.).  Good thing he's so sweet and very well loved.

Happy pizza making, everyone!  Have a great Super Bowl weekend!