pizza...again

Dear reader, I apologize for the continued attention paid to this humble culinary endeavor. There is no doubt that the pizza has attained a level of media scrutiny usually reserved for Kim Kardashian's hind quarters. While I hesitate to call the pizza "played out," I will go so far as to say that this particular blog has been flooded. Pizza party after pizza party, the pizza marches on tirelessly. I'm not even really doing anything new or unique, but pizza is probably the one dish I make that is deserving of internet immortality. My general menu is comprised of the cheapest possible items, cooked in a pan with oil, eaten with neither relish nor revelation. I take a bit more care with pizza.

This addition is noteworthy primarily because I purchased and pickled a quantity of hot red cherry peppers to accompany it. I was hoping to recreate in some small way the sublime Tomato Pie sold at Trenton's venerable Delorenzo's. I'm not sure if it was because of my horrible hangover at the time, but the sausage and cherry pepper pizza presented a fine combination of cheesy umami, spiced meat, and piquant pepper; it was a veritable casual-Friday for the mouth.

To pickle the cherry peppers, I haphazardly added equal parts white vinegar and water to a sauce pan, added a liberal amount of both salt and sugar, and made use of some long lingering whole garam masala mix to spice the brine. Rather unconventional, I know, but my focus was somewhat lacking. The end result was pretty good, basically the acid and spice heightening one another, coupled with a hint of sweetness.

The pizza was perhaps overly ambitious in its desire to be loaded with toppings. Onto the dough I heaped 1 large yellow heirloom, mozzarella, pecorino romano, the pickled cherry peppers,  and soppresetta. Into the oven it went, slightly overloaded, and out it came golden brown but a bit too thin in the center. A handful of basil finished the whole thing off. The center was a gooey mess but it was tasty nonetheless. I enjoyed each rich bite with relish and shared not a crumb with anyone in my house. BOOYA.