Tuesday, April 12, 2011

the deep end

I'll be honest, until I was with the carnivore my idea of deep dish pizza was thick crust delivery from a national chain that rhymes with Lizza Slut. He, however, being from fine Chicago stock was well versed in the pizza world's bulkiest family member. We actually still have pizzas from his favorite place in the Windy City shipped south to us every now and again. And while this recipe cannot come close to the magical mouthwatering mega pizza that Lou Malnati produces, it will do in a pinch. I happened across a similar recipe in a recent Real Simple and adjusted it for me and my guy.
 
To make one meateater and one vegetarian pizza you will need:
2 Pillsbury pizza dough tubes
A dusting of cornmeal
4 cups of mozzarella, shredded
2 14.5oz cans of diced tomatoes, drained
fresh Italian herbs (oregano, basil, etc.)
A drizzle of olive oil
1 package of thinly slice pepperoni
1/2 cup of mixed pitted olives

Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees. Coat two 9 inch cake pans with non-stick spray. (I haven't tried this yet, but spring form pans might make removal at the end even easier.) Dust each with cornmeal. Press one tube of dough into each pan. Make sure to cover both the bottom and sides. Also, make sure the center isn't too thick. Top each with 2 cups of mozzarella. On the meaty one add a layer of pepperoni. Then on both add the tomatoes, herbs, and oil. Add the rest of the cheese to each. Then top again with pepperoni on one and olives on the other. Bake until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown, about 35 minutes. (You may want to put the cake pans on a baking sheet lined with foil just to make sure there is no cheese bubbling over in your oven.)

The carnivore and I ate on these hefty babies for days. And, they were really easy to prepare. I have other ideas for toppings on deck - sweet Italian sausage for him and spinach and feta for me. What toppings will you try when you go off the deep end?

6 comments:

  1. These look awesome! I have deep dish pizza on my "25 before 25" list, so I really need to try this soon. Thanks for the recipe! :)

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  2. Oh my! That olive pizza looks amazing!

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  3. Wow what a pizza, that looks delicious!

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