Pizza to the MAXXX - A Tale of Two Pizzas (part 2)

I was in DC on business this week. (Fun to say, right? “In DC on business.”) And even though work would pay for my dinner, I opted instead to head over to Jen and Jonah’s house for pizza making. And what a treat it was! For a couple of hours I basked in pizza and pizza vibes and forgot that I had been hunched over a computer all day. (And—for the record—I take partial responsibility for Jen and Jonah’s roommate-dom, and hence friendship and cooking partnership, even if they don’t want to admit it.)

Unlike me, this was not the first time Jen and Jonah had made pizza (it was the third). But boy, were they fast learners. They had picked up some beautiful dough balls from an Italian store and we all worked on our pizza dough stretching techniques. The definitive best way to do it is a mix of pawing it like a cat, wrestling with it like a baby kitten and hanging it by the scruff of its dough-neck like a naughty cat. Jonah was in charge of sauce, and although the liberties he took with the traditional flavors worried me (rice vinegar? seaweed?) it turned out delicious. Jen was on topping patrol. The first pizza was pretty traditional: marinated mushrooms, four different cheese, basil and red peppers.

But here’s the best part: they put the pizza stone right on the bottom of the 550 degree oven. No rack!

When we threw the first pizza onto the stone in cooked in like three minutes. I waited just a second too long to take it out of the oven, so the crust was burnt, but otherwise, almost perfect. First zza: 6/8 slices.

To be honest, I was full enough after the first pie, but also REALLY wanted to make the next one. We all agreed on apple toppings and Jen suggested mixing some honey in with the ricotta. OH BOY! I have been dreaming about that honey-ricotta ever since. In spite of the fact that Jonah tried to douse the pie in vinegar, this was one of my top five pizza experiences ever. It was truly other worldly. 8/8 slices.

More pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenmiz/4643418691/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenmiz/4643418721/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenmiz/4643380347/