MOST MY LIFE I have been a fan of pizza. It started as a ten-year-old when I enjoyed my first slice at the once-bustling Sugar Bowl restaurant in Gaylord during our family’s winter ski vacation. I have tried so many different pies over the years, always reminded by each establishment that theirs is the very best.
Some assert that the heat source is the key to great pizza, others say it is the yeasty dough, and still others boast of the homemade “secret sauce.” The only truth I have arrived at is that frozen pizza does not make the grade.
In my Birmingham days with my teenage sons in tow, I became a die-hard Primos fan. The beer and wine store was located on Adams a block off Woodward Ave. My family was particularly attracted to their curled-up pepperoni and gooey mozzarella cheese slices. They famously wrapped individual rectangular pieces in aluminum foil. I’m guessing so we wouldn’t dare place the pieces in a microwave. I am longing for their pizza as I write this piece. A small pun is intended.
I mention this background to lay the groundwork for my interest in developing a morning pizza recipe that literally would knock one’s socks off. I do enjoy cold leftover pizza from the night before but I’m also a self-appointed influencer committed to creating this newer category of morning pizza. I’m also buoyed by the fact that Wendy’s and Taco Bell now serve breakfast. I mean c’mon Pizza Hut time to get in the morning game. I’d like to offer the recipe that follows:
Bob’s Starting Point
Let’s consider morning favorites that already are in my sights. I love eggs, potatoes, pork sausage, and mushrooms. I believe I’m on the right track. I also love fennel seeds, hot sauce, fresh Parsley and Cilantro, and all kinds of cheeses. Perhaps, I should just move to a frittata, but I want to create my morning pizza in the form of a handheld slice. That said, here we go.
We’ll be using an 11” Lodge cast-iron skillet both on the top burner and in the oven broiler to make the pie.
Coat the pan with olive oil and under medium heat add 2 TBS. of chopped onion, 6 chopped medium mushrooms, 1/3 LB. of crumbled morning pork sausage, and one medium cubed russet potato. Add a teaspoon of thyme and fennel seeds and S & P, Sauté for 6 minutes. Add 3 whipped eggs and finish cooking for two minutes until the scrambled eggs are just set. Remove from heat and place the mixture on a dinner plate momentarily.
Wipe the iron skillet with a paper towel and place an 11” freshly rolled dough blank to fit in the bottom of the skillet. Brush the dough with Extra Virgin Olive Oil that has been infused with a freshly crushed large garlic clove after being heated for 30 seconds in the microwave. I use a silicone pastry brush for this step.
Spread the sauteed mixture on the pizza dough and then cover with a mixture of various cheeses that you like. Cook on medium-low setting for eight to ten minutes until the crust is lightly browned then finish under the broiler for 3-4 minutes.
This all sounded good until I realized I forgot to add the eggs and the resulting potato-flavored pizza would have better been joined by rosemary leaves and one minute less under the broiler.(Check the photo)
Back to the drawing board as we used to say. My socks are still on. Give me another shot at it.
"Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."
Thomas Edison
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