The Guys Taste-Test A 'Manly' Pizza

                                                              JOHN'S 'JUST PIZZA' PIZZA

John loves the simple things in life…sipping a cup of coffee on the dock as the sun rises, fishing, and hanging out with family and good friends on the Indian River in Florida. As you might guess, John also loves simple foods; his favorite food – Italian food!  When asked what kind of pizza he likes, John said “just pizza.”  He went on, “you know the kind loaded with sauce and sausage and meatballs and thick cheese.”  Then he tipped his head back and raised an imaginary slice of pizza to his mouth while describing the awesomeness of biting into that slice and pulling all the stringy cheese into his mouth.  How could I not make this amazingly simple pizza in his honor? 

My husband, along with the husbands of two of my original pizza taste-testers volunteered to taste a few of my pizzas; the only preference voiced was for a meaty/manly pizza.  When it comes to choosing pizza toppings, some people just have difficulty thinking beyond basic.  With this in mind, I decided to test John's 'Just Pizza' Pizza which contained the most basic of pizza ingredients - sauce, sausage, meatballs and plenty of fresh mozzarella and Parmigiano cheese.  The pizza tasted as good as it looked; delicious slices of meatballs packed with Italian flavor and sweet sausage settled into a bubbling bed of marinara sauce.  The slices of fresh mozzarella that topped the pizza browned lightly and melted just enough so as to hold their shape, yet became supple enough to stretch into the perfect gooey string of cheese tethering each bite in our mouths to the remaining slices of pizza in our hands.   Perfection!  I thank Charlie, Charlie B. and John for their willingness to taste a first run pizza and for the comments and compliments they shared that evening.  I can't wait to get to Florida to make this pizza for it's namesake, John Quoka.  I hope he enjoys it as much as did those of us who tested it. 

We also tested Arlene's Pizzagain Pizza the same night.  For those of you who do not know, Pizza Gain is an Italian Easter Pie that contains about three pounds of sausage and Italian deli meats - prosciutto, Genoa salami and capicola- to name a few.  These meats are then layered with a ricotta mixture similar to that found in good Italian lasagna.  The result is a dense, sumptuous 'pie' that is consumed in small pieces.  Now, I'm not saying how many small pieces each person would consume, but it was usually more than one.  This pizza contains all the ingredients found in Pizza Gain, except the eggs and the result was a fantastically savory pizza that was not overly salty or dense; yet it captured the essence of the traditional dish.  We cut it into small squares and the taste-testing began, each of us taking one piece.  Since it is not fair to judge a pizza from one small taste, we each had another.  This went on for several minutes, my husband cutting the pieces smaller and smaller as we all swore we couldn't eat another bite.  Well, as you might have guessed, we stopped only when the pizza peel sitting in the center of the table was empty, but for a few bits of crust and grains of cornmeal.  Another success.  I will be making this pizza at Easter time, knowing that it is a much lighter version of the traditional Pizza Gain and, without a doubt, telling myself this will make me feel better about eating multiple pieces.  This pizza makes an amazing appetizer any time of year - enjoy!